Over 90,000 Students Went Abroad for Language Study Last Year

Over 90,000 Students Went Abroad for Language Study Last Year. October. 04, 2007 07:56. foryou@donga.com.

Last year alone, the number of elementary, middle, and high school students who went aboard to study soared to 29,511. The number of adults going abroad to study surpassed 210,000 for the first time as well.

According to a report titled “Statistics of adult students studying aboard in 2007” compiled by the National Institute for International Education Development, as of April 2007, 217,959 adults went abroad to study, a 14.5% rise (27,595), compared to last year (190,364).

The number of adult students residing abroad has risen 36.3% or 58,056 over the past five years: 159,903 in 2003, 187,683 in 2004, 192,254 in 2005, and 190,364 in 2006.

Among them, the number of students concentrating on language studies accounted for the largest portion, with 93,994; 123,965 students were studying at undergraduate schools (81,972) and graduate schools (41,993). Though the U.S. still remains the most favorite destination for studying abroad, other countries are emerging to compete with the U.S. Students studying in the U.S. made up 30.4 % (57,940) of the total number of Korean students studying aboard last year; this year, the number dropped by 3.3% to 27.1% (59,022).

In contrast, the number of students in China rose by 45.2% or 13,167 to 42,269 from 29,102 last year. This brought their ratio to a total of 19.4% from the previous year’s 15.3%. As countries like the Philippines, where education costs are low, enjoy growing popularity among both young students and those who want to learn English in English speaking countries., countries like Australia and New Zealand, which were deemed favorite places for learning English, have seen the number of Korean students coming to study English decline.

With the Philippines emerging as a low-cost destination for language study, it has seen its number of Korean students steadily growing, to 4,100 in 2001, 8,000 in 2004, 8,600 in 2005, and 9,500 in 2006. This year, they number 14,400, a 51.6% increase compared to last year. Among them, 2,400 students are studying to obtain degrees, and 12,000 students are in language programs, accounting for 83%.

Britain ranked fourth with 18,300, a drop from third place, and Australia ranked fifth with 16,591, also falling a notch from its previous fourth place. Japan, however, advanced two places from fifth to third, accommodating 19,056 Korean students.

In the meantime, Korea has recorded poor results in attracting foreign students despite the “Study Korea” program spearheaded by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development aimed at luring 50,000 foreign students by 2010: 22,526 in 2005, 32,557 in 2006, and 37,000 this year.