By Kim Minji
The King Sejong Institute Foundation from next year will launch the Sejong Korean Language Assessment (SKA).
The foundation on June 28 said SKA evaluates overall skills in Korean such as speaking, listening, reading and writing from beginner to intermediate levels. The test is based on the International Standard Curriculum for the Korean Language developed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The exam is geared toward ethnic Koreans overseas and foreign students for whom Korean is not their first tongue.
The foundation developed SKA to measure practical proficiency in Korean amid explosive growth in the demand for Korean-language education thanks to the Hallyu boom.
Ahead of its implementation, the test will see trial runs from June 15-30, with about 2,500 students to take the mock exam.
From June 15-22, about 1,700 students from seven King Sejong branches in five countries took the test, and from June 24 to 30, about 800 students in Korea from 19 organizations including the institute will do so.
The foundation will upgrade the test’s administration system based on the results of the two-week trials for full adoption of SKA next year.
kimmj7725@korea.kr