Opening of King Sejong Institute in Kaunas
On October 5, 3 p.m., the official opening ceremony of King Sejong Institute (KSI) will be held at the VMU Centre for Research and Studies (V. Putvinskio str. 23, 4th floor). After the opening speeches, everyone will be invited to visit a Korean calligraphy exhibition organized in cooperation with Korean community in Lithuania and enjoy some light snacks.
KSI Kaunas marks yet another significant step taken by VMU in order to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation between East Asia and Lithuania. VMU was the first institution in Lithuania and the Baltics to offer Korean studies 11 years ago. At the time, the students could choose Korean language courses, which later were supplemented by the classes on traditional and contemporary Korean culture and society that were integrated into the existing East Asian studies programs. VMU is also constantly expanding cooperation with Korean universities (at the moment there are 12 such agreements) and offers students the possibility to visit South Korea via exchange studies. The opening of KSI Kaunas will allow VMU to continue developing the expertise in this field and provide even more opportunities to discover and explore Korea.
KSI Kaunas is already conducting Korean language courses and workshops. Plans for the near future include lectures on Korean culture and many other events that will bring Lithuania and Korea closer. The establishment of KSI will also allow VMU to invite Korean language and culture teachers from South Korea and provide new opportunities to the most active students.
The network of King Sejong Institutes was initiated by South Korea’s government in 2005. The goal of this initiative is to create Korean language and culture hubs that make it possible for anyone curious about Korea to learn more about this country. Currently, there are 174 institutes in 57 different countries.