Lately, an air of excitement has been circulating within the Korean American community in the state of Georgia, as directors from the Fulton County Board of Education announced that Korean will be established as an official foreign language course in two of its public schools.

A recent document released by the Korean Consulate in Atlanta states that students from Chattahoochee High School and Taylor Road Middle School will now have the opportunity to study Korean as a foreign language in the upcoming 2007-2008 school year.

Since 1999, the Korean-American Education Foundation in Georgia have tried to help students in the southeastern part of Georgia, particularly in areas close to the city of Atlanta, to earn academic credit for taking Korean classes at Korean language schools such as the Sejong Korean American School of Georgia.

Until now, 22 public schools granted students only 1 academic credit for attending 27 weeks of Saturday classes at the Korean language school. The curriculums at the Korean language school are divided into four different levels: Basic Korean, Intermediate Korean 1&2, and Practical Korean.

Although the establishment of Korean as a foreign language is currently set at two years, the Korean American community is convinced that the recent achievement will act as a foothold for Korean language courses to be instituted in many more public schools of Georgia.

According to Korea Times, Georgia is the tenth state to establish Korean as a foreign language in public schools. Other states where Korean has been taught in public schools include California, Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Illinois.