For several decades, ethnic Koreans living in Central Asia, called “Koryo-in” here, were not enthusiastic about learning their parents’ or grandparents’ first language.
But there has been a change in their perception of the language over the past decade. An increasing number of descendents of Russian Koreans, who call themselves “Koryo saram,” have begun taking an interest in learning Korean and taking language proficiency tests administered by the Korean government.
The creation of jobs requiring strong Korean language skills motivated them. South Korean companies began looking to Central Asia, including Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, for investments from the early 1990s.
Since then, the region, especially Uzbekistan, has become a popular investment location.
Victoria Kim, a Korean language instructor at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy based in Tashkent, said few ethnic Koreans considered the language seriously in the past because it was almost of no use there before. Read more.
See: Korea Times
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