South Korea will see the first of 100 Confucian schools to be established in foreign countries by the China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.

It is scheduled to open in Seoul on November 21 and will be followed by many others, mainly in Asia, Africa and Europe.

By collaborating with foreign universities and educational organizations, they will enroll students who want to learn Chinese from around the world.

Vice Minister of Education Zhang Xinsheng, at a ceremony for a new Confucius statue in the Beijing Language and Culture University, said the schools are only the first step. The number of these schools will increase as time goes on.

Nearly 100 million people in foreign countries are using and learning Chinese, and various teaching organizations in around 100 countries run Chinese courses.

As Confucius (551-479 BC) was the most famous person in Chinese history, his name has been chosen to promote the scheme.

(China.org.cn by Guo Xiaohong, November 18, 2004)