(123rf) Colombia will offer its first Korean-language classes for middle and high school students starting in August, Korea's Education Ministry said Monday.The classes will be available at three schools in Bogota: Instituto Pedagogico Arturo Ramirez Montufar, Colegio Nueva Granada and Fundacion Hogar Nueva Granada. They will be open to students from the seventh to ninth or 10th grades, depending on the school.Current Korean classes in Colombia are offered by the King Sejong Institute, local Korean-language institutions and Colombian universities. However, those programs are largely aimed at adults or overseas Koreans.The new program will mark the first official Korean-language classes for young students at authorized schools in Colombia.“We will spare no effort in supporting Colombian students in learning Korean and growing into global leaders who can help strengthen ties between the two countries,” Korean Ambassador to Colombia Choi Hyun-koog said.The program was made possible through cooperation between the Korean Education Center in Paraguay and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Colombia.Colombia currently has no Korean Education Center. The Korean Education Center in Paraguay, the nearest such center, reviewed local conditions before the program was adopted.The Paraguay center also worked with school authorities and Colombia’s Ministry of Education to sign a memorandum of understanding with Korea’s Education Ministry.The Ministry of Education has been funding Korean-language classes overseas since 1999 by covering class costs and providing textbooks and teachers. As a result, more than 230,000 students are learning Korean in 47 countries as of 2025. Officials from South Korea's Ministry of Education with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Colombia and local schools announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding. (Ministry of Education)