Ministry of Education

The Ministry of Education (Minister Choi Kyo-jin) announced that the ‘2026 International Korean Language Contest for Central Asia and Russia’ was successfully held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on June 29.

The event was organized by the Almaty Korean Education Center (Director Kim Hong-hwan), which serves as a hub for overseas Korean and language education in the region. Participants were selected through national preliminary rounds held by Korean Education Centers in four countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. A total of 2,300 candidates competed in the preliminaries, with the top 15 selected for the final competition.

Now in its fourth year, the contest consists of three categories:

 1.Korean Language Teaching Contest for Local Teachers (evaluating lesson plans and teaching demonstrations)

 2.Korean Speaking Contest for Secondary School Students

 3.Korean Speaking Contest for University Students

The Teaching Contest is a unique feature of this regional event, designed to enhance the quality of Korean language instruction and recognize outstanding educators.

This year, participants from Uzbekistan swept the first-place awards in all categories. The Teaching Contest winner was Shakhlo Abdurakhmanova, who presented an engaging grammar lesson titled “Kimchi is a little spicy.” Choi Hani (secondary school division) and Zhumanazarova Kumushoy (university division) also took home the top honors in their respective speaking categories. 

Central Asia is currently experiencing a rapid surge in demand for Korean language education. In Uzbekistan specifically, the number of local primary and secondary schools offering Korean language classes more than doubled between 2023 and 2025, with approximately 50,000 applicants for the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK). The Korean Ministry of Education is actively cooperating with local governments to integrate Korean language education into the public school curricula of Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, while promoting study-abroad opportunities in Korea for local students.

* Elementary & secondary schools with Korean classes in Uzbekistan: 13,376 students across 64 schools (2023) → 14,461 students across 82 schools (2024) → 22,936 students across 150 schools (2025) / Three-year growth: ~2.3x in schools and ~1.7x in students

Status of Korean Language Programs in Central Asia and Russia (2023-2025)

(Unit: Schools, Persons)