Fulbright U.S. Education Center

The latest SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System), published by the U.S. government in June,  shows that South Korea remains the country with the highest number of Active students (103,389). 68% of active students are enrolled in Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral programs. The leading major among international students continues to be Business, accounting for 137,311 international students.  It is followed, in rank order by Engineering, Basic Skills, Computer and Information Sciences, and Health Professions and related Clinical Sciences. Language training and Associate degrees also account for a substantial portion of international students in the U.S., while secondary, elementary and vocational training take up smaller percentages.

According to a recent article in the Chosun Ilbo, more and more Korean parents are enrolling their children for pre-school or kindergarten study of English, partly in response to the Lee Myung Bak administration’s broad English initiative.  The government plans to increase English classes in elementary schools from the present 1-2 times a week to 2-3 times a week.    In order to give their children an advantage when they enter elementary school, many parents begin teaching their infant children English.  The Chosun Ilbo article futher notes that “Since the presidential Transition Committee announced its English education policy, at least 45 English-language schools have newly opened in the Gangnam and Mapo areas.”   Staff members at English language kindergarten programs are reporting that enrollment levels have approximately doubled. 

Dokdo is in the news again. (Click on the image at the left to see a more panoramic, full-size image.) References to the island as Japanese territory in newly published guidelines for middle school teachers in Japan provoked widespread anger and demonstrations in Korea. In fact, last night some of the participants in a candlelight vigil against the import of American beef apparently moved over in front of the Japanese Embassy to join the protest against Japan’s latest actions. Others took the message about Dokdo to international media and into cyberspace. According to the Korea Times, vocalist Kim Jang-hoon, 41, teamed up with a freelance Korean public relations expert Seo Kyoung-duk to publish a full-page ad in The New York Times. Headlined “Do You Know?” the ad stated that“For the last 2,000 years, the body of water between Korean and Japan has been called the `East Sea.’ Dokdo (two islands) located in the East Sea is a part of Korean territory. The Japanese government must acknowledge this fact.” The ad also prominently featured the address of a website devoted to Dokdo and related issues. http://www.forthenextgeneration.com/ There is a great deal of information about Dokdo on the internet and this site provides a good starting point for anyone interested in more information about the issue. The official web site of the Korean government, Korea.net, also carries a great deal of information on the Dokdo issue. Korea.net also includes a Cyber Dokdo History Hall.

The Korea Times reports today that a group of illegal foreign residents from Middle East and African countries were apprehended Wednesday for teaching children English at 30 private language institutes in Seoul.   See the full article for details.

Following last year’s presidential election, it immediately became clear that English education would be a priority of the new government.   Multiple programs and initiatives have been announced to improve English education in South Korea.    Of particular interest are the plans by the island province of Jeju to become an English-Education Hub.   The local, self-governing administration of Jeju is promoting the development of an “English City.”  (click on graphic to see a full-sized map with proposed location of the city) In that city by March of 2011, Jeju plans to build elementary, middle and high school programs in which students take courses entirely in English.   For further detail, see the article in today’s Korea Times.