VOA慢速英语--《鱿鱼游戏》热播,欧美多国掀起学韩语热潮

More People Learning Korean after ‘Squid Game’ TV Show

A company offering online language-learning services says more people are learning Korean after the launch of a popular Korean TV show on Netflix.

The language-learning company, Duolingo, reported the sharp increase in Korean learners.

In Great Britain, 76 percent more people than usual signed up to learn Korean. In the U.S., the number increased by 40 percent after the show started two weeks ago.

The nine-part show is another example of Korean popular culture that has found success in the West. It comes after pop songs by the music group BTS and the international success of the movies Parasite¹ and Minari. Parasite won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2020.

Korean culture is making a connection with English speakers. Recently, the Oxford² English Dictionary added 26 new words that come from the Korean language, including "hallyu," which means Korean wave. "Hallyu" is how people are describing the success of Korean pop culture outside of Asia.

Sam Dalsimer is a spokesman³ for Duolingo. In an email to the Reuters news agency, he said, "What happens in pop culture and media often influences trends in language and language learning." Dalsimer noted⁴ that as Korean film, music and television get more popular, more people will want to learn the language.

South Korea's president Moon Jae-in welcomed the additions to the dictionary and the interest in the language. He called the Korean alphabet an example of South Korea's "soft power."

The Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange said there are about 77 million people around the world who speak Korean. Duolingo said about 8 million people are trying to learn Korean through its service. That is second only to Hindi.

South Korea's King Sejong Institute teaches the language around the world. The cultural institute is named after the South Korean king credited with inventing the Korean alphabet. Fourteen years ago, only 740 students in three countries were learning Korean through the organization. Now, it teaches 76,000 students in 82 countries.

Milica Martinovic is one of the institute's students in Russia. She said she started learning Korean so she could understand popular music and television shows in Korean.

Catarina Costa is a 24-year-old from Portugal. She lives in Toronto, Canada. She is studying Korean online through a website called TalkToMeInKorean.com.

When she first started studying two years ago, many of her friends did not understand her interest. Now they do.

"People are fascinated⁵ when I say that I am learning Korean," Costa said.

Sun Hyun-woo started TalkToMeInKorean. He said there are now 1.2 million people studying the language in 190 countries using his website.

He said even before the success of BTS and Korean TV shows and movies, thousands of people wanted to learn the language, but they were doing it alone.

"Now they are part of a 'global phenomenon'; learning Korean has turned into a much cooler pastime," he said.

Words in This Story

trend – n. something that is currently⁷ popular or fashionable

institute – n. an organization created for a particular purpose (such as research or education)

fascinate⁶ – v. to cause (someone) to be very interested in something or someone

phenomenon – n. an event or interesting happening that can be observed and studied and that is not easy to explain or understand

cool – adj. often used to show approval in a general way; popular with young people

1 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

2 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

3 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 fascinated   

a.被强烈地吸引住，感到着迷的

参考例句：

• China has always fascinated me. 中国一直令我心驰神往。
• The children watched, fascinated, as the picture began to appear. 电影开始以后孩子们入迷地观看着。

6 fascinate   

vt.强烈地吸引，迷住

参考例句：

• I be extremely fascinate by the story.这故事令我非常人迷。
• I am quite fascinate by his adventure in Africa.他在非洲的冒险活动使人着了迷。

7 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。