An Analysis of Research Trends in Politeness in the Field of Korean Language Education.

This study aims to analyze research trends in politeness in the field of Korean language education, focusing on academic journal articles and theses published in Korea between 2012 and May 2025. A total of 177 studies were collected and categorized according to publication year, type of publication, research subjects, and research topics. The analysis revealed that 74 journal articles, 82 master’s theses, and 21 doctoral dissertations on politeness were published, and that research was most active between 2016 and 2019. In terms of research topics, studies on speech acts by Korean language learners were the most frequent, while studies on teaching materials were relatively limited. The research subjects were heavily concentrated on Chinese-speaking learners and those at intermediate to advanced proficiency levels, indicating a lack of studies targeting beginner-level learners or learners from diverse language backgrounds. Based on these findings, the study proposes three future directions for research on politeness in Korean language education. First, developing or improving systematic learning materials tailored to politeness education. Second, conducting empirical studies to evaluate the effectiveness of instructional approaches. Lastly, expanding the scope of research to include learners of various linguistic backgrounds and proficiency levels, particularly beginner learners. These suggestions aim to diversify and deepen the scope of politeness research in Korean language education.