BUSAN’S PUSH FOR ‘ENGLISH-SPEAKING CITY’

[Anchor Lead]

Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon is pushing for expanding the use of English in his city. The policy has sparked concerns from organizations dedicated to protecting the Korean language as well as from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

[Pkg]

Organizations dedicated to protecting the Korean alphabet Hangeul have gathered in a square in front of Busan City Hall. They are demanding that the city government scrap its plans of promoting the use of English in the city. Busan City says the goal is to enhance convenience for foreign visitors and prepare for the 2030 Busan Expo. Hangeul organizations have blasted the policy as groundless and immature. They are concerned it could undermine the use of public language. They say plans to expand the use of the English language in public documents, in particular, run counter to the Basic Act for Korean National Language, which stipulates the use of easy terms.

[Soundbite] (Association opposing Busan’s ‘English-speaking city’ policy) : "It will only disrupt Busan’s cultural identity and cause inconveniences to the public. This unfeasible policy will result in overuse of English."

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has also expressed concerns. It says according to the basic principle, public documents should be written in Korean. The ministry will deliver its opinion after reviewing if Busan City's policy has the potential to undermine the law. Busan City has already set a task force to implement the "English-speaking city" policy. It says the purpose is not to mandate the use of English but to create conditions for people to use the language more easily. It promised to reflect residents' concerns as much as possible.

[Soundbite] Lee Yun-jae(Busan City Gov’t) : "We will include representatives of civic groups in the panel to discuss this matter together."

Controversy over Busan City's policy, which is gaining speed in the meantime, is unlikely to subside soon due to opposition from civic groups and government ministries.