French is the most popular foreign language to learn in India. Since French is part of most School and College curriculum, More than 1 lakh students study French in Delhi / NCR only. Add other Indian cities, and the number will be staggering high. French is also one of the best foreign languages to learn for jobs in corporate sectors in India. Many multinational companies use French as their working language in a wide range of industries. It includes fashion, education, banking and finance, export and import, traveling, retailing, education, automotive, luxury goods, aeronautics, etc. With over 30 French-speaking countries, French is spoken across five different continents and is the second most studied language globally.

Korean is the official language of South and North Korea. South Korea has a strong growing economy and the 7th largest export economy in the world. The interest in Korean courses is rising northward in India due to the tremendous demand for Korean specialists in many International Korean companies such as Samsung, LG, Kia, Hyundai, Posco, Lotte, etc. There is also growing demand due to K-drama, K-pop, and K-movies. It increases your potential market and job possibilities in Korean companies and companies that deal with businesses in South Korea. The reason is the excellent pay package and comparatively lesser competition.

• Why learn East-Asian language? – The East Asian countries are some of the most vibrant, dynamic, diverse cultures, and intellectually rich regions globally. Realizing the Asian Century, the rising importance of East Asia in the 21st century offers exciting career opportunities. Learning a new language has become an essential aspect of the career and economic life of most career-oriented people. The countries are now closer than ever, which has resulted in the integration of the Indian economy with the outside world, particularly with East Asian origin countries.
• Popularity & Where is it Spoken? – South Korea boasts 80 million Korean native speakers. It is a figure that would go up to above 100 million if North Korea’s 25 million indigenous population were added to it. The Korean language comes as a third choice in India. Learning a second language, such as Korean, is an intellectual and personal achievement that will provide many advantages to your professional career. On the other hand, French is one of the fastest-growing languages in the world and that about half of all French speakers live in Africa. French is the official language in 29 countries, which puts it in second place behind English. About 300 million people speak French throughout the world. Owing to population growth in Africa, where approximately 50% of native French speakers live, the total number of French speakers could rise to as much as 700 million by 2050, according to demographers.
• Which is easier to learn? – If you’re an English speaker, French will be easier. The hard bits are the pronunciation and the spelling. Perfect grammar is also hard but passable grammar isn’t too hard. If you’re a Japanese speaker, Korean will be easier. They have very very similar grammar to each other, while French grammar is very different to both. Korean has a different alphabet but it doesn’t have thousands of characters like Chinese or Japanese and it’s extremely logical. On the other hand, French spelling is logical once you learn it but at first looks totally crazy, which leads English speakers learning French to incomprehensible French pronunciation if they try to go by spelling.
• Scope of the language – The French knowledge not only opens the doors of these French companies in France and other Francophone regions but also in India and other non-speaking French countries. Many French companies are setting up their regional offices in India and other parts of the world. The ability to speak the language increases your growth manifold if you have French mentioned in your CV. Due to globalization, outsourcing, and a boom in the export industry, the careers requiring languages in India have increased tremendously. On the other hand, apart from Korean companies in India, many Indian companies have invested in South Korea, like Tata Motors has bought Daewoo Commercial Vehicles, M&M has bought Ssangyong Motors. There are significant export opportunities for several Indian products in the Korean market including, mineral fuels / mineral oils, iron and steel, organic chemicals, aluminum and articles thereof, residues and waste from food industries, cotton products, and more. Knowledge of Korean could land you a plum job in a plethora of Indian export companies.

So, it’s really your decision whether you want to go for French or Korean. Looks like both of them are equally healthy languages to learn and the scope of inevitable.