Interest in Asia spurs demand for Korean, Mandarin and Japanese tutors from Kazan citizens

Anime, sushi and K-pop

Demand for tutors in Mandarin, Korean and Japanese markedly increased in the last six months in Kazan. Experts say this happened because of the popularity of Asian singers who entered the Western music market and became favourites in Russia, including in Tatarstan.

From January to July 2021, compared to the same period last year, demand for tutors in the Korean language in the Tatarstan capital rose by 222%, according to Avito. It is known that demand begets supply, it increased by 87%. A private lesson will cost 500 rubles an hour on average. Teachers attract students taking advantage of their interest in Asian music — they analyse the lyrics of K-pop songs in class. At last, the tutors are in so big demand thanks to South Korean singers. BTS band that broke into the Western music world with two English singles, which were first in Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks, is especially popular among Kazan citizens. The band has fans from all over the world, Tatarstan included.

The entertainment industry attracts not only future speakers of Korean but also Japanese. The number of offers from tutors in Japanese climbed 50% in six months, while demand for their services grew six times. Russian and Tatarstan youngsters’ steadily growing interest in Japanese culture is the reason — our country has a lot of anime fans. Japanese cuisine, particularly sushi, keeps the interest up. These lessons are costlier: a class with a tutor with experience of more than 3 years and the possibility of giving online classes is 750 rubles an hour on average.

They like it so much that want to move there

If Korean and Japanese learning is often motivated by a hobby, Mandarin is aimed at the future career in an international sector: the economy of the Celestial Kingdom rapidly grows, and language skills become a must in this case.

Compared to last January-July, demand for Mandarin classes in Kazan increased by 80%, while the number of offers did by 56%. The average price of a class is 600 rubles an hour. Tutors do their best: they pick individual materials for every student and are ready to organise practical lessons with natives.

Realnoe Vremya contacted tutors of eastern languages who confirmed the existing tendency.

So Korean tutor Alexandra told the newspaper that in the last six months, the demand for Korean had really surged due to the popularity of the K-pop industry. However, Alexandra says that clients want to learn Korean mainly because they want to go to live in this country. Everybody has different reasons: somebody is attracted by high economic indicators of the country, while somebody wants to find the other half.

Mandarin tutor Elina also noticed the growing popularity of the Celestial Kingdom’s language. According to her, more and more Kazan citizens start to learn it. Her youngest student is just four years old.

“If we are talking about university students, many want to study in China because this country is now ahead of the curve economically,” the tutor noted.

Of course, parents take their children to classes, so they want to help them learn this language from an early age.