To provide some historical perspective, in 1998 the number of young students studying abroad was only 1,562.  This number began steadily increasing until it reached a peak in 2006, as shown in the accompanying graphic.

As of 2008, elementary students took up the largest share  with 12, 531 going abroad, compared with 8,888 middle school and 5,930 high school students respectively.

The Bank of Korea reports that the $1.35 billion sent by Korean families and companies to support their children and employees studying overseas during the January -May 2009 period was a 28.4 percent drop from the $1.88 billion sent during the same period a year earlier.  This represents the sharpest decline for the first five months of the year since 1998 when overseas educational expenses dropped 35 percent from a year earlier.  In other words, the current economic crisis is not having as much of an impact on study abroad as the 1997-98 Asian Economic crisis did.

According to the Bank of Korea, spending on overseas education during the first five months of the year has increased dramatically since the early 1990s, as the following data show:

• 1993–$114 million
• 2000–$380 million
• 2005–$1.27 billion
• 2006–$1.69 billion
• 2007–$2.01 billion

The council, which represents more than 500 higher-education institutions in the U.S. and Canada, said foreigners’ applications for 2009 graduate-school admissions rose 4% from the year before. That compares with increases of 6% in 2008, 9% in 2007 and 12% in 2006. Foreigners’ applications to universities that offer doctoral programs rose 5%, but foreigners’ applications declined 17% at universities that offer master’s as their highest degree.  The council survey of U.S. institutions, which fielded more than 400,000 applications in all, showed growth of applications from China along with the Middle East and Turkey, up 16% and 20% from 2008, respectively. But applications from India and South Korea fell 9% and 7%, respectively.

One interesting aspect of these numbers is that they show an increase at the same time that the won exchange rate against the U.S. dollar weakened considerably.  However, the data also reflect the summer vacation months and therefore may show an increase in the number of Koreans coming to the U.S. for intensive English or other special programs during the summer of 2008.

The survey also questioned why parents wanted to send their children overseas.  A majority responded that they wanted their children to have an international sense of living, but 27.3 percent said they did not like the Korean education system; 16.6 percent wanted their children to learn in a liberal atmosphere; and 13.1 percent wanted them to learn a foreign language easily.

According to an article in the Chosun Ilbo, the falling figures are due primarily to worsening financial conditions, including a weaker local currency and a slowing economy, although some attribute this phenomenon to Koreans’ reduced preference for overseas studying and language training.   Some analysts have suggested that the phenomenon of sending children overseas at younger and younger ages has peaked.  For further detail, read the full article.