“It Felt Like Spending Two Weeks in Korea” — 2026 Korean Language Immersion Camp Wraps Up Successfully

Aug 11
3 min read

The Korean Education Centre, Canada (Director Lee Ji-eun) hosted the **2026 Korean Language Immersion Camp** from July 27 to August 7 at the University of Toronto, with 46 high school students from across Canada participating in the program.

A key achievement of this year’s camp was the establishment of a performance-based educational model that went beyond simply providing Korean language classes and cultural activities. The program followed a process of “learning → practicing speaking → creating together → expressing publicly.”

Students used expressions they learned in level-based classes directly with their peers and worked together to create and practice scripts for Korean-language role plays. On the final day, students invited their parents to a showcase, where they presented role plays, K-POP performances, and an exhibition, bringing their two weeks of learning together as shared outcomes. The closing ceremony, which in previous years had focused on the presentation of certificates, was developed into a performance-based showcase where students could directly demonstrate what they had learned and parents could see their growth.

Professor Yoojung Choi of the University of Toronto explained, “This year’s showcase was especially meaningful because preparing something together and performing on stage gave students opportunities to develop not only their language and cultural understanding, but also leadership and teamwork skills.” Instructor Soohyun Kim noted that students from diverse backgrounds naturally used Korean and collaborated with one another as they developed and completed their own scripts. Instructor Kyungbin Kim described the experience as “a process of breaking down the language barrier and gaining the confidence to make their own voices heard.”

The impact of the program was also evident in the students’ actual experiences. Laura, who had taken a Korean credit course in high school for two years, said that the Korean she had learned in the classroom became a language she could actually use during the camp. Laura shared, “At camp, I was able to keep practicing Korean with my friends, and no one judged or criticized me when I made mistakes.” She added, “The greatest gift was realizing that Korean was what connected me with the wonderful people I met at camp.”

This demonstrates how learning that begins in regular Korean credit courses can expand into real-life language use through an immersive camp experience, allowing Korean to become a language for both learning and meaningful connection.

※ Overall satisfaction: 97.1%; Positive experience of Korean language and culture immersion: 97.1%; Increased interest in continuing to learn Korean: 97.1%; Increased confidence in speaking Korean: 91.2%; Helpfulness in using practical Korean: 88.2%, etc.

This year, in addition to traditional minhwa (Korean folk painting) classes, professional instructors from the Sejong Culture Academy in Korea participated directly in the program, enhancing the expertise and authenticity of the K-POP, K-Beauty, and traditional games activities. Students went beyond simply being introduced to Korean culture. They learned through hands-on experiences, collaborated with one another, and took the lead in completing exhibition pieces and preparing the showcase performances.

Parents also clearly noticed changes in their children. One mother whose child traveled from Niagara and stayed with relatives in Toronto in order to continue learning Korean during the summer break said that her child was “more willing to respond in Korean than before and had become more confident.” She described the camp as “feeling like we had visited Korea for two weeks during the summer break.”

Director Lee Ji-eun of the Korean Education Centre, Canada, said, “Participants’ feedback that they were able to experience Korean language classes, peer interaction, and both contemporary and traditional Korean culture intensively without traveling to Korea demonstrates the success of the immersive Korean language and culture education that this camp aimed to provide.”

She added, “We will continue to expand structured learning pathways so that students’ growing interest in Korea developed through the camp can lead to Korean credit courses in high school, TOPIK, university Korean language programs, and study in Korea.”