Fulbright U.S. Education Center

According to a report in today’s Korea Times, the number of foreign students studying at colleges and universities in South Korea now totals 50,591.  This figure is 10,000 more than in April of 2008, a twenty percent year-on-year increase.   40,000 of these students came from China, representing 78 percent of the total.  Mongolia ranked next with 1,632 students, followed by Viet Nam and Japan with 2.9 percent and 2.2 percent respectively.

The number of foreign professors has also increased in recent years.  There are currently 4,127 international educators teaching at Korean colleges, up from 3,433 last year, 2,919 in 2007 and 2,540 in 2006.

Elizabeth Storinge, Dean of Admissions at the Long Island University Brooklyn Campus and Behzad Dabu representing the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Columbia College Chicago visited Fulbright’s U.S. Education Center on Friday, September 25. The two were in Seoul for the Linden Tour Study Fair and stopped by Fulbright to discuss their programs and recruitment strategies. Click on the photos below to see a full-sized image.

Here’s the video clip from the recent visit to Fulbright by Rose Tseng, Chancellor of the University of Hawaii Hilo campus and Margaret Shiba, Senior Director of Development for the Hilo campus.

An article in today’s Korea Times deals with the increasing number of Koreans who are traveling to the Phillipines for English Study.  The last five years, in particular, have seen a phenomenal rise in numbers.  Foreigners who want to enroll in Philippine schools are required to get either the Special Study Permit (SSP) or a Student Visa.  In 2004, the data showed 5,877 South Koreans were given SSPs in the Philippines. The figure increased three-fold to 17,904 in 2005. The numbers continued to increase over the next three years. In 2006, 21,876 Koreans obtained SSPs while 27,322 got the permits in 2007. Last year, 29,155 Koreans were granted permission to study short-term courses in the country.

There are several important factors behind the English education explosion in the Phillipines.

• The Phillipines has affordable education.
• The country can be reached by plane from Korea in just four hours.
• The Phillipines has a low cost of living.
• It also has the allure of white sand beaches and tropical weather.

The surge in popularity of the country as an ESL destination has spawned the rise of illegal language centers, especially in the provinces.  Experts have also noted that there are no regulations that serve as teaching standards when it comes to ESL.

Here at Fulbright Korea, we have decided to let the world know a bit more about the range of our activities, using video and digital pictures.  To the extent possible, we will be posting photos or short video clips of visits to Fulbright and its U.S. Education Center.

In an earlier post, we described the upgrades to web services that have been made possible by grants from the U.S. State Department.  In connection with those activities, we were visited in August and again in early September by Rick O’Rourke, who serves as the REAC for Korea and other Asian countries.  Rick had the opportunity to accompany senior Fulbright Staff on a tour of the DMZ near Hwacheon, and on a visit to the Peace Dam near there.  During the visit he and Fulbright Deputy Director James Larson had the privilege to ring the Peace Bell, a massive traditional-style Korean bell made from melted-down bullets and other munitions.  The Bell was dedicated by Nobel Peace laureates, including former president Kim Dae Jung.  The thumbnail included in this post is from a snapshot taken during the ringing of the Peace Bell.  Click on the thumbnail to see a larger photo.

Rose Tseng, Ph.D., Chancellor of the University of Hawaii Hilo and Margaret Shiba, Senior Director of Development for the Hilo campus, visited Fulbright on Friday, September 4. They met with Executive Director Shim, Jai Ok, Deputy Director Jim Larson and staff of Fulbright’s U.S. Education Center.  In the U.S. Education Center, their visit included a discussion of current developments in South Korea’s education sector and on recent changes in Fulbright’s web-based services for U.S. Schools. Click on the picture in the upper-left portion of this post to view or download a full-size version.

Today’s Joongang Daily carries an interesting account of the leakage of copies of a simulated version of the college admission test, just days before the test.  According to the police, a leak earlier this year involved school teachers, several other hagwon and printers who made copies of test sheets, police said yesterday.

After wrapping up its investigation, the Seoul Metropolitan Police applied for arrest warrants for the head of a cram school (hagwon) and a high school teacher.  According to the Joongang Daily,  “The leak shows how poorly test sheets are managed by education offices across the country,” a police official said. “The hagwon world doesn’t regard such leaks as anything newsworthy. They think of it as a practice that’s been around a long time.”
According to police, Choi handed over test sheets for a simulated college entrance to an official surnamed Yu from an online hagwon, Megastudy, on more than 20 occasions between March 2005 to June 2007.

A lot has been happening these days at Fulbright Korea and we thought it would be appropriate to inform you of developments with a short post here.

Without question, the change most visible to people who visit us here in Seoul is the new granite exterior that was installed in the spring and early summer of this year.  The original, old sandstone exterior had a certain appeal, but it was difficult to keep clean and maintain.  The new granite, as you can see from the two pictures contained in this post (click on photo to see a full-size version)is much cleaner.  In the process of re-doing the building’s exterior we were also able to solve some drainage and insulation problems.

Another recent set of changes has more to do with how people will see Fulbright Korea over the internet.  Earlier this year we upgraded the speed of our fiber optic connection to the internet, partly in anticipation of changes that will take place as we enhance our web-based information services on behalf of U.S. schools and other educational organizations.  Since we already have several strands of fiber optic coming directly into our building, this simply involved a visit from KT technicians.

Earlier in the Summer we received a $25,000 grant from the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department.   The money is being expended entirely with a focus on augmenting our ability to gather, edit and publish video material on our websites.  This is an exciting development for Fulbright, and it should help us to stay relevant in this, the world’s most densely networked nation.  You can review our current services at http://www.educationusa.or.kr/en/usec/services.php We will soon be adding video-conferencing activities to the mix.

Finally, the same State Department Office has asked us to host a regional technology conference in April of next year, which will also focus on gathering, editing and using video in Education USA Advising Centers.  We’ve started preliminary planning for that gathering and will publish information here as it gets closer.

Comments on any of these developments are most welcome.