KOREAN LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION-WITH THE FOCUS ON BOOKS AND TEACHING MATERIALS -

A keen interest in the culture and economic development of the Republic of Korea has resulted in establishing business relations between Korea and various countries all around the world. The Korean War (1950-1953) is said to be the catalyst for Korean Studies, since it has generated a considerable interest in Korean history, language and culture. Yet, when the Korean Language Education (henceforward KLE) is being referred to, usually the years when the boom for "everything that is Korean” started, which could be attributed to the successfully organized Summer Olympics in 1988 and co-organized Asian World Cup in 2002, are being mentioned. This was when the world saw a different side of Korea. However, also thanks to the enormous popularity of Hallyu and the support of the South Korean Government given to initiatives, which among others, popularize the Korean language, the interest in various aspects of Korean culture as well as the language itself, has become higher than ever before. Since the turn of the 21st century, South Korea is perceived as one of the world's leading exporters of culture and tourism, and Hangeul became one of the exported goods.The aim of this research is to analyze the situation of KLE in the era of globalization, which along with the spread of lingua franca, among them English, is endangering the language variety of the world. In order to do so, several significant dates and initiatives showing how Korean scholars and the Government have influenced and shaped the language policy and thus have contributed to the popularization of the language all around the world will also be referred to. Government sponsored institutions providing Korean language classes, as well as books and other teaching materials, will be discussed and classified. The article will also try to answer the question concerning the future of the KLE.


Introductory Remarks
The term globalization is usually defined as a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by IT.This process has effects on the environment, culture, political systems, economic development, prosperity, and human physical wellbeing in societies around the world. 3Consequently, the adopted policies such as free-market economic systems and technological developments not only have spurred increases in international trade and investment, but also contributed to the growth of migration rates as well.
Even though there is no confusion as to what the globalization is, there are some discrepancies concerning its beginnings.The process itself is said to be nothing new, since for thousands of years people and later, corporations have been trading with one another regardless of the geographical distances, e.g. through the famed Silk Road during the Middle Ages.Nonetheless, some modern economic historians dispute the argument of Adam Smithone of the early economists, that the discovery of the Americas, by Christopher Columbus in 1492 accelerated this process.Kevin O'Rourke and Jeffrey Williamson argue in a 2002 paper that the globalization only really began in the 19 th century, when a sudden drop in transport costs allowed the prices of commodities in Europe and Asia to converge (cf.The Economist, 23-10-2013).
The globalization itself though deeply controversial, has its proponents and opponents.Despite all the pros and cons, its effect on many areas of human life, among them education, is simply undeniable.It reflects a new form of cultural imperialism, as Chinnammai (2005: 1) points out, and produces a shift in society from industrialization towards information-based society, as it shapes children -the future citizens of the world into 'global citizens', intelligent people with broad range of skills and knowledge, people who know how to apply the knowledge and be more competitive.Globalization and technological advancements along with changes in labor market not only confirm the internationalization of education, but also indicate their close connection.It is understandable that e.g.international companies look for qualified employees not only as far as the fluency in a foreign language is concerned, but also with deep understanding of the target culture, and thus business environment, thanks to which also the company can successfully compete in the global market.From this point of view education itself can be perceived as a kind of commodity.
Nevertheless, in this context it is impossible not to refer to the sociolinguistic consequences of globalization and the theory of language and the communicative community as its fundamental concept, proposed by Professor Ludwik Zabrocki (1963).Professor Zabrocki argues that the communicative community is formed when there are at least two people, between which there is a need for communication and when this need is realized, and perceives language as the most important element unambiguously indicating a given community.The external and concrete proof for the existence of these communities is the existence of a concrete means of communication, meaning a language (cf.p. 12).Yet, it is also worthy to mention that people constituting a particular communicative community, do not have to communicate in one language only.Although the language community is a communicative community, it is defined as group of people using relatively unified means of communication meaning the common language.Every communicative community aims to create a single means of communication, which would support the whole community.In other words, as Professor Bańczerowski (2014: 160) puts it, 'each and every communicative community wants to become a language community'.
As far as the above-mentioned processes are concerned, Professor Zabrocki (1963: 9-33) emphasizes, that the integration of societies driven primarily by the economic reasons results in formation of bigger communicative communities, where either the synthesis of languages or the extinction of a language used by the community perceived from the social point of view, as worse or subordinate one, takes place.This means that the extinction of languages and dialects is the result of every integration of communicative communities when the synthesis of communicative communities perceived as equal does not take place.This means that from the social viewpoint to smaller or bigger extent, there will always be an evaluation of languages -one of them will win over the other one (cf.p. 9-17).Consequently, the number of languages decreases proportionally to the decrease in the number of communicative communities and the linguistic integration follows over time, despite the fact that it is not the battle between the languages but between the societies.All of that helps to create the global communicative community, which would cover the whole world.This however endangers other already existing communicative and language communities.This situation can be perceived as linguistic or language imperialism, which over time results in the situation, where the superior communicative community eliminates the subordinate one.4Professor Zabrocki also points out a different aspect of so-called communicative integration, namely the fact that language communities are more than communicative communities having one language, since every nation identifies itself through the language, which reflects their spiritual and material identity (cf.p. 19).Nonetheless, the number of world-wide communicative communities is constantly growing, they also become more solid.This results also in multilingualism of native communicative communities.
One of the most easily noticeable aspects of globalization in the educational context is the advantage to learn a foreign language, even 'the rare' one, from its native speaker without the necessity to go abroad.Another one is the opportunity to take part in international training courses or exchange programs for both academic staff and students, who can go abroad, study for one or two terms or even receive their BA, MA or PhD degrees, and after returning back home have them recognized.Not to mention the possibility to co-host international conferences and symposia, to carry out researches or to co-organize guest lectures and consultations as well as to cooperate in the field of scholarly publications, the sharing of library digitalized resources etc.Of course, signing academic agreements between the universities, as well as the ability to take advantage of the scholarship system offered by foreign countries, would not be possible if it was not for the previous agreements on the government level, which as a cooperation is a clear sign of internationalization and globalization. 5evertheless, the negative effects of internationalization (and globalization) on education can also be observed.Despite the fact that we live in the Internet Era and ubiquitous technological progress, where the question concerning the hampered accessibility to the Internet and online resources caused by the case of not having a computer might appear to be rather surrealistic, yet it concerns some parts of the global population.In other words, lack of resources to provide and implement technological advancements disable less affluent families, schools, communities or even whole countries from competing in the already-mentioned global labor market.Another question concerns the whole system of education, in which the didactics of a foreign language, culture or history is prioritized over the didactics of the mother tongue and national culture or history of a student.It happens when more school hours are spent on teaching a foreign language or languages, than of the native one or when classes are devoted only to the history and customs of other countries without prior explanation of the uniqueness of the local ones.This, without a shadow of a doubt, would lead to weakening or even losing the national identity, which in some cases can also be noticed. 6he aim of this research is to analyze the situation of Korean Language Education (henceforward KLE) in widely understood aspect of globalization, with the focus on various didactic materials published for Korean language learners.In order to present the situation in question in a broader context, a few very important events, without which we would not be able to talk about the situation whatsoever, along with initiatives taken up by the Korean Government and various organizations in order to improve it, will also be discussed here.The article will also try to answer the question of what the future holds for the didactics of Korean.This research, however, does not present every single Korean language textbook that was published within the past few decades nor every institution offering Korean language courses around the world, for the priority is given to institutions, which were established as a result of a conscious policy of the Korean Government in order to preserve and popularize Korean language and culture world-widely.As a consequence, the situation concerning institutional aspect will focus only on institutes, centers and school of Korean origin (often sponsored by the Korean Government), instead of universities all around the world, which offer Korean language courses as electives or regular studies.

Globalization in the context of Korean Language Education
Since the dawn of time, stronger and bigger countries not only tended to expand their territories but they would also impose their languages.Examples of the above-mentioned language imperialism are in fact numerous around the world.In this context, there is a very good reason to fear that globalization threatens the languages of smaller and thus economically weaker countries, also in the context of already 6 At this point it is also worth mentioning the situation of the universities all around the world.Chinnammi (2005: 3-4) notices that the universities are being forced to compete in the global capitalist market and have to engage in entrepreneurial activity in order to sustain themselves in an increasingly 'uncertain world', while the governments have been particularly concerned that universities serve the national interests in the global marketplace.
mentioned global communicative community.There are some exceptions though and Korea is one of them.
During the Korean War (1950-1953) and right after the armistice was signed, nobody would have imagined that one of the poorest countries in the world would experience the 'Miracle on the Han River' in becoming one of the world's leading economy powers and that in just a few decades, the interest in Korean language and culture would grow as much as it has.
Language is said to be one of the determinants of cultural identity.The fact how proud the Korean People are of their alphabet and language can be easily confirmed by the conscious and well thought out policy of the Korean Government, observable in legislations and through various initiatives taken up by government and non-government organizations, foundations and Korean Culture Centers, which are to strengthen the national competitiveness and to preserve, standardize, as well as promote and expand the usage of Korean language and culture all around the world through various courses and events, often co-organized with Korean Embassies.Furthermore, the aim of those organizations is also to e.g.support the education for overseas Koreans, to reinforce the usage of the Korean language through administrating Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) or to exchange students under various programs.That is the reason why so many non-Korean students have become interested in Korean culture and desire to study Korean -some simply as a hobby but others for professional purposes, dreaming about the possibility of a future career in South Korea -either in diplomacy or business.
Nonetheless, it would be impossible to discuss the present situation of KLE if it was not for numerous very important facts.The first celebration was however called Gagyanal (Gagya Day, Kor.가갸날), since Hangeul was at that time referred to as Gayageul (Kor.가갸글).In South Korea it is celebrated on October 9 th , while in North Korea it is called Joseongeullal (조선글날) and is celebrated on January 15 th .

Some important dates
After the Word Cup in 2002 and with the help of the so-called Korean Wave (Kor.한류, Hallyu) the number of people, who became interested in Korean culture and language started to grow all around the world.That is why it became necessary to introduce an official examination to test the language proficiency in order to keep up with rising demand.As a consequence, in 11 As Graph 1. shows, despite the fact that in 1997 only 2692 students took the exam, the number of TOPIK examinees has been increasing sharply and thus so was the number of Korean language institutes.As one can see from the data provided by the NIKL within 16-years-time the number of applicants has risen more than 63 times.Even though the successful applicants' ratio in 2013 was only 51.15%, yet in comparison to 26.21% 1997, it was almost twice as high.Although the Graph 1. does not present it, the number of applicants in 2015 was 174,881 and one year later it was higher about 75 000.The growing number of examinees all around the world is probably the reason why the Korean MOE provides the statistics concerning the number of all applicants as well as those who actually have passed the exam only till 2013. 12http://korean.go.kr/front/etcData/etcDataView.do;front=F5A4AF3FDA920FB2466116A4461C2DCA?mn_id=46&etc_seq=429&pageIndex=1(accessed 13-01-2018).
Even though the first TOPIK exam was only conducted in South Korea, over time it was and still is conducted in many countries all around the world -in 2013 it took place in 61 countries (in 194 places around the world).From the 46 th edition (October 15 th 2016) it is also possible to take it in Poland (at the Institute of Middle and Far East Studies of the Jagiellonian University). 13It is also worthy to mention that before the year of 2000, the TOPIK exam was taken mainly by foreign students, who wished to enter Korean universities, nevertheless after 2000 the reasons behind taking up the exam have diversified.With the introduction of the Employment Permit System in 2005 -passing the test by foreign immigrant workers became obligatory.Those, who are applying for working visas, those who want to get a visa as a marriage immigrant etc. need to pass this exam, as well (marriage immigrants have to pass at least 1 st level).
The TOPIK score is also essential for foreign nationals who plan to enter a Korean university since most of the universities require at least the 3 rd level. 14It defined the direction of the KLE to Koreans and the basic policy concerning Korean language teaching to foreigners.As a consequence, the MCST affiliated organizations implemented the policies prepared in order to standardize the educational process.Among the policies mentioned here were those concerning the spreading of the Korean language overseas.Consequently, through the Korean Language Society (Kor.한글학회) and the NIKL, the above-mentioned policies could be implemented in earnest.The law also introduced the system of examinations for Korean language teachers. 15KSIF is a central public institution launched by the South Korean Government supporting the King Sejong Institutes (KSI, Kor.세종학당).Is regarded as the most representative overseas educational institution of the Korean language and culture.It was established on the basis of the Article 9, Section 2 of the 'Framework Act on the National Language' in order to coordinate the management of the government's propagation project of the Korean language and Korean culture all around the world.김중섭 (2013) analyzes what effects do KSIs have on Korea, and suggests how it can grow side by side Korean companies in order to succeed on the global stage.He suggests, among others, receiving continuous and systematic support from the {Korean} Government, establishing Korean language research centers, strengthening the internal organization, evaluating and managing each individual institute. 16Its objective is to promote Korea's global image -as economically advanced nation -and to right misconceptions about Korea as well as to raise the respect for the country, its culture and values, its products and people.The goal is to raise Korea's brand from near the bottom of the member states of the OECD to the middle (13 out of 31 countries) by 2013.(http://17koreabrand.pa.go.kr/gokr/en/cms/selectKbrdCmsPageTbl.do?cd=0117&m1= 1&m2=2, accessed 23-11-2017).It is worthy to mention that under the tagline "Korea, A Loving Embrace" there are ten main activities being promoted by the PCNB: (1) Shaping the Future with Korea, (2) Campus World: Global Korea Scholarship, Campus Asia, (3) Korean Supporters, (4) Global Korean Network, (5) Promoting Korean language and Taekwondo, (6) Global Citizenship, (7) Advanced Technology & Design Korea, (8) Rainbow Korea, (9) Friendly Digital Korea, (10) Korea Brand Index (https://southasiacommunication.wordpress.com/report-5-nation-brandingsouth-korea/,accessed 14-10-2017). 17Although Hangeul and Korean culture are the most important heritage, which (Kor. 세종대왕기념관).
Korean pride of Hangeul and its willingness to preserve it as well as to popularize it all around the world reveals itself also in very simple things such as Hangeul fashion shows, Hangeulthemed tourist attractions or monuments, paintings etc., which also decorate subway stations and streets.Tourists eagerly buy clothes and souvenirs with Hangeul ornaments.The promotion became one of the ways, in which Korea has started to advertise the country itself along with its culture, and thus contributed to the increase the international awareness about the country.We can say that Hangeul and Korean language teaching have become a kind of export good, which is to get as many foreigners interested in Korea and Korean and thus visit the country simply for sightseeing, studies or business, as possible.
Rapid technological progress along with awareness and well thought out policy of the Korean Government has resulted not only in marveling the world with the beauty of Korean traditional culture, but also in raising the awareness of its values among the nations all around the world.Easily accessible Korean movies and dramas, TV shows, books and the Internet have played the leading role here.When we ask foreigners why do they study Korean, they usually say that they are fans of K-POP or love Korean dramas (this means that the decision to take up Korean classes is the result of Korean popculture expansion all around the world) or they simply dream about finding employment in Korean companies (which is the result of expansion of Korean companies overseas).

A brief history of Korean Language Education
The growing importance of KLE all around the world, especially for the last two decades is undeniable.Nevertheless, the didactics identifies Korean People, there have been many barriers to make Hangeul known domestically and overseas because most of Hangeul data was separately retained in many museums, research institutes and by individuals.Thus, urgent requirements are arising to make a system that integrates and centralizes Hangeul and its data.To meet these current requirements -to digitalize and preserve Korean script and its cultural properties for a long time and provide professional discussion on its merit for worldwide public information, the of Korean Language (henceforward KL) itself started much earlier and so did the development of teaching materials.Several scholars, who divide the above-mentioned development into few periods or stages, discuss the history of KLE.조항록 (2003) distinguishes three of them, while others such as 고경민 (2012) twice as many, as the below Table 1.shows.
The stages in question are based on various criteria, among them -the stages of economic growth and development of South Korea (cf.백봉자 2001) or the changing approach to KL teaching reflected in the structure of units of both textbooks and other teaching materials (cf.이지영 2003). 18For 고경민 (2012), who provides a full-scale research on the history of books on KL and comments on the controversial points taken up in previous researches, both internal and external factors should be considered while distinguishing the periods of KLE.For him, the books became the criterion for the division of the periods in question.He noticed that since textbooks reflect the character of particular language institution, the educational object, the target group of learners, the teacher, teaching method and teaching policy, all of them could serve as the above-mentioned criteria.
As far as the history of the KLE is concerned 조항록 (2003) notices that the 1 st stage would differ, according to the place it actually took place -meaning whether it was in Korea or abroad.Consequently, 1987 -would be the beginning for KLE abroad (the introduction of KL course at Saint Petersburg State University), and 1959 in Korea (the opening of Korean Language Institute by Yonsei University).
Table 1.Periods of the KLE 18 오대환 (2009: 6-9) however, notices that there is no correlation between the stages based on the internal situation of Korea and the history of KLE.He points out that before the worldwide debate about the didactics of KL was enlivened every country providing KLE already had its own KLE history.

Author
Stage/ Period Characteristic features (2001:  12)   the 1 st stage (1959-1975)   -there is no discussion about KLE before 1959, the quickening stage/ period (1976-1988)   -noticeable acceleration of the pace, in which books and other teaching materials for foreigners were developed, 19 As a consequence, the environment for mature debate on KLE was created.Teaching materials were based on the communicative approach and problem solving, which meant departing from the audio-lingual approach.The division on stages shows, that there was no debate about KLE before 1959 and that is was based on the stages of economic development of Korea. 20 이지영 (2003) in contrast to 백봉자 (2001) and 조항록 (2003) perceives the Age of Enlightenment as the beginning of modern education.Nonetheless, despite considering the internal motivation for KLE, there is no reference concerning the changes in the establishment of the 1 st stage period.(1910-1945)   -it is the period of Japanese occupation, during which published books were generally grammar books without any exercises whatsoever, -instead of focusing on the content, bigger focus was placed on the volumes of published books, Since the main goal of this research is to analyze KL books and teaching materials published after 2000, the overall analysis of the history of KL books will be based on the division proposed by 고경민(2012).In paragraph 2.4 teaching methods and the types of major books along with their features will be briefly described, according to those 6 stages.

Korean Language Institutions 21
As far as the KLE is concerned it can be understood as both -teaching Korean to foreigners and to the native Koreans.As far as the first one is concerned, it can be understood as either teaching Korean as a 2 nd language or as a foreign one. 22This research focuses mainly the spring period of contemporary teaching materials (1946-1988)   -after the liberation, books for various learners, starting from Americans, were compiled, -activation of academic education thanks to the establishment of universities and academic associations (the system of KLE was finally formed,) -it is a period of growing interest in studying the KL, the development period of contemporary teaching materials (1989-1999)   -further increase in the number of students, -more enlivened education at university institutions, -continuous development of KL books, the globalization of Korean language teaching materials (after 2000) on teaching KL as a foreign language, nonetheless while referring to the teaching materials, those for overseas Koreans and North Korean refugees will also be referred to.
For the last two decades the number of students interested in studying the KL and applicants to take TOPIK exam has been growing with every year.The rise in the number of academic institutions, public institutions and language centers, to teach Korean and culture is, without a doubt, a response to the growing demand.Some of them have been offering foreigners a complete range of courses taught in Korean or English.The number of those institutions is growing with every year, and this trend will continue in the future.Consequently, the number of programs on Korean studies will for sure continue to grow as well.The growing need for more focused programs can be observed through the activity of e.g. the International Association for Korean Language Education (IAKLE, Kor.국제한국어교육학회, established in 1985)  and the European Association for Korean Language Education (EAKLE, Kor.유럽한국어교육자협희, established in 2007), which regularly organize international conferences devoted to various aspects concerning KLE. 23sually while referring to the popularity of Korean the National Institute of the Korean Language (NIKL, Kor.국립국어원) and the International Korean Language Foundation (IKLF, Kor.한국어세계화재단) are mentioned, since they help to establish individual language courses at educational institutions abroad.It is worthy to mention, that in 2006 'Standard Korean Language Education Curriculum Model Development Project' was introduced in 10 countries, among them Mongolia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.From 2010 with the focus on King Sejong Institutes (henceforward KSIs) a project concerning popularization to the didactics of the 2 nd language and a foreign one were noticed in the 1960s by a Polish scholar Professor Ludwik Zabrocki in "Językoznawcze Podstawy Metodyki Nauczania Języków Obcych"(1966: 51-60). 23Every year the subject of conferences is different -the 26 th IAKLE conference held in Seoul in 2016 was organized under the theme of 'Differentiated Korean Language Education for Language Purposes and Learners', the 27 th one was titled 'Practice of Mutual Cultural Viewpoint in Korean Classrooms', while the last one was focused on 'The New Perspective on Korean Language Teaching Materials in the Age of Technological Revolution'.It is worthy to mention that despite the fact that both conferences are international ones, they are generally conducted in Korean.and standardization of the teaching process and the curriculum was adopted, and that the number of KSIs all around the world is growing with every year. 24hoe Sang-Hun in the NY Times -Asia Pacific wrote an article titled 'South Korea's Latest Export: Its Alphabet' (12-10-2009), which confirms the huge expansion of Hangeul.It is also worthy to notice a conscious promotion of Hangeul and its popularization all around the world.Two types of strategies are being used by the South Korean Government in order to do so, namely the short-term and the long-term one.Within the first one the Government encourages to use the name Sejonghakdang (Kor.세종학당) and the standard textbooks, while the second one is to run an integrated language institute.The King Sejong Institute Foundation (KSIF, Kor.세종학당재단) systematically supports the institutes around the world.Although this article focuses mainly on institutions providing Korean language and culture classes outside of South Korea (and sponsored by the South Korean Government), it is also worthy to mention some of the very first institutions to provide the classes in South Korea, they are as follows: According to the website 'Study in Korea' administered by the South Korean Government there are currently 192 Korean Language Institutes, usually operated within universities, that offer KL and culture courses.Apart from them, there are also institutions offering foreigners KL classes free of charge, in order to enable them quicker assimilation with the Korean society, among them are: Soul Global Center, Migrant Workers Welfare Society in Korea, Korea Support Center for Foreign Workers or Seoul Migrant Worker Center. 30

Brief Outline of books for Korean Language learners -historical perspective
When not that many foreigners were studying Korean as a foreign language, books focused only on their level of proficiency appeared to be satisfactory.
Nevertheless, with the globalization and the growing number of students, who for various reasons chose to study Korean, it was impossible to focus the book only on their level, which can be especially observed in books published in Korea and abroad in recent years.However, before analyzing the present book market offering various books for KL learners, let us say a few words on how the teaching methods and the teaching materials devoted to Korean have changed over time. 29It is also worthy to mention foreign universities, where KLE was firstly introduced: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies ( 1873  Along with the constantly growing number of KL learners and in order to meet their changing needs, the compilation of new textbooks and other teaching materials became a necessity.According to the data gathered by the NIKL and published in 『 국 내 외 한국어교재 백서』 (2009), from 1864 until January 2009 in 33 countries including Korea there were 3399 books published, as the Table 4. shows.As a curiosity, we will present titles of some of the first studies devoted to KL by Europeans, who were in fact missionaries.They are as follows: 1) John Ross ( 1877

3.
The review of Korean language books and teaching materials published in South Korea after 1988 After the Olympics in 1988 the new era in language teaching, manifesting itself in many dimensions has begun.The establishment of already-mentioned Korean Schools (Kor.한국학교), Hangeul Schools (Kor.한글학교) and others, has created a place to study for the children of overseas Koreans -the second or third generation descendants of Korean immigrants.EBS has started broadcasting 'Lectures on Basic Korean' (Kor.기초 한국어 강좌), the Ministry of Culture and Sports (Kor.문화체육부)32 in 1995 released 『한국어 교재』 (Korean Language Textbook) with CD-ROM, in 1998 the NIIED started running a website of Hangeul Schools and one year later Arirang TV started broadcasting programs on KL.All of this provided much easier access to KL, also the spoken one.
Nonetheless, with the inflow of foreigners marveled at Korean traditional culture the situation has started to change and so were books for them.Textbooks published between 1988-99 were comprehensive ones (dialogues, vocabulary, grammar, pattern sentences, exercises and reading) and were used by the publishing universities or institutions during their classes, examples of which are listed below: In books published at the second part of that period the communicative approach was chosen, and as a result textbooks such as 『 말이 트이는 한국어 』 (1998) by Ewha Womans University, with speaking, listening, reading and writing were introduced and published, and for the first time workbook for students was compiled.Soon after other universities follow suit and the students' book was separated from the main textbook.The publishing of workbook for students was the beginning for preparation of books devoted to practicing individual skills such as reading, and books devoted only to reading will soon after be published -연세대학교 한국어어학당 (1999)『한국어 읽기』 can serve as an example here.
Till about 2000 most of the learners were exchange students, studying at language institutes operated within universities.Nevertheless, after the 2002 Word Cup, people for various reasons started to learn Korean as a consequence, apart from the exchange students, South Korean society was also diversified by immigrants (economic and marriage based), children from the multicultural families, overseas Koreans, North Korean refugees, tourists etc.In May 2016, the Korea Times wrote that 'Foreign population in Korea reaches 1.9 million'. 33Accordingly, the institutions offering KL classes started to mushroom all around the world.Technological development along with the Internet expansion brought enormous possibilities, thanks to which the educational process became more diversified and pleasant.The number of TV programs devoted to KL 33 Cf.http://www.kostat.go.kr/eng/ (accessed 21-01-2018).
as those proposed by EBS rose.Portable game machines (Kor.휴대용게임기) offering KL programs with the Hallyu star Bae Yongjoon (Kor.배용준), online games designed for practicing Korean as well as cellphone apps have been developed.
Along with the active popularization and promotion of Korean culture and language, which resulted in the enormous increase in the KL learners, the need for developing textbooks and other teaching materials grew with every year.
In the era of globalization, Korean language textbooks reveal the following characteristics: 1) they correspond to the various reasons as to why learners want to study Korean, in other words they are learner-centered (apart from topic-oriented books, student practice books and various dictionaries have been published), they are to help foreigners to master Korean as well as possible, and possibly to get a job in Korea and reside there,34 2) a great number of them are devoted to particular language groups of learners (also books focused on practicing one or two skills at the same time appear), 3) bigger attention is also given to the content, which appears to be the necessity in the face of constant social and technological changes, 4) more attention is also paid to the graphic design of books, which is done not only in order to catch the learners' interest, but also to present the material in more accessible way (it seems to be of greater importance especially in the context of increasing competition in the publishing market), 5) technological development enabled compilation of books, dictionaries etc. using its power (CD, DVD, audiobooks, ebooks, e-learning courses, TV programs, websites, cellphone apps etc.); consequently, books and other teaching materials using TV and Internet websites as media have been introduced.
What is more, 1) teaching became more standardized -levels of proficiency defined (although e.g. the same ending or grammatical construction can in fact be taught at the beginner level in one book and on intermediate one at another), 2) bigger attention is also given to teachers (as a result for their growing demand) -special majors at universities or training courses and workshops have been started, 3) in order to help the teachers to prepare their cases even better, books prepared especially for them also started to be published (some of them explain the usage of particular sentence patterns or endings, while others explain how to conduct the whole class; books used at KSIs, Hangeul Schools etc. can serve as examples of the latter).
Consequently, books and teaching materials used in the didactic process of Korean can be divided into few following classes.They will be characterized in a more detailed manner right after the below classification.

Textbooks
i) Regular textbooks (designed for a wider range of students), ii) User (Learner)-oriented textbooks (designed for particular groups of users), (1) for academics a) subject-oriented textbooks (they are to help foreigners to prepare for studies at universities or for future job and focus on various fields such as literature, business etc.), b) skill-oriented textbooks (writing, speaking, listening and speaking, reading etc.) (2) for teachers (both Korean and non-Korean ones), (3) for immigrants a) marriage immigrants (for women only), b) economic immigrants, c) multicultural families, d) for elementary, middle and high school children (of immigrants), (4) for overseas Koreans (and their children), ( 5) for North Korean refugees, (6) for tourists, iii) Method-oriented books (they are focused on one particular method of teaching), e.g.teaching through: (1) movies and dramas, (2) songs, (3) cooking, (4) humor, (5) idioms, ( 6) stories (including e.g.Bible stories).

TV and Radio programs
(1) Arirang and EBS, (2) KBS World Radio (www.world.kbs.co.kr) Apart from the above-mentioned materials in the context of KLE it is also worthy to mention the possibility to have private lessons over the phone with a native Korean and other activities performed by the NIKL -operating of the Korean Language Information Services with the usage of social media such as Facebook or Kakao Talk, managing call center etc. -all of that in order to provide the public services aiming at helping both Koreans and foreigners to use more refined language, meaning to promote the accurate usage of Korean. 36he above classification of KL didactic materials drew some light on their variety.Nonetheless, in order to provide some additional information about them, some of their examples will be presented below.As far as the textbooks are concerned, since they are extremely numerous, listing all of them would be difficult giving the extent of this article, that is why, as already mentioned, only some selected ones will be mentioned here.All titles in each category will be presented according to the year of publication and not the name of the author. 35There are also Korean universities and institutions, which provide didactic materials online, among them are: KOSNET (KL Study on the Internet, www.kosnet.go.kr),Overseas Koreans Foundation (www.study.korean.net),KSIF (www.sejonghakdang.org),Paichai University (www.eckfl.pcu.ac.kr),Sogang University (www.korean.sogang.kr),SNU Language Education Institute (www.lei.snu.ac.kr),Yonsei University (www.yskli.com),The Cyber University of Korea (www.korean.cuk.edu).

BOOKS i) Regular Textbooks
The great majority of them are designed for students, some of them though are for kindergarten or primary school kids, who study KL as e.g. as the second language.They focus on explaining everyday vocabulary and commonly used grammar, are adjusted to the level of proficiency, often offered with a CD, sometimes accompanied with a workbook.Some of them offer grammar and vocabulary explanation in one (as in the below (a), some in two or more foreign languages (as in (b)).
( Some of the books do not have CD though.That is probably because they are focused on expanding the vocabulary from a particular field, and not on mastering the listening skills.

b) Skill-Oriented Textbooks
Among recently published books for KL learners, there is a considerable number of books, which are supposed to prepare foreigners to become even more qualified e.g. for writing reports, conducting a debate and such.They are focused on academics.Some are devoted to practicing one particular skill, while others focus on mastering two of them, as presented below.

a. books focused on writing:
- (2) Books for teachers This type of books explains grammar issues or provides additional exercises to practice grammatical forms.They can be divided according to the nationality of the teacher -whether he or she is the native speaker of KL or a foreigner.Those for Korean teachers explain how to teach North Korean learners or primary, secondary and high school students -the offspring of immigrants, while those for foreign teachers are more focused on various types of activities, which can be used during classes.(3) Textbooks for Immigrants Along with the growing number of foreign migrant workers and marriage immigrants, the idea of 'multicultural family' was introduced.In order to enable them better assimilation to Korean society some measures had to be taken.Consequently, books and educational courses for multicultural families were introduced and, books for their children -primary, middle and high school students, were also published. 3738A great number of those books were developed by the NIKL.

a) books for marriage migrants:
-  38 When in 2006 prof.Lee Jeonghee at classes devoted to the research on KL textbooks (taught at KHU) asked as -graduate students to write one chapter of KL book for any target group we wished to, we were quite surprised that few students actually chose immigrant women married to Koreans, foreign workers and American soldiers.As it turned out, books devoted to these particular learner groups were soon published. 39Phrases are translated into 11 languages, which confirms the national variety of women to marry Koreans.Although Korean language textbooks for soldiers of the US Armed Forces stationing in South Korea as well as diplomats have not been published yet, few universities offer classes especially for this kind of learners.
Since the importance of the TOPIK exam grew over time, various universities and educational centers started to follow the TOPIK scale in the textbooks while marking the levels of proficiency.Consequently, the following scale was or still is being used: a) beginner 1-2 (초급 I, II), intermediate 1-2 (중급 I, II), advanced 1-2 (고급 I, II) 41 The International Medical Travel Journal (INTJ) on the basis of data provided by the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, points out that South Korea spends $1 billion a year to attract medical tourists and that there are 1,709 registered hospitals/clinics along with 1,413 licensed private businesses that engage in marketing in order to attract this type of tourists (cf.https://www.imtj.com/country/KR/#horizontalTab5,accessed 10-11-2018).
(the scale was used from the 1 st edition of the exam in 1997 till the 34 th edition in Feb. 2014), b) the six-number scale -1~6 levels (1 급~6 급) (the scale is being used since the 35 th edition in June 2014 till present).
Apart from the above-mentioned subject-oriented textbooks or User(Learner)-oriented textbooks, there are also books, which use alternative ways of teaching through e.g.movies, songs, games, stories etc.Since they are designed for wider range of students and thus they bare some resemblance with the regular textbooks.They can in fact become their subcategory.Some of their titles divided according to the teaching method are listed below: (1) Movies and dramas

Dictionaries
As far as the dictionaries are concerned, they can be divided into monolingual and bilingual ones.Both of them can furtherly be divided into two categories.The type of dictionary entry can become the criterium for dividing monolingual dictionaries into lexical and grammatical ones.Both of these types are developed for more advanced learners, since the explanation is given in Korean.Lexical dictionaries explain e.g.frequently misused words, idiomatic, onomatopoeic and mimetic expressions, while grammatical ones the conjugative forms of verbs and adjectives.
Bilingual dictionaries, on the other hand, can be divided according to the User -namely those for the majority of learners and those for the professionals.Both of them are not only prepared for KL students or foreign experts but also for Korean students studying foreign languages e.g.English and professionals as well.Examples of mono-and bilingual dictionaries are given below:

Concluding Remarks
For the last twenty years there has been a rise in demand for the KL due to cultural and commercial globalization as well as the Internet Revolution.The international interest in Korean culture such as dramas and music has increased tremendously, especially in Asia and Europe, leading to what has been known as the 'Korean Wave'.This state of affairs is also the result of conscious, well-planned initiatives and constant efforts taken up by the Korean Government, ministries, various institutions and agencies, focused on promotion and propagation of Korea's image, its values and identity all around the world.The expansion of Korean companies has also added its contribution here.
Consequently, there has also been an increase in the number of visitors from abroad as well as those, who reside in South Korea temporary or permanently (economic immigrants -both white and blue-collar workers, marriage immigrants, as well as students and medical tourists).Globalization realized the need to develop new teaching materials more adapted to the needs of constantly growing variety of learners.The Government has also been working on legislations, which would not only attract even more foreigners, but also on those, which would help foreigners to understand Korean and assimilate with the Korean society not only by providing KL courses but also lectures on the history, culture and tradition.
Technological development has not only diversified the means to which learners can learn and practice their language skills, but also owning to the access to various types of sources is simpler, fun, and even convenient.Nonetheless, despite all those various means to which students can learn the language by themselves to some extent, the demand for teachers is still growing.One of the aspects, which needs to be referred to here, is the attention KL teachers have received for the last few years.The teacher has started to be perceived as somebody who has to get proper education, and that is why from early 2000s at graduate schools and undergraduate courses the systematic KLE as a major was introduced.The number of institutions offering training for teachers is also on the rise.In 2014 there were 162 universities offering KL teaching majors and about 178 institutions which provided such training (of course for a shorter period of time).In fact, Koreans taking efforts in order to popularize and thus preserve Korean language and culture are demonstrating their patriotism.
In the era, where almost everybody speaks English, the constant and multifaceted promotion of KL for such a big and still growing scale, not only by providing books but also by establishing various institutions all around the world, where learners can study Korean, and where they can get to know Korean culture is a very positive phenomenon.We are positive that this trend will continue in the future.
Korean textbooks and teaching materials despite coming the long way -as far as the teaching methods, attractive form often reflecting the spirit of time (online books, e-books, apps etc.) and their variety are concerned, there is still a demand for User(Learner)oriented and topic-focused books, e.g. for corporate workers, managers, translators and interpreters, diplomats, airline staff and airport employees, since the number of foreigners, who work in Korean companies is growing with every year, and so is the number of Koreans traveling abroad.There is also the need for books for teenagers, since prospective learners interested in KL and culture are getting younger.Apart from already-mentioned books, dictionaries e.g. of synonyms and antonyms explaining in a more detailed manner the differences in usage of particular lexemes, as well as dictionary of neologisms would really be handy, if compiled.
1997 -TOPIK examination (the Test of Proficiency in Korean for non-Korean residents) was conducted for the first time 10 .Graph 1.The overall number of applicants and those who have successfully passed the TOPIK 11 Source: The NIKL『2014 숫자로 살펴보는 우리말』 12 10 The NIIED is the 3 rd organization to supervise the examination.Before that it was administered by the Korea Research Foundation (KRF, Kor.한국학술진흥재단; years 1997-1998) and the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE, Kor.한국교육과정평가원; years 1999-2010).
2001the establishment of the International Korean Language Foundation(IKLF, Kor.한국어세계화재단), by the Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism (MCST, Kor.문화체육관광부), its role is to promote Korean language and Korean language globalization among foreigners, -the foundation of the Educational Foundation for Koreans Abroad (EFKA, Kor.재외동포교육진흥재단), focused on the education of overseas Koreans, 2005 -the enactment of the 'Framework Act on the National Language', which was the Basic Law of Korean National Language (Kor.국어기본법), 14 13 '

Table 2 .
Korean Language Institutions all around the world and the number of students With time both universities have introduced Korean Studies as their majors -UW in 1983, UAM in 2003.For details concerning the situation of Korean Studies in Poland refer to Borowiak (2017).

Table 3 .
The changes in KLE with the focus on teaching methods and features of the textbooks
Later on, books for English and Japanese speaking learners, as well as those for children of overseas Koreans, were published.Some of them are listed below: 3) 박창해 (1965)『한국어 교본 II (An Intensive Course)』, 연세대학교 출판부.

books for migrants' children:
Even though few books for overseas Korean (e.g. for children) have been published, regrettably they are not available in the biggest bookstore in Seoul -Kyobo Bookstore.There are however few books for children, devoted to English, Russian, French, Vietnamese, Thai etc. speaking learners and those for the wider use (written in Korean).The reason behind that could be the fact that they are available as ebooks -for both students and teachers, some of them are listed below.-권순희 et al. (2013)『북한이탈주민의 대한민국 정착을 위한 생활 말하기』 (+ CD), 하우.