The Department of Education (DepEd) has renewed its partnership with the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Education to continue teaching the Korean language in select public high schools across the Philippines.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara and South Korean Minister of Education Choi Kyo-Jin formalized the renewal through a memorandum of understanding.

The signed agreement was presented to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during a ceremony at Malacañang Palace on Tuesday as part of Lee’s state visit.

The initiative is part of the DepEd Special Program in Foreign Language, which aims to prepare Filipino students for international careers by fostering language proficiency and cultural diversity.

“By renewing this partnership, we are not just teaching a new language; we are opening doors to global opportunities for our teachers and learners,” Angara said.

The program, which was originally introduced through a 2017 agreement, ensures that Korean remains among the foreign languages offered in the secondary curriculum alongside Spanish, French, Japanese, German and Chinese.

Under the previous arrangement, the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines served as the official training provider, offering students immersive cultural experiences.

For the 2024-2025 school year, the Korean language program reached 4,810 learners in 69 public secondary schools across 13 regions. The partnership has also facilitated the professional upskilling of 168 Filipino teachers.

The new memorandum ensures the sustainability of the program following the expiration of the previous agreement. The partnership will focus on curriculum development, teacher capacity building and the provision of specialized teaching resources and Korean language experts to local high schools.