Study in Korea (Part-1)

From 2002 to 2011, the number of foreign students in Korea has increased manifold. At present, there are two types of visas (most frequently issued) being issued to students entering Korea : one is D-2 (regular visa for degree programs such as Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D) and the other is D-4-1 for Korean Language Learners (KLL).  There are some other visa categories specific only for exchange students, government officials coming to Korea on language training or companies both Korean and international sending officials for language training etc. to Korea.

As of April 2011, there are 88,670 foreign students in Korea and out of which China is the leading country with a representation of about about 69,000 students followed by Mongolia (4,611), Vietnam (3,130), Japan (2,083), United States (1,118), Uzbekistan (743), India (737), Indonesia (608), Malaysia (593), Bangladesh (587), Russia (557), Taiwan (543) and the Philippines (500) respectively. The remaining 6, 940 students represent the rest of the world.

If we look deep, the numbers above says a lot about why some countries have more educational exchanges than others. Main factors include Korea's economic and socio-political ties with these countries. China is Korea top trading partner followed by USA, hence, intertwined economies matter...that was once a debate that if we have Free Trade Agreements (FTA) or strong regional economic ties - that may ultimately lead to peaceful coexistence.

The list also indicates that most of the foreign brides also come from these countries and are driving the multicultural family wave in Korea which is a rather new concept in this so-called monoethnic country.

Foreign students in Korea are considered as a catalyst of globalizing Korean studies abroad....with the country's new agenda of 'Globalization of Korean studies' hence,  they are considered an asset.

Since Korea and particularly Seoul is mushroomed with universities - the hub of student's neighborhood is SINCHON in Seoul where 4 universities are at a walking distance from each other and can be rightly called as the student ghetto of Korea, in particular, when the semester starts, from September to March, this place is worth witnessing! It is extremely crowded and loud but also the most interesting. It is the same area, where the highest number of foreign students, highest number of Korean language programs and graduate schools are concentrated...

I will write about Sinchon later but nevertheless, don't miss visiting this place on your trip to Seoul!