A foreign national studies Korean at a cafe in Seoul in this May 24, 2022 file photo. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

Middle and high school students in Paraguay will be able to learn Korean as a second foreign language under an agreement between the two countries, officials said.

The education ministry said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with its Paraguayan counterpart, effectively adding Korean to the list of second foreign languages that can be taught in middle and high schools.

The move will open up more employment opportunities for local graduates majoring in the Korean language and lay the groundwork for Korean to spread on its own in the country, the education ministry said.

With the growing demand for Korean studies in Paraguay due to the popularity of K-culture content, the education ministry has been aiding the learning of the Korean language at local schools through Korean education centers.

As a result, the number of middle and high school students learning Korean in the country increased over twofold from some 1,900 students at 16 schools in 2017 to nearly 4,800 students at 23 schools as of last year.

Globally, 23 countries have selected Korean as one of their second foreign languages as of late 2023, and 10 countries have included Korean among the list of college admission subjects.

"We anticipate the nationalities of foreign students coming to Korea will become more diverse, following the spread of the Korean language in South American regions, including in Paraguay," an education ministry official said. (Yonhap)