With the increasing demand for foreigners to settle in Korea due to population decline and changes in the visa system, the sources and composition of foreign workers are diversifying, and the number of foreign workers is expected to increase at a much steeper rate than at present. However, Korean language education for foreign workers lacks sufficient institutional and policy support, and there has been little discussion on how to implement it. This article aims to review the current status and problems of Korean language education for foreign workers and propose future tasks at a time when the number of foreign workers is expected to increase rapidly. To this end, we conducted in-depth interviews with operators in charge of Korean language education for foreign workers at the frontline and identified overseas examples of language education for foreign workers. As a result, poor conditions for foreign workers to learn Korean, the absence of tailored Korean language programmes for foreign workers, and a lack of educational materials were noted. These problems can be attributed to the lack of awareness of the need for Korean language education due to the limitations of the purpose, conditions, and duration of foreign workers’ stay in Korea, and the lack of institutional and policy support, resulting in less systematic education compared to other education subjects. Future tasks to solve these problems include strengthening Korean language education during employment training before and after entering Korea, institutionalizing Korean language education for foreign workers after employment, operating customized curriculum and development of educational materials, and improving the quality of Korean language education for foreign workers in Korea. It was proposed to develop an education model that considers the life cycle.