THE Philippines expects that some 110,000 South Korean students will travel to the country in 2007, mainly to attend English language lessons, the Philippine Daily Inquirer has reported.
Head of Philippine Department of Tourism Team Korea, Maricon Basco Ebron, made the assessment at the recently concluded Korea Student Fair 2007, which attracted 30,000 South Korean students, all seriously planning to study abroad. In that event alone, around 8,000 students were booked by 14 Philippine-based schools.
According to Ebron, the estimated figure was based on actual figures recorded by the Philippine Bureau of Immigration in the past. The number of students would account for about 15 to 17 percent of the total 650,000 visitors expected from South Korea in 2007. “Yet, that percentage is quite conservative since it does not include students with alien resident visas or those young people being brought in by South Korean retirees and businessmen,” Ebron said.
While the Philippines is not a native English-speaking country, the cheaper cost of English-based education is a major plus for South Koreans. “Sending a child to the US for one year is equivalent to sending a child to the Philippines for two years — plus the mom,” Ebron said, referring to the fact that South Korean parents could easily come to the Philippines to check on their children.
Oh Hyun-Sook, who works with the Philippine tourism office in Seoul, estimated the cost of South Korean university education at $4,000 per semester, or roughly four times the tuition for the same period in a major university in Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, many South Koreans enroll in short-term English as a Second Language courses or study for the TOEFL in the Philippines as preparation for further education in another country. Younger students come in for language camps, typically two-month courses during their summer or winter break.
According to Oh Hyun-Sook, education is highly valued among South Koreans. Children as young as five years old are sent abroad, both “to study the English language and to experience a different culture”. “It’s a fact that when you have English (language) skills, you’re more competitive, whether you work (in Seoul) or abroad,” Oh Hyun-Sook added.
