At a time when many colleges are downsizing or eliminating foreign language programs, often citing low enrollment and budgetary pressures, higher education leaders should take note of the “hallyu,” or “Korean wave,” that has swept the nation. Even as overall language study declines, enrollment in Korean language courses is growing nationwide. The Modern Language Association reports that undergraduate and graduate enrollments in Korean language courses have increased by nearly 45% in the past 10 years. The trend coincides with the recent popularity of Korean culture among the college demographic. By taking advantage of this interest, universities can renew interest in foreign language study and save language programs from the chopping block.
The influence of Korean culture is everywhere. The members of Korean boy band sensation BTS have announced a world tour, generating excitement among young people across America. At the same time, Netflix’s animated movie, KPop Demon Hunters, has become a streaming sensation and landed numerous awards. Its original song, “Golden,” recently won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, K-pop’s first-ever Grammy. Eyes will soon be on it once again to see if it takes home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Beyond music and film, Korean beauty products, thanks to their innovative skin-care-first approach, have moved from niche markets to mainstream consumer culture.
College students are not just observers of these trends. Taken with Korean culture, they are trying to memorize lyrics, engage with native Korean fan communities, and learn more about Korean society. Accordingly, the popularity of Korean language is on the rise. Duolingo reports that the number of U.S. learners studying Korean on its platform increased by more than 20% in 2025.
But language-learning apps that rely on gamification and memorization fail to foster a deeper understanding of culture and history that high-quality collegiate language programs provide. As documented in the American Council of Trustees and Alumni’s recent report, Ivory Tower of Babel: Rebuilding Language Learning in Higher Education for a More Secure and Competitive America, intermediate-level language attainment is the minimum level needed for meaningful participation in a language’s culture and engagement with its people, a desire that so many college-age Americans clearly have.
Georgetown University, which requires all undergraduates to study foreign language at the intermediate level, has seized on student interest in Korean culture. For decades, Georgetown offered Korean only as a minor. But as popularity soared, faculty and administrators deliberately expanded the program into a full bachelor’s degree, complete with rigorous language training, cultural coursework, and study-abroad components that deepen students’ linguistic and cultural fluency. When the major was approved, Victor Cha, a longtime professor of Korean at Georgetown and vice dean for faculty and graduate affairs, said, “There’s a real demand for it. We see this in our Korean language classes, which are at full capacity. They had to add new sections because so many students want to take Korean. And it’s not just heritage students. It’s not just Korean Americans or Korean Canadians. There’s a demand for Korea because it’s in all different aspects of people’s lives.”
Korean will not be the last language to experience renewed student interest after intersecting with pop culture, and its rise underscores an important lesson for higher education leaders seeking to maintain rigorous programs while keeping in budget: Students crave meaningful connections with the wider world, and language study remains one of the best ways to fulfill this desire. Today, it is learning BTS lyrics before the band’s tour kicks off this spring. Tomorrow, it could be learning Spanish to follow the World Cup, the most-watched sporting event in the world. Maybe next year, it is learning Tagalog to catch nurse Perlah’s subtle wit on season three of HBO’s Emmy Award-winning show, The Pitt.
Colleges that recognize Korean’s popularity are not simply succumbing to a trend. Language study has become a bridge between students and the global culture they seek to understand. Offering language courses steeped in culture is an innovative way to revitalize student interest in foreign languages and preserve a rigorous liberal arts education.
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ACTA’s Academic Affairs Fellow Veronica Bryant is joined by Dr. Marie Kawthar Daouda, stipendiary lecturer in French at the University of Oxford’s Oriel College. Dr. Daouda teaches both literature and language, and her research focuses on the reception of antiquity in modern times and artistic representations of good and evil in periods of political and religious crisis. She is the author of Not Your Victim: How Our Obsession with Race Entraps and Divides Us. In their wide-ranging conversation, Drs. Bryant and Daouda discuss the role of language in shaping national, cultural, and individual identity.
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