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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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 Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:51 pm Post subject: Jeju Seeks to Become Mecca for English Education |
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Tens of thousands of Korean children are studying English overseas. Jeju Island seeks to attract these children to a new English town to be built on the island.
The first ever English education ``city" is now under construction in Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo-si, a project to be completed by 2013 at an estimated cost of 785 billion won.
This is part of a series of massive development projects initiated by the Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC) to transform the island into a global business and education hub.
The English-only city, being constructed in southwestern Jeju, will be able to accommodate 9,000 students and teachers and will have 12 elementary and secondary schools, English education centers and foreign education institutes. Nearly 10,000 apartments will also be constructed in the city along with welfare facilities such as a gym and theater for the convenience of students and parents.
In the initial stage, it plans to open a primary and secondary school in March 2011 as a pilot project.
The idea of creating the town came as a means to domestically attract teenagers going abroad to lean the foreign language.
``More than 50,000 Korean children leave for English-speaking countries annually and nearly five trillion won is consumed for their English education. This town will help reduce the spending and let children learn English without living apart from their family, which has caused many social problems,'' said Park Chul-hee, a JDC official in charge of the project.
The town will introduce not only a Korea based curriculum but also ones for other countries such as the United States.
``Basically, for those choosing overseas curricula it will be the same as that in English-speaking countries,'' Park said.
To form an ideal English-immersion environment, the project operator is considering inviting retired teachers from English-speaking countries or running teacher exchange programs.
To attract renowned foreign education institutes, the local government has also eased regulations to help foreign investors take benefits generated here out of the country.
``Many foreign institutes hesitate to invest in the city mainly due to the regulation banning them from taking profits generated here out of the country,'' the official said.
The JDC staff said two renowned U.K.-based schools ㅡ North London Collegiate School and King's College ㅡ are considering establishing overseas campuses in the special town.
Parents and students showed positive responses to the project.
According to JDC, a survey showed that 45,000 teenagers responded that they would enroll in English-only schools in the city rather than schools overseas.
Asked about tuition fees, the official said, ``It's still undecided how much we will charge. But it will be cheaper than those charged by overseas schools.''
The JDC staff, who believe the English education market in Korea is still expanding, said once the experimental town successfully takes root, it will run overseas promotions to attract foreign students from non-English speaking countries.
``We believe the town will serve as an essential and strong growth engine that will lead balanced national development, a pivotal move to transform Jeju into an international city,'' he said.
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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/12/117_35830.html
Last edited by Easter Clark on Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:54 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:53 pm Post subject: |
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Sure, I can see lots of teachers willing to come over and work in an isolated human zoo.  |
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sojourner1
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Location: Where meggi swim and 2 wheeled tractors go sput put chug alugg pug pug
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:15 pm Post subject: |
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| It's an attempt at having an English speaking place close to Korea. There has to be a real international community for it to happen. |
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cdninkorea
Joined: 27 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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*sigh* Again? It's one long string of ridiculous schemes with education here, isn't it? If you sit on a street corner long enough, you'll see the same bus come around again and again and again...  |
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IlIlNine
Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Location: Gunpo, Gyonggi, SoKo
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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All of these english towns, cities, villages are a mind-boggling waste of money.
Give the english village control over import and income taxation, allow it to serve alcohol, build a nice beach resort, and give it their own police force and elected foreign local government with some real power and it may be a different story! |
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jkelly80
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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| They better be willing to pay out the 항문 |
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Ukon
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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| i guess itaewwon doesn't count eh? |
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NoExplode
Joined: 15 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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| IlIlNine wrote: |
All of these english towns, cities, villages are a mind-boggling waste of money.
Give the english village control over import and income taxation, allow it to serve alcohol, build a nice beach resort, and give it their own police force and elected foreign local government with some real power and it may be a different story! |
I'd be all in if they would allow foreigners to run for mayor. I want to run for mayor. I'd wear a sash and grow a handle-bar moustache. |
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seoulsucker
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Location: The Land of the Hesitant Cutoff
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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The first thing they need to do is make Jeju, especially the Seogwipo area more hospitable for foreigners.
Say, for example, offer more to eat than raw fish and pigs that eat their own shit.
Every time I read an article like this, I picture Wile E. Coyote opening an Acme box that says "English Education Progress"...
Last edited by seoulsucker on Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:23 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Xuanzang
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Sadang
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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| They also wanted to move the capital out of Seoul to some backwater city...this wont amount to anything. |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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i know public schools in Gyeongsangnamdo paying 2.5 and 2.7 to newbies
but Jeju still is offering 2.0 and even 1.8. Yikes! |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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As you've all alluded to, this thing will be run by Koreans seeing $$$, with very few of them actually speaking English themselves. It would be interesting to see what would happen if foreigners were given a free hand to run it and could pay teachers what equivalents with their experience would be making back home.
But this should be a fun place to visit. My visit to Paju English Village taught me a lot more about Korea and it's culture than any of the Koreans visiting it learned about English culture, I'm sure. |
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Xuanzang
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Sadang
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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| To paraphrase the Fast and the Furious...it`ll always be Seoul for English education and everything else, the rest of them are just fumes. |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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^
How does the saying go?
Send your son to Seoul and your farm animals to Jeju.
Or something along those lines. |
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marlow
Joined: 06 Feb 2005
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:39 pm Post subject: |
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How are they going to attract retired skilled teachers from overseas and still have tuition lower than overseas? Where are corrupt politicians going to get their cut from?
Also, this is the political version of Korean moms putting their kids in advanced classes because they think their child will become advanced. Building an English city will not make English happen. |
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