The Seventh-day Adventist-run SDA Language School in Seoul received a 2008 Best Brand Award in the ‘Language Education Category’ last month based on a countrywide consumer survey involving more than 1.5 million Koreans.

The award makes the language school a “reputable institution” and “increases its value,” said its director, Kim Si Young. SDA Language School’s ranking as a foreign language representative sets it above competitors such as YBM-Sisa and Pagoda, Young said.

SDA Language School received the Best Brand award along with 60 other Korean corporations, including Shin Han Bank, DaeWoo Construction and Korea Life Insurance.

Best Brand awards, sponsored by Korea Consumers’ Forum and the Korea Economic Daily, allows participants to rank brands and products based on customer satisfaction. This year’s survey was conducted through online polls, postcards, telemarketing and personal interviews.

The school received the same award in 2003.

Launched in 1969, the Seoul-based SDA Language Institute now draws more than 50,000 students each year across South Korea. Employees of multi-national companies requiring English proficiency are attracted to the network for their quality, small class size and instructors from English-speaking countries—something not always found among hundreds of competitors, school officials say. 

The institute has 50 locations and employs nearly 1,000 native English-speaking teachers.