Yonsei Architecture Students Credit the Internet for Win in International Competition

As reported in the Joongang Daily, four Yonsei University architecture students won the grand prize in an international landscape architecture competition organized by the National University of Columbia.  The competition was to design a museum for the city of Medellin, considered the second most important city in Columbia. The students, who had never been anywhere near Colombia, used the Internet and satellite maps such as Google Earth to learn about the city’s history and culture as well as understand the landscape of the city and its geographical features.

“We were able to overcome the limitation of not being able to visit the city in person by using the Internet,” Kim said, adding that “the fact that none of us had visited the place stimulated our curiosity.”

Private Study Abroad Agencies (유학원들) in South Korea

Over the past several decades, private study abroad agencies have come to play a dominant role in South Korea's education sector.   The majority of Korean students interested in study abroad, often with their parents, employ the services of a study abroad agency to help find a suitable program, prepare for it, and apply for admission.  This pattern persists despite the fact that the activities of study abroad agencies are controversial, both here in South Korea, and in the United States, which is still the single largest destination for Korean students who study abroad.

The source of the controversy about study abroad agencies is succinctly described in a recent article in The Japan Times by Liz Reisberg and Philip G. Altbach of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston University.  In it, they note that "The primary client for agents is the institution that hires them. In order to be successful, they must deliver an acceptable number of students to their sponsoring institutions. Of concern is their activities, source of their fees, propriety of their services and transparency, particularly to students. Many universities suspect that agents sometimes complete applications and write essays for their student clients."


Because most private study abroad agencies accept commissions from schools for delivering student applicants, it is nearly impossible for many of them to provide comprehensive and impartial information about the full range of educational opportunities available in the United States, which is home to by far the largest and most diverse education sector in the world.  Partly for this reason, the U.S. State Department-affiliated network of more than 400 EducationUSA advising centers around the world  all subscribe to a code of ethics in student advising that prohibits them from certain types of work with study abroad agencies.

It should be noted that study abroad agencies in Korea have served a very useful purpose by translating the largely English language materials of U.S. colleges and universities into Korean and interpreting the sometimes complex cluster of admissions tests, essays and other requirements for the prospective students and their parents.  This is a need that will continue, even with continued development of the internet and mobile, digital media networks.   However, as Reisberg and Altbach note, there are alternatives to the private recruitment agents.

The digital information revolution makes possible direct, audio-visual and interactive communication between U.S. schools and prospective students not only in Korea, but throughout Asia.  The emergence of virtual events such as CollegeWeekLive in the United States have broad implications for how U.S. study abroad programs recruit students in Asia.   I will be commenting on some of these in future posts. Comments on the above issues are welcome.

World Leaders See Increasing Role of Technology in Education

I just ran across the results of the survey sponsored by Cisco, released in March, which show that three quarters of top education officials around the world believe that technology can play a major role in how students learn and how teachers education.  Perhaps you may think this is an unsurprising result, especially given that the survey of 500 administrators in fourteen countries was sponsored by Cisco.   However, I suspect that a survey sponsored by Google, Apple, Samsung or LG would have produced similar results.  The revolutionary developments in broadband, both fixed and mobile, that these companies and others are leading, have already transformed libraries, lectures and learning the world over.  Think Google Books, MIT Open Courseware, or the Mobile Learning Program introduced at Abilene Christian University a few years back with the introduction of the iPhone.  These are but a few examples.

Rural Boarding School Educational Model Introduced in Korea

The Hankyoreh has an interesting story on the recent establishment of a rural boarding school in North Chungcheong Province.  Students accepted into the school live there in dormitories from the time the bus arrives on Monday morning until the Friday afternoon bus leaves to take them to their homes.  The school is a collaborative effort of the North Chungcheong Province Office of Education, residents of farming communities, and students parents.   It represents an effort to introduce educational diversity and opportunities to children in rural areas.   What caught my eye in the story was the example of one student living in rural North Chungcheong Province who had moved there from Daejon in the third grade.  He was unaccustomed to rural life and consequently spent seven to eight hours a day on the internet playing games!  The article provides an interesting glimpse of the educational challenges faced in rural Korea today and how they are being met.

The Shape of Education for the 21st Century

So far, I'm truly enjoying my new job with the Lyntz Knowledge Group in Seoul.  Working with a larger network of Korean and American colleagues, I'm helping to shape a new business approach to international education.   Our new business model is responsive to two major developments that are transforming education in the early years of this century.

The first of these developments is the information revolution, which features continued convergence of digital media, the rapid global spread of mobile broadband, greater use of video and, of course, social networking.  The IT revolution is changing the character and quality of education, both on-campus and off, while literally breaking down the walls of the traditional campus.

The second major development is the globalization or internationalization of education.  It is characterized by a major increase worldwide in the number of students studying abroad along with major changes in the pattern of student flows among the countries of the world.  East Asia, which has traditionally been a major source for students who study in North America and Europe, is slowly but surely becoming an important destination for study abroad.

Korea fits into this picture in a very interesting way.   South Korea possesses the world's most advanced digital networks, and a tertiary education system that is beginning to draw students from all over Asia and the rest of the world, especially from developing nations.  Its leading colleges and universities all have large numbers of U.S. educated Ph.D.s and many of those schools are aggressively expanding their English language curricula.

The potential for Korea, and for the Northeast Asia region, as an education and research hub, has yet to be realized.  However, it may come sooner than many predict.   NYU has just announced plans to establish a degree-granting campus in Shanghai.  South Korea has ambitious plans for the Global Campus in New Songdo, currently its major effort to attract international schools.

The information revolution, global mobility, and changing patterns of university-industry cooperation and innovation are some of the major factors that will transform education in this century.   This morning I read with interest that Stanford University is one of a larger group of schools that have expressed interest in establishing a campus in New York City! Read the article here.  There was a joke circulating among Stanford graduates about a certain Ivy League school being the "Stanford of the East Coast."  Now there may actually be such a school!  Why not a Stanford of Northeast Asia, situated here on the Korean peninsula between its larger neighbors and ideally positioned for East Asian studies, broadly conceived?

Unbridled Private Tutoring Costs in Seoul

An article in The Korea Times sheds light on some of the current practices taking place in the world of private tutoring in the wealthy Gangnam district of Seoul.  Beginning last August, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education conducted an investigation of underground private tutoring.  Of the illegal cases it uncovered, it chose to publicize one in which a chief tutor hired fifteen others, some of whom were regaled as "star tutors" and charged parents as much as 10 million won ($8,000) per month for private lessons.  Classes were held in apartments or studio apartments that were converted for the purpose.  Students paid 1.7 million won per month for math tutoring while the cost for English, Korean, science and social science classes was about 1 million won per month.  Classes were held eight times a month at 90 minutes per class.

In legal terms, the problem was not the amount of money involved, but rather that this group operated an actual hagwon without reporting it to the education office.  (Click on the illustration to see a full size version)

Educational Exchange with Korea: The Pyongyang Project

I've been aware for some time now that the United States has limited educational and cultural exchange with North Korea.  Last year I had the opportunity to discuss this at length with one of the participants in Syracuse University's exchange program with Kimchaek University in Pyongyang, a long-running program.

My thanks to Brian in Jeollanam-Do for calling my attention to a new study abroad program involving North Korea.  The Pyongyang Project is a non profit academic endeavor that started in 2009 as some young academics and their advisors forged a long term relationship with the Korean International Youth and Children's Travel Company (KIYCTC) in P'yongyang, and worked with North Korea's Ministry of Education, Kim Il Sung University and the DPRK Foreign Ministry.

This is an encouraging project and will be an interesting one, indeed, to follow.

Monthly Private Education Cost for Preschoolers Averages $255

South Korea is known for its zealous pursuit of education, beginning in the pre-school years.  OECD data over the years have shown that Korean families invest more in private education than parents in other nations.  According to a report in The Korea Times, households in the Seoul metropolitan area last year spent an average of $255 (290,000 won) per month on private education.  This figure is based on a survey of nearly 1,500 households in Seoul.  The same report indicated that an average household spent 420,000 won per month on private schooling for an elementary school student and 568,000 won for a middle school student.

Education in the Information Age: Universities Respond to Social Media

As we all know, or are rapidly coming to realize, digital information technology has far reaching implications for education.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in the field of international education, as noted by a recent article in University World News.  Higher education institutions worldwide have responded to the growth of social media by creating facebook pages, blogs, interactive web platforms and Twitter accounts.  The article noted that social media are critical for international education and can be used to attract prospective students, manage students studying abroad, and keep alumni connected after graduating.  As one expert on international education put it, "The student is trying to minimize risk and get very authentic communication.  It is driven by peer-to-peer communication, by people who have experience with the product and the institution, so there is much higher credibility."  In contrast with the old internet model, characterized by centralized control, limited access, lack of flexibility and high cost, social media represent collaboration and a lack of hierarchy.

Examples of the new use of social media include the Web 2.0 project at Carleton University called GlobalU.  It is designed to help international education administrators manage and share information.  Twenty-five universities are currently using the open platform.

Another example is Eastern Illinois University's AbroadScout, a web platform aimed at empowering foreign exchange students, schools and providers with reliable information and tools to cross reference their needs with the experiences of students currently studying abroad.

Student Recruitment by U.S. Colleges in Northeast Asia

An article in The New York Times caught my eye this morning.   It was entitled "Recruiting in China Pays Off for U.S. Colleges," and there are several reasons I was drawn to it.  First, the story centered on recruitment activities by Grinnell College in Iowa, a small liberal arts school with some strong similarities to St. Olaf College in Northfield Minnesota, where I did my undergraduate study.  Second, the story touched on some issues in student recruitment by U.S. colleges and universities in Asia, an area that was a big part of my responsibilities during the years I worked with the Fulbright Commission in Seoul.

Grinnell is just one of countless American colleges and universities that are seeing an increased number of applications from China, given its booming economy.  As the article notes, this comes at a time when many U.S. schools, especially public universities, are experiencing severe financial difficulties and budget cuts.

One of the issues faced in recruitment of students from China also comes into play in recruitment of students from South Korea to study in the U.S.   As the article notes, many Chinese applicants submit glossy color brochures that contain essays written by or with significant assistance from commercial study abroad agencies.  Along with the role of commercial test-preparation agencies in helping to produce high scores on the TOEFL or other English tests, complicates matters for admissions officers and committees at the U.S. colleges and universities.

The article also notes the importance of recruiting tours of China by Grinnell and other colleges.   By providing an opportunity to meet face-to-face with prospective students and their parents, such tours can help to offset the challenges posed by professionally-prepared essays and English test scores that may be somewhat inflated.

One factor not mentioned in the article is the pervasive new role of the internet in international recruitment.  The rapid convergence of digital media around the internet is opening up a new realm of virtual study fairs, live video conferencing and social networking that is literally re-writing the rules of study abroad recruiting.

Another important factor in college and university recruitment strategies has especially strong relevance for the Northeast Asia countries--China, Korea and Japan.   It is what I originally stated , with Korea in mind, as "Larson's Law on Localization."  The law goes as follows:



To effectively promote a school or other educational products and services in Korea, all key promotional information should be translated into Korean and adapted to local media patterns.

College Graduate Unemployment Hits Ten-year High

As reported in The Korea Times, data compiled by Statistics Korea show that the number of unemployed college graduates rose to an all time high last year, despite the faster-than-expected economic recovery.  The pattern of unemployment among college graduates over the past ten years is shown in the accompanying graphic (click to see a full-size version).  Finance ministry officials noted that there is a wide gap between employers demands and college graduates expectations for the level of their jobs.  They also noted that there is a structural problem in the job market--college graduates favor larger companies rather than smaller ones, while the number of jobs available at the former is limited.  Obviously, the growth of one-person enterprises spurred by the popularity of the iPhone and Android phones in Korea, as noted in an earlier post, has not yet had impact on overall employment statistics.

To solve these problems with the jobless growth among the well educated young, the government is seeking ways of restructuring college systems and improving job education programs for students. To promote the restructuring of college and universities, the government will encourage schools to make public the employment rate of their graduates, as well as support active merger and acquisitions of poorly managed schools,a ministry official said.

NationwideTest of State-run English Exam

As reported in The Korea Times, a pilot test for the National English Ability Test or NEAT was held in Seoul and 17 cities across the nation on Saturday.  The domestic test, designed to compete with TOEIC and TOEFL, will officially start next year and the government hopes that it will be used as key data for universities and companies to recruit students and employees.  A total of 4,000 applicants took the test, which consisted of four sections -- reading comprehension, listening comprehension, speaking and writing.  NEAT offers three levels of tests, one for adults to evaluate business skills, and the other two for  high school students. The tests have been developed by the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Korea University, Seoul National University, Sookmyung Women’s University and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

Government to Spend $341 million on IT Workforce Training

The Korean government has announced that it will spend $341 million to fund a four year program aimed at enhancing the country's information and communication technology sector.  According to the Joongang Daily, the money will be used primarily to train basic researchers for the corporate world, with lesser emphasis on training for employees of government agencies and in the IT convergence sector.  The money will be given primarily to universities across Korea to develop training programs and provide students with financial support.  The primary emphasis of this new funding, in a departure from past patterns, will be on graduate level training rather than undergraduate.

Two Percent of Primary and Secondary Students are Internet Addicts

According to an Education Ministry report summarized in the Korea Times recently, two out of every one hundred primary and secondary schoolers are seen as addicted to the internet, with the total number of such students reaching 100,000.  The addiction is reported to be much more common among elementary school students. Symptoms of students categorized as addicts include using the Internet for more than four hours a day, having problems with personal relationships and difficulties in study and daily life. The report also claimed they experience withdrawal symptoms when not using the Internet. According to the Internet Addiction Counseling Center under the Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion, the center gave counseling to 73,000 students last year. ``Parents take their children to the center. Students themselves usually deny they are Internet addicts, saying they have no problem using the Internet,'' Koh Young-sam, head of the center, said.

South Korea Ranks 3rd Among OECD Countries in "Readiness for Globalization"

Ready for Globalization?  Global Benchmark Report 2008 is the fourth in a series of reports giving the Danish Confederation of Industry's annual assessment of the development in the business environment and the performance of the individual OECD member countries.  I must admit that I was somewhat surprised that South Korea, overall, ranked third among the countries studied.  The report includes 84 international benchmarks and provides a picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the OECD countries in the global economy.   On balance it is quite a laudable accomplishment for The Republic of Korea and a closer look at the report is quite revealing.  The report compares the performances of 29 OECD countries and their business environments.

The comparison is based on 84 indicators divided into six main sections as indicated in the accompanying graphic (click to see a full-size version of the graphic).  Across all of the benchmarks, South Korea had more top-3 rankings than all other countries, except for Switzerland and Iceland.  This is shown in the second graphic to the left.  One can read through the entire report to get a sense of where Korea ranked high and where it was low.   It ranked high on measures of growth and development, but low, for example on labour productivity.  Korea came out number one among the 29 countries in the benchmark of knowledge and competence, based on average rankings using 23 separate indicators. This is shown in the third accompanying graphic.   As the report explains, The strengths of South Korea include a large share of youth completing a secondary degree, a large share of students in science and engineering and a high patent productivity.  One interesting measure shows that South Korea led all OECD countries in the share of 25-34 year olds with an upper secondary education as of 2005.  It ranked number three in the share of 25-34 year olds with a tertiary education.

And, it ranked second to the United States in terms of expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product.  Notably, South Korea ranked in the bottom five in terms of Labor Regulations as of 2007.  The assumption of the report being that a low degree of labor regulation helps business adapt to changes.  Not surprisingly, it ranked at or near the top in measures of broadband and internet use.  Finally, it is of interest to note that South Korea ranked last on the measure of "Cultural Openness" as shown in the final graphic below, and next-to-last on a measure of "Discrimination Towards Race, Gender, Etc." in 2007.   There is much more in the full report, which can be downloaded as a pdf file using the link at the start of this post.

Korea to Strengthen Online Etiquette Education

Officials from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology have announced plans to strengthen online etiquette education in South Korea’s grade schools. Currently students receive instruction on internet ethics beginning in the fourth grade. Starting next year, such instruction will be given in the second and third grades. According to the Donga Ilbo, “Twenty-two pages on Web etiquette will be included in ethics textbooks and supplementary teaching material. The chapter “My Friend, the Computer” will cover prevention of overuse and addiction to the Internet, and teach students to use polite words on the Web. The ethics textbook for fourth graders to come out in 2010 will have 20 pages on Internet etiquette. That for fifth graders to be introduced in 2011 will also contain 20 pages on preventing Web addiction.”