Taylor High School Launches Central Texas’ First Regular Korean-Language Course

Taylor High School, northeast of Austin, introduced Korean I as a regular, credit-bearing course for the 2026-27 school year. A Korean teacher certified in Texas is teaching students the fundamentals of Hangul, including consonants, vowels and pronunciation. [Photo by TexasN]

Key Points

• Taylor High School launched Korean I as a regular, credit-bearing course for the 2026-27 school year, with 12 students currently enrolled and additional interest growing.
• The course appears to be the first teacher-led Korean-language program of its kind in a Greater Austin public school.
• Students cite K-pop, Korean dramas and future career opportunities at Samsung and other Korean companies as reasons for studying the language.
• Taylor ISD hopes to expand the program through Korean IV and eventually offer students an educational trip to South Korea.

[TAYLOR = TexasN ] “My father works at Samsung in Taylor. I want to study semiconductors and work for Samsung someday. When I do, I want to speak Korean with my Korean colleagues.” Another student has a different but equally personal ambition: “I want to live in Korea someday. I love Korean music and dramas.”

At Taylor High School, northeast of Austin, students taking the school’s new Korean-language course are connecting their aspirations to South Korea in ways that extend far beyond the classroom.

Taylor Independent School District introduced Korean I as a regular course for the 2026-27 school year. It is not an after-school cultural program, but a credit-bearing class that can help students fulfill the foreign-language requirement for graduation.

The course appears to be the first regularly scheduled Korean-language class offered by a public high school in the Greater Austin area. Its debut illustrates how two forces — the global rise of Korean popular culture and the growth of a South Korean-led semiconductor industry in Central Texas — are influencing students’ course selections and career plans.

The new academic year began Aug. 12, and 12 students are currently enrolled. They have started with the foundations of Hangul, the Korean writing system, learning its basic consonants, vowels and pronunciation.

Most students had completed course registration before the district formally confirmed that Korean would be offered. Once the class became known during the schedule-change period, however, additional students asked to transfer into it, and interest has continued to grow.

Student Demand Accelerated the Launch

Until a few months ago, Taylor ISD had said it would add Korean as a regular course only if enough students expressed interest. Whether the program moved forward depended largely on enrollment demand.

Jennifer Patschke, Taylor ISD’s Chief of Human Resources and Student Supports said the district placed Korean I on students’ course-selection forms during the spring semester to measure that interest. “In the middle of the spring semester, students receive a choice sheet and select their classes for the following school year,” Patschke said. “We included the opportunity to take Korean I, and the students’ interest ultimately led to the course being offered.”

Texas high school students generally must complete consecutive courses in the same language other than English to satisfy graduation requirements. Students who have already started another language may need to complete the first two levels of that sequence before changing languages. As a result, most students in the inaugural Korean class are freshmen.

Because the class was confirmed after many students had already finalized their schedules, district officials believe enrollment could grow further next year, when Korean is presented as an established option from the beginning of the course-selection process.

“Their Enthusiasm Has Been Moving”

The inaugural class is taught by Jae-rin Jung, a Korean teacher who holds a Texas teaching certificate.

“The students are very interested in Korean, and they are following the lessons extremely well,” Jung said. “Their enthusiasm has been moving even for me as a teacher. It has made me realize how much Korea’s visibility and standing have grown.” Within the first five days of instruction, students had learned basic expressions such as annyeonghaseyo, meaning “hello,” and gamsahamnida, meaning “thank you.”

Although they are still beginners, Jung said the students are eager to write Korean characters and read them aloud.

During one early lesson, she divided the class into teams and asked students to write Korean answers on small boards in an activity modeled after “Golden Bell,” a Korean quiz-show format commonly adapted for schools. “I asked them to try writing in Korean even if they could not write it perfectly yet, and they had a great time,” Jung said. “I want to continue using games and activities related to Korea so that students can enjoy learning the language.”

From K-Pop and Dramas to Careers at Samsung

K-pop and Korean television dramas have played a significant role in drawing students to the language. “K-pop and K-dramas have become so popular that students naturally develop an interest in Korean,” Jung said. “But here in Taylor, Samsung is right next door. Some students are also learning Korean because they want to work for Samsung in the future.”

Before Korean I was introduced, Taylor High School’s primary language options were Spanish and American Sign Language. Some students were drawn to Korean because it offered a new alternative to the school’s larger, more established language classes.

All the students expressed some interest in Korean culture, but their motivations were not limited to entertainment. For some, Korean is connected to the changing regional economy and the prospect of working for a Korean company.

Bishop Daniel, a ninth grader, said his father works at Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor facility in Taylor. He hopes to study semiconductors and eventually work for the company himself.

Daniel said he began learning Korean because he wants to communicate directly with Korean colleagues if he joins a Korean company.

Samsung’s sprawling manufacturing complex sits directly across from Taylor High School. For students, the company is not a distant multinational corporation encountered only in textbooks or news reports. It is a visible part of daily life — a place where parents and neighbors work and where students can imagine careers of their own.

“Our students are more aware of South Korea than they probably have ever been,” Patschke said. “A great deal of that has to do with Samsung coming here and with the parents who work there.” “When students leave the high school, Samsung is directly across from them,” she added. “They are very aware of the opportunities they now see.” Patschke said students do not necessarily need to achieve complete fluency for their Korean studies to prove useful.

“If students are familiar with the language, customs and traditions of South Korea, they can better understand the culture of Korean companies,” she said. “Whether it is Samsung or another company, that understanding can help them contribute more effectively as employees.”

Building Confidence Through Conversation and Writing

Jung plans to combine games, conversation and writing activities throughout the semester so students can use Korean without feeling intimidated. “I want to include many activities that are fun but also educational,” she said. “I want to build a classroom where students can communicate naturally and gain confidence in Korean.”

Because Korean I is a regular academic course, students will complete assignments and take midterm and final examinations. At the introductory level, Jung plans to emphasize handwriting and repeated practice with Hangul.

“The more students write Hangul, the more they improve,” she said. “We will do a lot of writing practice. I also plan to show them characters as they enter the classroom and ask how they are pronounced, using short quizzes to reinforce what they have learned.”

Students will also practice speaking sentences aloud, allowing them to connect the writing system with practical communication rather than treating Korean solely as a written subject.

A Visit From Korean Students Helped Build Interest

An exchange with South Korean high school students earlier this year also helped generate interest in the course. In January, students from Daeyeong High School in South Korea visited Taylor ISD. They attended classes with Taylor students, toured school facilities and exchanged gifts while learning about one another’s school lives and cultures.

“The visit by the Korean students and their interaction with our students greatly increased interest in the Korean class,” Patschke said. “It made students aware that learning Korean was a real possibility and created a great deal of excitement.” She said additional students have asked to join the class since the school year began.

“We now have students waiting to get into the class,” Patschke said. “They are eager to begin this journey.”

A Regular Classroom Course, Not Credit by Examination

Round Rock ISD recognizes Korean for foreign-language credit through proficiency testing. Students who already know Korean may earn credit or advanced placement by demonstrating reading, writing, listening and speaking proficiency through an examination such as STAMP 4S.

The district does not, however, offer Korean as a regularly scheduled, teacher-led course in its standard middle or high school catalog. Taylor High School’s Korean I course therefore appears to be the first in the Greater Austin public-school system in which a certified Korean teacher provides regular classroom instruction and students earn graduation credit by completing the course.

The distinction is significant. Credit-by-examination serves students who already possess Korean-language skills. Taylor’s course enables students with no previous knowledge of the language to begin with Hangul and advance through a structured sequence.

District Envisions Korean II Through IV — and Possibly a Trip to Korea

Taylor ISD hopes the inaugural class will continue into Korean II next year while a new group of students enrolls in Korean I. Korean II is also authorized under Texas standards for languages other than English. If demand continues, the district could eventually expand the program to Korean III and Korean IV.

“Our expectation is that the students will love it and keep selecting it,” Patschke said. “We hope the students currently taking Korean I will move on to Korean II. If some of them truly fall in love with the language, Korean III and Korean IV are also available.” She said the district is fortunate to have a teacher qualified to teach every level of the program.

The district’s long-term ambitions could eventually extend beyond the classroom.

“If we are dreaming big, we would love to give our students the opportunity to take field trips — even as far as South Korea,” Patschke said. “That would allow them to immerse themselves in the culture and see in person what they have been learning.”

Korean Language Foundation: “The Result of Three Years of Work”

Attorney William Kil of the Foundation for Korean Language and Culture in the USA described the launch as both significant and deeply emotional. “After three years of dedication and sustained effort to establish a Korean-language program at Taylor High School, the first Korean Level I class has finally begun,” Kil said. “It would not have been possible without the strong support of Taylor ISD’s leadership.”

Kil said she hopes the program will grow beyond a single high school. “We hope it will expand throughout Taylor ISD and eventually into neighboring school districts,” she said.

The launch of Korean I at Taylor High School marks the point at which years of cultural and educational exchange became part of the formal public-school curriculum.

It also shows how Central Texas’ emerging semiconductor ecosystem, led by Samsung and its network of suppliers, is beginning to shape not only the regional economy but also the languages students choose to study and the futures they imagine for themselves.

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Catherine Wahrmund amiangs0210@gmail.com