Schools in large American cities like Los Angeles and New York have been offering Korean as a second foreign language for some time.<br />But amid the Korean wave phenomenon, schools in smaller cities have also begun offering Korean language classes.<br />Park Se-young has more. <br /> At Newman Smith High School in Texas, Korean songs can be heard from a classroom.<br />The students, while dancing to a children's song, burst into laughter.<br />Their Korean is not very good yet, but they can listen to the teacher and write down what they hear.<br /><br /> "I'm taking Korean class because I find the culture very interesting. It's so different from the western world and it's unique in its own way and I like it."<br /><br /> Since this fall, the school has been offering Korean as a second foreign language.<br />Carrollton is a small city with a population of about 130-thousand, …and 50 students chose to take Korean in its first term at the school.<br />The students also naturally get to learn Korean culture.<br />They try on Hanbok, traditional Korean attire, and customize their own traditional masks.<br />The request for Korean language classes was driven by the students' love of K-pop.<br /><br /> "From the start, the students really wanted to learn the Korean language and were very interested in Korean culture. In addition to K-pop, they were also interested in food, holidays, and the culture of Korean people, so the participation rate is really high and they're motivated to learn."<br /><br /> The city of Carrollton hopes to honor its Korean community and expand its Korean language program in the near future.<br />Park Se-young, Arirang News. <br />
