Twenty-four works by high school students learning Korean in the United States will go on display Thursday at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as part of the “Hangeul Beyond Borders” exhibition, Korea’s Education Ministry said Wednesday.
Anastasia Kolchina of Foothill High School depicted elements of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, as puzzle pieces in “The Key Piece.”
Kristina Kim of Lowell High School drew on her experience of introducing friends to Korean culture through food for her work, “Connecting Through Korean Food.”
The exhibition, organized by the Korean Education Center in San Francisco in collaboration with the museum, runs through April 20.
The students, who study Korean at their high schools or in weekend Korean-language programs, explored the alphabet and Korean culture through art. The works will be shown in the museum’s public spaces alongside videos in which the students discuss their artwork. The exhibition will also feature information about the center’s efforts to support Korean-language and cultural education in US schools.
Founded in 1935, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art was the first museum on the West Coast in the US devoted to modern and contemporary art and is among the largest of its kind in the country.
South Korea’s Education Ministry has supported Korean-language programs in US public schools since 1999.
The number of US schools offering Korean classes has risen more than 70 percent over the past decade, from 155 schools with about 14,000 students in 2016 to 267 schools with about 26,000 students in 2026.
The ministry said two Colorado high schools, William Smith High School and Forge Christian High School, each introduced an after-school Korean class this year with support from the Korean Education Center in San Francisco.
“This exhibition is a meaningful example of interdisciplinary education that combines Korean-language learning with artistic creation,” said Lee Nan-young, director general for international education planning at the Education Ministry.
“We will continue to provide students with opportunities to learn Korean in diverse ways by connecting language education with other academic disciplines.”
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