Fulbright U.S. Education Center

This page is prompted in part by the cover story on Recruiting’s Brave New World in the November-December 2009 issue of NAFSA’s International Educator.   The article raises a number of issues that we here at Fulbright Korea have been grappling with in recent years.  This page summarizes the recruitment services that our U.S. Education Center has developed and continues to improve, and it will be regularly updated.

Consider the following:

• We are THE Education USA advising center in Korea, part of the State Department-supported worldwide network of more than 400 centers.
• Fulbright Korea is the owner of the Fulbright Building (pictured here), centrally located in Mapo-gu.  The building houses our U.S. Education Center and is equipped with state-of-the-art networks to support our web-based services for U.S. schools and academic organizations.
• Our “Web-Team” includes the Commission’s deputy director, its network administrator, webmaster, video specialists, educational advisors,  and translators.
• We currently host web sites for all major U.S. study fairs in Korea and a growing number of state or city-level consortia and individual universities, colleges or schools.
• While we abide by the State Department’s guidelines on working with commercial recruitment agencies, for some years now we have been working cooperatively with the Korean Overseas Study Association (KOSA).  We work with them on (1) training seminars for KOSA members, (2) the development of English and Korean language web content, and (3) the joint promotion of U.S. study fairs and recruitment visits by individual schools or consortia. In other words, in South Korea’s agency-dominated market, we recognize that the private sector plays a large role in student advising/recruitment and we seek to use Fulbright’s influence in a positive way.

The International Educator cover article takes note of two broad trends in recruiting.  One of them is the growing number of U.S. schools who use commercial agencies to recruit students.   The second is the growing importance of the internet, including social networking, as part of the recruiting process.  In this regard, take note that South Korea is not only an important source of international students for U.S. schools, but it also has the world’s most advanced and extensive digital networks for broadband internet, both fixed and mobile.  Those interested in details can see my blog on Korea’s information society.

In this context, I would like to invite you to consider using one or more of the recruitment services we provide (see a detailed description at this link).   The value of our services in this “Brave New World” of recruiting, can be summarized as follows:

• You can take advantage of Fulbright’s unequaled credibility in the Korean education market to reach prospective Korean students and their parents.
• Send your prospective students a clear message that you have a relationship with Fulbright and are in Korea for the long term. Fulbright Korea celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2010 and our binational structure ensures that we will be here for another 60 years and beyond.
• You can be assured of the highest quality localization (Korean language translation) and adaptation of marketing materials.  See my post on “Larson’s Law of Localization.”
• You’ll receive current, comprehensive, and expert advice on the latest developments in South Korea’s education sector and its media environment, and what these mean for your recruitment efforts here.

In conclusion, we invite you to “Partner with Fulbright Korea in Cyberspace” (fulbright-useducationcenter) to achieve your recruitment goals and to strengthen your  ties with alumni and educational organizations here in Korea.

Jim Larson
Deputy Director
Fulbright Korea