As China’s increasing importance as a trading partner becomes palpable in neighboring South Korea, the connections between the countries are extending from diplomacy and trade…to education.
The Middle Kingdom is South Korea’s biggest export destination, taking around a quarter of its exports–and it’s also taking more than a quarter of its neighbor’s foreign college students.
The number of South Koreans enrolled in Chinese universities more than tripled to 62,855 last year from 18,267 in 2003, according to Seoul’s education ministry data. That’s 26% of all South Koreans registered at foreign universities, trailing only the U.S., which attracted 31% of the total.
Part of the benefit of a U.S education is practice speaking English, which is still seen as the most important language for job seekers, but Korean employers are increasingly looking for graduates with experience in China. Samsung Group, for example, said two years ago that job applicants with Chinese language skills would get bonus points.
- Bloomberg News
- College students and pedestrians walk through Kyung Hee University campus in Seoul. South Korea is the third-largest exporter of students globally.
Still, language isn’t the main goal. An overseas degree is widely considered to be advantageous in South Korea’s ultracompetitive job market for the global experience it confers. This helps explain why it is the third-biggest exporter of students for tertiary education after China and India, according to the United Nations.
Lee Sang-won, who graduated from Beijing Normal University last year with a bachelor’s degree in Chinese Language and Literature, said his family was initially against his wish to study in China, but they eventually came around.
Mr. Lee said Chinese universities attract a wide array of people, thanks in part to low tuition fees. On average, Chinese colleges charge $3,500 a year for undergraduate study, according to China’s University and College Admission System, the Beijing-based application service provider for international students.
Two-way trade between China and South Korea totaled $215 billion last year. This makes South Korea one of China’s biggest trading partners. South Korea also happens to have had a trade surplus against China last year, putting it in a small minority.
The increasingly interlinked economies of the two countries has also helped the appeal of Chinese universities. Confidence in the quality of education has also improved.
“Chinese universities used to be a place where the low-performing students went, thinking they would be better off,” said Gu Ja-oek, a senior researcher at the Korean Educational Development Institute. “Now the student pool has diversified.”
Interest in China has also risen among South Koreans who stay at home. Enrollment in Chinese-language lessons at YBM, a major South Korean private language institute, jumped 40% during the first seven months of this year compared with the same period last year, YBM said.
A spokesmen for YBM declined to comment on the exact number of students enrolled in the school.
Mr. Gu notes that students shouldn’t focus just on learning the Chinese language. “If you can’t speak English, you can’t get a job at major Korean companies–or even Chinese companies,” he said.
