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02-11-2009 17:44

WEST Internship Program Expensive
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/02/117_39361.html

By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter

More than 300 Korean students will leave for the United States in March on an internship program ― but many of them have expressed concern over the high cost.

Participants in the program are concerned at the as much as 30 million won ($22,000) in expenses, which cover accommodation, food and travel.

Lee, 23, a member of the first group to leave on the Work, English Study and Travel (WEST) Program, didn't initially have plans to take an overseas internship, but applied because she had confidence in the government-led initiative.

She has to pay the money for the program by Feb. 19, but has grown concerned after failing to receive a written contract from the body responsible for connecting her with a place of work, the Association of International Practical Training (AIPT).

``I wanted to check the specifics of expenses before I pay. But the AIPT said they made the contract with the government and would not provide the individual contract details,'' Lee said. ``Other students also feel insecure about the program. It seems expensive and we do not know which company we are going to serve the internship in. We are going to file official complaints to the Global Internship Support Center (GISC).''

GISC explained that WEST is different from other private programs, and students on it will decide the companies with which they will serve their internships during their language study courses, adding that they will have more options when in the United States.

Rep. Na Seong-lin of the governing Grand National Party suggested that the government should offer more financial support to the students.

`The government provides 75 percent of the expenses for basic livelihood, but some of them give up on the program because they cannot pay the rest,'' Na said.

`For ordinary students, the cost of the program is not a small amount of money as well. Additional financial aid or special loans would attract more intelligent students to the program.''

Kim Yun-sang of Honest School Agency, a private study aboard company, said, ``Students apply for the WEST program because they want work experience in the United States. They choose WEST due to their trust in the government.

``However, the government does not provide financial support to students, except for the basic livelihood. If we arrange the program on the same conditions, it might be cheaper.''

Stanley Colvin, deputy assistant secretary of state for education and cultural exchanges, said that the first batch of participants in the WEST program would arrive in the United States at the end of March. U.S. State Department officials and sponsorship organizations will attend an orientation in Seoul, March 11.

WEST is a combination of language course and internship program agreed between the two governments at the South Korea-U.S. summit last September. Students will study English for up to five months, serve their internship for a year and travel for a month.

``Of the 602 applicants, we selected 325 students, with the possibility of a reduction during interview with internship organizations or visa processing,'' said an official at the GISC.

Eighty-five percent of the selected students attend universities and 15 percent have already graduated. To maintain a regional balance, 60 percent of students are from Seoul, while 40 percent are from the rest of the country.

The GISC will recruit participants for the second half of the year in April or May. The number in the second batch has yet to be decided.

The program is supervised by the U.S. State Department and supported by three organizations, the AIPT, the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) and Inrax Career Development (ICD). Though the students call these agencies ``sponsors,'' the organizations only connect students to internship companies, they do not provide financial help.

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