Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

January 10, 2009
Global Financial Crisis Upends the Plans of Many South Koreans to Study Abroad
By MARTIN FACKLER
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/10/world/asia/10students.html?ref=world

SEOUL, South Korea � Seo Ji-won was supposed to have been in Sydney, Australia, by now, pursuing her dream of a doctoral degree and higher-paying jobs. Instead, the 26-year-old South Korean engineering graduate remains home in Seoul, working part time at a coffee shop, largely because of forces beyond her control.

The global financial crisis has hammered confidence in South Korea�s once-booming economy, decimating the value of its currency, the won, and forcing tens of thousands of students to alter their study plans, or cancel them altogether.

For Ms. Seo, the won�s plunge in value by a third just in the last few months drove up the cost of her four-year degree program by $10,000, far beyond her savings.

�I like to say that I�m in pause mode,� Ms. Seo said. �My future depends on the won going back up.�

In recent years, studying abroad has become de rigueur for competitive students in this education-obsessed nation. As the growing economy raised living standards and strengthened the won, increasing numbers of parents sent their children overseas to learn English and earn prestigious foreign degrees, hoping to help them gain a leg up in South Korea�s intensely competitive job market, or to help them escape from its high-pressure education system.

According to Education Ministry officials, about 350,000 South Korean students went abroad in 2007, most of them university-age but some in elementary school and even kindergarten. South Koreans have become the largest group of foreign students in the United States, according to American government statistics, outnumbering even those from China, with a population much larger than South Korea�s 48 million people.

�The strong won made overseas education become affordable, perhaps too affordable, for more South Koreans,� said Choi Won-seok, an executive director at uhak.com, an agency based in Seoul that helps students study abroad. �Korea experienced a study-abroad bubble.�

Now there are early signs that the bubble may be deflating.

In October, the Education Ministry said the number of elementary and secondary students going abroad fell in the first half of 2008 for the first time since the government started keeping count a decade ago. In a separate report, the central bank said spending on overseas education fell by 5.8 percent in the same period from the year before to $2.3 billion, the largest decline since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

While job security and the overall slowing of the economy play a role, the biggest factor has been the rapidly falling won, education experts and students say. The currency�s drop from a peak of nearly 900 per dollar in mid-2008 to about 1,360 per dollar now translates to a 50 percent price increase in foreign goods � like tuition, room and board, and airfare � in just a few months.

To be sure, Mr. Choi and others say, many South Koreans seeking advanced degrees, especially at top American or European universities, are likely to go anyway.

However, a larger number of students enroll in short-term, often one-year programs, to study English or other languages. Last year, some 150,000 South Koreans went abroad for this kind of study. This year, the number is likely to fall by 30 percent to 40 percent, Mr. Choi said.

Some of those forced to abandon their plans fear the decision could hurt their prospects.

Kang Youn-mo, a 24-year-old French major, canceled plans to go to Paris in December to study for at least two months. She said she now felt intimidated by college classmates who had studied abroad and spoke better French.

�I feel at a disadvantage,� she said. �The global economy has not been good to me.�

Those still going abroad face other problems. Lee Min-hye, a 22-year-old bioengineering major at Yonsei University in Seoul, had planned to study English in Boston and dreamed of strolling through Boston Common, which she saw once in a movie. But then the won�s decline pushed the price of tuition above her father�s annual salary as a semiconductor engineer.

After much agonizing, she decided to attend a school in Sydney that costs about 40 percent less.

�You can�t give up if you want a good job in the future,� she said. �You have to go abroad somewhere to keep up with all the other Koreans who study abroad.�

Other South Koreans are choosing still cheaper countries for English-language study, such as South Africa and Malaysia. One of the most popular low-cost destinations is the Philippines, where students can live in resort-like accommodations and receive one-on-one lessons for about $750 a month.

Some education experts worry that if the financial crisis drags on, it could worsen social inequalities by making study abroad at top schools a privilege affordable only for the wealthy.

�Upper-middle-class families will still have the ability to send their children abroad, even if it means great sacrifice,� said Oh Ookwhan, a professor of education at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. �This will allow them to stay ahead of less fortunate families.�

Fear of falling behind makes most South Koreans reluctant to abandon their plans, even if they have to postpone them. Ms. Seo, who canceled her studies in Sydney, said she remained determined to go, despite pressure from family and friends to settle down in Seoul and get married. She has tried to save more money and keep up her English skills while waiting for the crisis to pass.

�I feel insecure, just waiting like this,� she said. �But I won�t give up my education.�

[icicle]

I am a little confused by this article ... because there has not been a big change in the last few months between the won and the Australian dollar ... I have been transfering money home for the 9 months I have been here ... and in contrast to the American dollar the Australian dollar has been relatively stable relative to the won ... definintely not a 30 percent drop ...

[inthewild]

[Bigfeet]

They should go the cheaper route and hire top-flight native English teachers in SK.

[wylies99]

[ppcg4]

Immersion beats the best of teachers.

[wylies99]

[GwangjuParents]

[Ilsanman]

True. Their culture is counterproductive to learning a language.

[bucheon bum]

[itaewonguy]

[icicle]

The australian dollar relative to the won hasn't been at 1.30 since June 2007 ... except for a short period in August/September 2007 ... It has been below 1.20 since January 2008 ... and has been fluctuating between 1.15 and 1.00 since January 2008 ... Most of the time between 1.05 and 1.15 ... It is the major currency that did not significantly change relative to the won when all the recent troubles hit the word currencies ..

Therefore the article in quoting a 30% change in the Australian dollar in the last 3 months as a reason for the decision not to study in Australia is simply not correct. I could understand it relative to most other countries but not Australia. I wonder if the error is in the article or if someone just gave the girl bad advise ... because I did the comparisons when articles about the other currencies stated appearing in the newspapers but never mentioned the Australian dollar and it had simply not shown a radical change at all.

[bogey666]

depends on what kind of "studies" these are

the article suggests a lot is involved with attaining English skills and fluency.

going to podunk foreign U for that and paying their preposterous prices (especially in US) is stupid and assinine.

to study English-ee, the articles gives the appropriate suggestion:

go to the Phillippines, and live well and get individualized instruction for 750USD a month, not to mention a sexy Filipina gf who won't make you carry her bag and knows things other than starfish in bed. A korean might may actually learn some social skills and be exposed to some real music in the more happening clubs.

TONS of "ancillary benefits" at a fraction of the price.

of course, for those who can't make the cultural and food adjustments, etc that's not an issue because there are Korean restaurants and "Korean" places EVERYWHERE. It's almost like never leaving Korea

the educated Filipinos/as speak English very very well and frankly, their slight accent is preferable and easier on the ear than many say... outback Australian... many Brit varieties, or redneck US< etc.

[Jati]

[Trip]