Korea Foundation launches Latin America consortium to expand Korean studies

The Korea Foundation (KF) has inaugurated a milestone academic network connecting six prominent universities across five Latin American nations, aiming to expand the reach of Korean studies and foster cross-continental scholarly exchange throughout the region.

The official launch ceremony for the KF Global e-School UCEN-Latin America Consortium for Korean Studies took place Wednesday at the Universidad Central de Chile (UCEN) campus in Santiago.

High-profile attendees included KF President Song Gui-do, UCEN President Santiago Gonzalez Larrain and Korean Ambassador to Chile Kim Hak-jae.

To mark the inauguration, Kim Won-ho, professor emeritus at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, delivered a keynote lecture exploring actionable insights from South Korea’s rapid economic and democratic development for Latin American nations.

Spanning member institutions in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador and Colombia, the consortium leverages an innovative digital educational model.

Participating universities will integrate specialized online Korean studies courses provided by fellow consortium membe