Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Thiuda]

Reading the FAZ, a German newspaper, I found this article on the 'Kirogi Appa' phenomenon. The article is informative and well written, though a little to long for me to translate completely. In short: Korea spends 3.8 billion Euros annually on educating students abroad, living primarily in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Currently, there are ca. 60.000 Korean students studying at American colleges/universities, behind only Chinese and Indian students. Monetary expenditure on educating Korean students abroad is expected to double by 2011 as the exodus continuous. Students going abroad are getting younger too, leaving when they enter Kindergarten or elementary school. Reasons given for this phenomenon range from the expected, i.e. English competency, to those that indicate Koreans feel there is something seriously amiss in the Korean education system, i.e. the system does not foster individuality nor creativity, and deprives children of a childhood.

Here is the link:

http://www.faz.net/s/RubCD175863466D41BB9A6A93D460B81174/Doc~EA31C1D42DC804D15BC84247D07EA2183~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html

[noguri]

Today I went into a juk place to buy some juk and the proprietor and her husband showed me photos of their son, a high school boy, who is living with a host family in Arkansas.

Well, it is sad, but also interesting. Sad that they feel they must send their only child so far away to study, and living with another family in an alien country.

It is more than just kirogi families. The kirogi families send the wife and kids, but other families send only the kid for "homestay" abroad.

This really shows that the phenomenon--once limited to the upper classes in Korea--now extends down into the solidly middle classes.

[kigolo1881]

Just read that article too.
Quite sad to send one's whole family over to another country and expecting them back home but they're liking it so much, they tell the dad to come over and find a job.

[JongnoGuru]

[Mashimaro]

If Korea is really #1 for everything, why are they sending there kids abroad? It's this contradiction that really annoys me.

[JongnoGuru]

[Mashimaro]