Mobile learning platform Duolingo released its 2025 language report on the 4th and said Korean ranked sixth among the most studied languages worldwide this year.
According to Duolingo, Korean ranked sixth after English, Spanish, French, Japanese and German as the most studied languages. Italian, which was sixth last year, fell to seventh. Chinese, Portuguese and Hindi followed.
Korean also showed notable growth in the "fastest-growing languages" category. In several countries, including Argentina, Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico, Spain and Poland, Korean was selected as the "second-fastest-growing language."
Meanwhile, Chinese was the "fastest-growing language" in 12 countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, and ranked second in growth rate in the United States.
Globally, English's strength was confirmed again this year. In 79% of those surveyed among 154 countries, English was the most studied language.
Ma Juyoun, Duolingo's Korea lead, said, "This year's report shows that global interest in many languages, including Korean, continues to expand," and noted, "In addition to the popularity of K-pop and drama and other K-content, the increase in Korean-learning content for native speakers of other languages also contributed to the growth."