"I Want to Know the Meaning of BTS Lyrics"...Why Foreigners Are Learning Korean [K-holic]

Rising Number of Korean Language Learners Driven by K-pop and K-dramas
2,777 Overseas Elementary and Middle Schools Offer Korean Classes
Enthusiasm Endures Despite High Barriers to Learning

Editor's NoteInterest in Korean culture is rapidly growing around the world. Korean-related products and content, such as K-food and K-beauty, are permeating the everyday lives of overseas consumers, going beyond niche fan bases. [K-holic] highlights the "Korean wave" phenomenon being seen globally and examines why foreign consumers are paying attention to Korea.

The number of foreigners seeking to learn Korean is increasing globally, driven in part by the popularity of K-pop. In particular, international artists releasing songs with Korean lyrics and the steady rise in Korean language classes at overseas schools reflect a growing interest in the language. On social networking services (SNS), learning content using K-pop lyrics is spreading, further fueling this enthusiasm.

More Foreigners Learning Korean...Wave of Language Study Driven by the Korean Wave

The photo is unrelated to any specific expressions in the article. Pixabay

Recently, American singer and influencer Trisha Paytas drew attention by releasing the song "Saranghae," composed of Korean lyrics. The approximately two-minute track includes lines such as "Under the starlight of the dark night, I can't sleep thinking of you," "In the wind, your scent makes my heart race," and "I love you, I love you—even if I say it a thousand times, it's not enough." The song ranked high on the K-pop chart of Apple iTunes in the United States, and it is considered unusual for an international artist to release a song with Korean lyrics and gain such recognition.

As interest in Korean grows, so does the demand for learning the language. According to the "2025 Language Report" released by the mobile learning platform Duolingo, Korean is now the sixth most studied language worldwide, following English, Spanish, French, Japanese, and German.

Foreign tourists queuing up to enter the experience zone at the "BTS THE CITY Arirang Busan Welcome Center" set up at the Eurasia Platform of Busan Station in Dong-gu, Busan, on the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Meanwhile, more overseas schools are offering Korean language classes. According to data submitted by Assemblyman Kim Moonsu, a member of the National Assembly’s Education Committee (The Minjoo Party of Korea), to the Ministry of Education, as of the end of last year, a total of 2,777 overseas schools were running Korean classes—a 9.9% increase from the previous year. This statistic is based on overseas elementary, middle, and high schools that run Korean as a regular or after-school subject as of the end of each December.

One reason foreigners want to learn Korean is the spread of the Korean Wave (Hallyu). Korean content is expanding globally through online video services (OTT) such as Netflix, and the rising popularity of K-pop artists, including BTS, is driving heightened interest in the Korean language.

Challenging Despite the Difficulty...Sharing Learning Methods on SNS

A video transcribing the Korean lyrics of Eclipse's 'Sonagi' into Romanization. YouTube channel '3vrblu'

However, despite growing interest in Korean, the actual process of language acquisition is not easy. Korean is regarded as a difficult language for foreigners to master. While learning Hangul letters can be accomplished in a relatively short time, achieving fluency requires extensive study. This is because its sentence structure is different from English, and grammar and vocabulary change depending on the age and relationship with the conversation partner.

In fact, in 2017, the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Institute (FSI) classified Korean alongside Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic as the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn. The unique Hangul script, complex honorifics, and subject-object-verb (SOV) word order are cited as major hurdles.

In response, foreigners are sharing a variety of Korean study methods. On YouTube and TikTok, videos featuring K-pop lyrics transcribed into romanization for sing-along purposes are gaining popularity, and content introducing daily expressions and grammar is being actively shared. In addition, many videos analyzing the meaning of Korean lyrics are being posted and attracting high view counts.

Experts have also analyzed that the growth of the Korean Wave, centered on K-pop, is fueling the Korean language learning craze. Clayton Dube, former director of the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California (USC), said in the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) last year, "Currently, the most popular language in East Asia is Korean," and "The driving force behind this is 100% K-pop."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.