Gulnara Kurenkeyeva (left), dean of Almaty Management University, and Ahn Hong-pil, secretary-general of KT&G Scholarship Foundation, pose for a photo during the opening ceremony of the Korean Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Friday. (KT&G)
Gulnara Kurenkeyeva (left), dean of Almaty Management University, and Ahn Hong-pil, secretary-general of KT&G Scholarship Foundation, pose for a photo during the opening ceremony of the Korean Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Friday. (KT&G)

The KT&G Scholarship Foundation said Monday that it is opening a Korean Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in collaboration with Almaty Management University.

The center, an expansion of KT&G's Korean Language Institute established in 2023, has been refurbished to serve as a global hub for Korean language education and cultural exchange between Korea and Kazakhstan.

The foundation plans to promote cultural exchange by hosting Korean language classes and joint linguistic research on topics such as the development of teaching methodologies and methods for Korean language dispersion.

KT&G Scholarship Foundation Secretary-General Ahn Hong-pil and Almaty Management University Dean Gulnara Kurenkeyeva attended the opening ceremony, marking the beginning of meaningful language and cultural exchanges between the two nations.

“We have pursued various scholarship programs to foster global talent development in different countries,” said Ahn. “With this Korean Center, we will continue to nurture competent young global talents who will play a key role in strengthening our bilateral ties.”

Since establishing its first Korean Language Institute in Indonesia in 2014, the KT&G Scholarship Foundation has gradually expanded its overseas scholarship programs, providing learning opportunities to global talents in Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan. As of 2024, the foundation has supported around 1,500 scholarship recipients.