There are a number of ways to learn Korean in a classroom setting, but can be difficult to find without a good deal of searching. Our goal these next few pages will help show some of the options for finding a language class in your area, either through IBS, Korean Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP) hosted by Immigration, or a university or self-study.

Institute for Basic Science - Online and Offline Classes

Current employees at IBS also have access to free online and offline options. If you have a login for IBS Portal via intranet or internet with IBS VPN, click the Education tab and check the notices for current details for offline classes. These courses last for several months. There are usually one or two beginner courses offered in Headquarters either after work hours or on the weekend, but course levels and locations are based on demand, so talk to your co-workers, ask your Center’s admin staff, and post on portal if you want another level or a class offered in your area.

Some online classes with prerecorded content are also offered monthly and are paid for by IBS. To see what is available, log into IBS Portal, click the Education tab, check for a posting with the subject “Guide to distance education courses”.

Once you click on it, a popup will open with bilingual contents. For this sample image, we removed the Korean text and moved the English up. The second attachment is an Excel file that shows everything that is offered for that month and does occasionally change.

As nearly all of the classes are offered in Korean for Koreans, the classes we're mentioning are usually at the very bottom of the list. In this example, we can see nine classes with a light blue highlight. 초급 means beginner, 중급 means intermediate, and 고급 means advanced. Some classes are also offered in different languages. For example the first class is in English (영문버전), Vietnamese (베트남버전), and Chinese (중국어버전). The third class series also has English (영어 ver) and Chinese (중국어 ver).

Keep in mind that starting but not completing a class in the allotted time is seen as a waste of resources and you may be asked to reimburse IBS for the cost of the class (roughly 30,000 to 50,000 won) and you will have a temporary block on applying for classes for a month or two.