The Korea Foundation on Thursday said the University of Sheffield in the UK had started an online class using “Learn! Korean with BTS” as its textbook on Feb. 10.

This is the first Korean e-lecture series using BTS textbooks launched in the UK.

In August last year, the Korea Foundation, K-pop powerhouse Big Hit Entertainment’s education business unit Big Hit Edu and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies joined forces to develop and provide Korean-language learning programs. The textbook, “Learn! Korean with BTS,” was co-developed by HUFS professor Heo Yong and Big Hit Edu.

Around 40 University of Sheffield students who signed up for the online class for the spring semester are studying Korean on Wednesdays and Saturdays, according to the Korea Foundation. The lectures are being taught jointly by professors of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and the University of Sheffield.

Last year, six schools -- Middlebury College in Vermont, Ecole Normale Superieure and EDHEC Business School in France, Ain Shams University in Egypt and the University of Languages & International Studies and Thang Long University in Vietnam adopted the e-lecture series for teaching the Korean language.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)