Australian academics protest downgrade of Korean language priority status

The Korean Studies Association of Australasia (KSAA) is launching an online petition and protest campaign against a proposal by the Australian Federal Parliament to reclassify Korean from a ‘Tier 1 Priority Language’ to a ‘Supported language’.

A report titled ‘Asia’s Security and Prosperity: Building Australia’s Asian Capability’ suggests a restructuring of Asian language and culture education over the next decade. Under this plan, Korean would lose its top-tier status, leaving only Mandarin, Japanese, Indonesian, and Hindi in the highest priority category. This would mark a reversal of the status granted to Korean in 2013.

Academics warn that this downgrade could trigger a decline across the entire Korean language ecosystem, including primary and secondary school classes, university Korean studies programs, teacher training, and scholarships. There are also concerns regarding financial implications, as the Korea Foundation and the Academy of Korean Studies have provided over $15 million to Australian universities for Korean studies over the past decade. The KSAA is urging Federal Education Minister Jason Clare to maintain Korean’s priority status to reflect the strategic, economic, and cultural partnership between Australia and South Korea.