Key Points
- Campsie Public School, which provides Australia’s only Korean bilingual program, has witnessed a tenfold increase in demand over the past decade.
- Experts link a surge in Korean language learning among school-aged students and adults to the rising influence of K-pop and K-dramas.
- Diane Godley, 60, says she was motivated by Korean drama series to learn the language.
Year One students at Campsie Public School in Sydney's southwest are engaged in creating vibrant blue dragons as part of their Lunar New Year preparations.
By delicately pulling the head and tail ends of their symbolic paper creatures, they gain insights into the principles of force and movement.
Campsie Public School student Andy shows off his blue dragon. Source: SBS / Gerard Phelan
"In 2024, Korea celebrates the Year of the Blue Dragon, and I wanted my class to share in that cultural experience," Jung tells SBS Korean.
To facilitate this cultural immersion, Jung introduces the students to Korean expressions related to movement: "Mil-eoyo" (push), "dang-gyeoyo" (pull), and "umjig-yeoyo" (move).
By echoing these phrases while they work, she hopes the students will build a practical connection with the language.
Campsie Public School students learn about the Korean language. Source: SBS / Leah Hyein Na
Shifting demographics
Jung’s school has been offering Korean bilingual classes for the last 14 years.
Each day students dedicate an hour to learning subjects including history, geography, science, art and music - all taught in Korean.
These classes owe their existence to the NSW Bilingual Schools Program initiated in 2010.
The program aimed to elevate the fluency of students in priority Asian languages across four government primary schools.
At Campsie Public School, this led to the establishment of the Korean bilingual program, Rouse Hill Public School introduced a Chinese Mandarin program, Scott’s Head Public School initiated an Indonesian program, and Murray Farm Public School launched a Japanese program.
The principal of Campsie Public School, Berlinda Cook, says: "Campsie is a language school, and our key language is Korean, and the students love it, and parents come here from far and wide to learn." Source: SBS / Jennifer Scherer
"A Korean staff member at the time heard about the opportunity on the radio and at that time in the Campsie local area, there were a lot of Korean residents and community members," Cook says.
Based on the 2011 Census, the Korea Republic ranked second in terms of birth country amongst Campsie residents born overseas, at 5.1 per cent.
During the 1990s, Campsie was called the 'Seoul of Sydney' due to an influx of Korean residents, evident in the proliferation of Korean grocery stores and restaurants throughout the neighbourhood.
However, over time, a significant portion of this population and these businesses moved to areas such as Eastwood, Lidcombe and West Ryde, leading to the emergence of new 'Koreatowns'.
The most recent Census in 2021 revealed that China is now the most common place of birth for Campsie residents born overseas (20.4 per cent), followed by Nepal, Malaysia, Vietnam and The Philippines.
Despite these shifting demographics, Campsie Public School continues to offer its Korean bilingual program.
Campsie Public School exterior. Source: SBS / Leah Hyein Na
"Campsie is a language school, and our key language is Korean, and the students love it and parents come here from far and wide to learn, so their children have the opportunity to learn Korean even if they're not from the Korean background themselves," Cook says.
Learning from scratch
What began with 30 students has now grown to 300, constituting half of the entire student body.
Most students entering the program have no prior background in Korean, making them complete beginners.
But soon enough, the classroom is filled with the sounds of Korean phrases like "meoli" (head), "eokkae" (shoulder), "baekkob" (belly button) and "annyeonghaseyo Jung seonsaengnim" (hello teacher Jung).
Six years ago, Jung transitioned from the role of primary class teacher to bilingual teacher at Campsie Public School.
As they progress through the grades, she says children's ability to understand Korean increases significantly.
Jungsu Jung has been teaching Korean bilingual classes at Campsie Public School for six years. Source: SBS / Jennifer Scherer
"How fluently one can speak Korean depends on the individual, but some students are able to use short sentences, and some have surprisingly very accurate pronunciation," she says.
The students seem to naturally enjoy the bilingual environment.
"When you're born you usually only know one language whereas at school, if you learn different, you can speak languages wherever you go," Henry, a Year One student, says.
Henry, a Year One student, says: "When you're born you usually only know one language whereas at school, if you learn different, you can speak languages wherever you go.” Source: SBS / Gerard Phelan
"It is a little bit difficult but a little bit easy. Feels like a medium."
Alexis, a Year One student, says: "I like to learn how to speak and do art because then you can speak and learn more languages and have more knowledge." Source: SBS / Gerard Phelan
"I think children in Australia should be exposed to a lot of languages because it helps them to understand different cultures and different ways to communicate with each other and build stronger relationships," she says.
Surge in Korean learners in Australia
While Campsie Primary School stands out as the only school in Australia offering bilingual education in Korean for cognitive development, there are other schools that teach the language.
According to the Korean Education Centre in Sydney, more than 9,500 students are currently learning Korean in 68 schools nationwide, an increase of nearly 1,000 from a decade ago.
This surge is not limited to young students but extends to adults as well.
At the Korean Cultural Centre, which provides both offline and online Korean language classes for the general adult population, the number of registered individuals has reached 430 as of the first semester of 2024.
This marks a five-fold increase from when the Korean language course launched in 2011.
The Korean Cultural Centre in Sydney provides both offline and online Korean language classes for the general adult population. Source: Supplied / Korean Cultural Centre
"For our beginner classes, despite the registration opening at midnight, they're usually fully booked within about 10 minutes. And also, our higher level intermediate classes also tend to fill up well before the registration period ends," she says.
A total of 16 courses are currently at full capacity, each with a waiting list of 30 people.
Despite the high demand, the Korean Cultural Centre says constraints in space and teacher availability prevent them adding more classes.
Tae says 60 per cent of those registering for adult Korean language classes are aged in their 30s or 40s, with an even split between those in their 20s and 50s or older.
Joanne Tae, program manager at the Korean Cultural Centre, says beginner classes are usually fully booked within about 10 minutes. Source: Supplied / Joanne Tae
Influence of K-pop and K-drama
Kyung Min Na, a teacher at the Korean Cultural Centre in Sydney for the last nine years, explains that people who want to learn Korean are typically divided into three categories.
According to her, these include those with Korean family, such as a spouse; those simply driven by intellectual curiosity; and those with a marked interest in aspects of Korean culture like K-pop and K-dramas.
Na says this third category has grown particularly over the past three years, in line with the significant increase in global interest in Korean popular culture.
She estimates that such individuals constitute approximately 70-80 per cent of each class.
Kyung Min Na, a teacher at the Korean Cultural Centre in Sydney, says students with a marked interest in aspects of Korean popular culture like K-pop and K-drama has grown particularly over the past three years. Source: Supplied / Kyung Min Na
"In particular, there are a lot of learners who say, 'I love Korean dramas so much, that I want to study Korean because I want to watch dramas without subtitles.'"
'A whole new world'
Diane Godley, living in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, falls into the latter category.
"I just got to a point in my life where suddenly the kids had grown up, they were just finishing school, they had their driver's licences, and suddenly I had some time to myself, so then I started watching K-dramas, and I just thought what a cute little Hangeul (Korean) alphabet was, and I thought I'll learn that," she says.
Diane Godley has been learning Korean driven by her fascination with K-dramas. Source: Supplied / Diane Godley
Godley, whose favourite K-drama is 'Crash Landing on You', says such series opened up a whole new world to her.
"I'm not interested in watching anything about America because I feel like I know so much about it. And it was really great ... because in American drama you never see the (people) sit down to eat and talk, in Korean dramas it’s all about eating, like seeing all the dishes," she says.
"It was sort of the revelation that these are two totally different worlds, a different world to what we live in."
Experts attribute the surge in Korean language learners worldwide to the growing interest in Korean popular culture, commonly known as the Hallyu, or 'Korean wave'.
Even Jung at Campsie Public School says Korean popular culture has become a motivating factor for students' learning.
"When we do music integrated with Korean ... I can see their engagement grow higher and they (the students) seem to know a lot of K-pop stars that I don't even know," she says.
Dr Nicola Fraschini, a senior lecturer in Korean studies at the University of Melbourne, notes that while Hallyu is a significant factor, it is not the sole driver.
"Korean economic development has been amazing during the past decades and this, together with the Korean culture and the positive perception that now Korea has overseas, I think all these factors contributed to the growing interest in Korean language learning," he says.
Dr Nicola Fraschini, a senior lecturer in Korean studies at the University of Melbourne, notes that while Hallyu is a significant factor, it is not the sole driver. Source: SBS / Ben Partridge
As she lacks Korean-speaking acquaintances, she practises the language with her dog, who now understands basic words like "anja" (sit) and "hajima" (don’t do it).
Godley aspires to engage in simple conversations with native speakers and comprehend more of what's being said in K-dramas.
"I was in Korea early last year and I plan on going again later this year. And my experience last time was people didn't understand a word I said so I'd like to be able to at least pronounce things correctly, and people to answer me in Korean," she says.
“And another thing I'd like to do is be able to sing along to some more Korean music."
Diane Godley visited Korea last year with her daughter Lily. Source: Supplied / Diane Godley
