So far, five Saghalie Middle School students are beginning to learn the Korean language this year.

The Korean language program at Saghalie features Rosetta Stone curriculum and will be taught by Sarah Seo, a Korean language para-educator.

Federal Way school district officials hope to eventually expand the program to Decatur High School and Saghalie’s feeder elementary schools, which include Brigadoon, Green Gables, Olympic View and Silver Lake. Seo will visit those schools throughout this school year to help build interest in the program.

“The future is bilingual,” said Marin Miller, Saghalie principal. “Research shows the earlier you start learning a language, the easier it is to learn. That’s why we are pushing starting it in elementary schools.”

The school received a $14,000 grant from the Korean Ministry of Education and a $1,000 donation from the Korean School of Federal Way to start the program. Miller said he hopes to expand it to include three full-time certified teachers and around 200 students.

“My goal is to eventually work with a sister school in Korea and participate in that student exchange program,” he said. “I want this program to maintain longevity and carry out long after I am gone.”

Representatives from the Korean Ministry of Education and the Korean School of Federal Way toured the school Nov. 17 and presented a check to Miller. Michael Park, chairman at the Korean School of Federal Way, told Miller he would be willing to assist in any way that was needed.

“I believe we are headed to multicultural days where it will be essential for Americans to know more than one language,” Park said. “Korea is one of the top trading partners with the United States, so it makes sense Federal Way students would need to learn the language.”

The city of Federal Way has two sister cities in Korea and Japan. A sister city is a city that is linked to another, usually for the purposes of cultural exchange. Students from Korea and Japan come to Federal Way to visit, while students from Federal Way visit the cities in Japan and Korea.

“We are excited to be part of this innovative approach to offering our students the opportunity to learn an important world language,” said Sally McLean, superintendent.

The new Korean language program at Saghalie is one of several initiatives the district has undertaken in recent years in partnership with the Korean Ministry of Education. At Lakeland Elementary, students in grades third through fifth spent a year working with a sister school in Korea via Skype and hosting a visit to the school.

On Sept. 2, the district welcomed its fourth cohort of Korean University student teachers for a three-month experience working in the classrooms with a few of their mentor teachers.

“What we are doing here is an example of what our school district is doing to prepare students for success in an increasingly global workforce,” Miller said.

In 2013, the district implemented a Global Education Initiative focused on developing globally-competent students by nurturing higher-level thinking, multicultural problem-solving and international communication skills. Miller said he conducted a survey at Saghalie and most students selected Korean as the language that students wanted to learn most after Spanish.

Karlton Edwards, 13, said he signed up for the Korean language program because he wanted to “step out of the box.”

“I wanted to learn something other than the traditional Spanish usually offered at schools,” he said. “So far it’s been really fun learning Korean.”

Seo said she is Korean but was born and raised in America.

“Teaching the kids Korean has been a great way for me to get into my own culture,” she said. “It’s been really great to see these kids excited to learn the language. They are all doing really well.”

Not only is Seo teaching them the Korean language, she also wants to talk to them about the Korean culture.

“I think if we introduce the culture to the kids they will find the language more relatable, which will motivate them to want to take the class and keep coming back,” she said.

Kathryn Jives, 13, said she loves K-pop, which is Korean pop music.

“It’s really fun to listen to,” she said. “Now I am excited to someday try Korean food.”

Macy Bowman, 14, said she wanted to take the class because of her dream job.

“I want a job as a translator someday so I thought learning Korean would be a great idea for me,” she said.