Headline, June04, 2014

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THE South Korean government has emphasized improving English language instructions in the schools, and many South Korean universities are now offering classes taught in English.

Both South Korea and China have a growing number of joint partnerships with international universities, like Mr Choi's employer,  SUNY-Korea, that allow students to earn foreign degrees without the expense of going abroad.

Educational exchanges have also picked up between the two countries, giving students an international experience while remaining in the region.

'''Each country has also invested heavily in research, spending on top-notch labs and world-class faculty. It is probably no coincidence that the first signs of declining enrollments in the United States appeared in graduate courses:

The number of South Korean graduate students in the United States has been dropping since 2010,  and the Council of Graduate Schools recently reported that graduate applications from China were down for the second year in a row. 

South Korean universities have historically preferred to hire faculty members with degrees from abroad, said Jae-Eun Jon, of the Higher Policy Research Institute at Korea University.

But that is changing and as a consequence, particularly in science and engineering, ''top students really debate between Korea and the United States for graduate school,'' she said.

Some of the factors influencing foreign study trends are beyond anyone's control. South Korea's economy took a body blow in the recent economic downturn. The country also has the world's lowest birthrate; by next year-

It could have more available slots at its universities than students. In China, because of the government's one-child policy, there will be  60%  fewer people aged 20 to 24 by  2030  than in 2010.

For American colleges, any changes in South Korea and China may not be an immediate problem. Declines in enrollment from South Korea are often off-set by rising student numbers from China or elsewhere.

Many observers do not expect Chinese enrollment to crater any time soon. There are still too few places at Chinese universities to meet demand and the number of programs and schools designed to prepare students to go abroad seems to keep expanding. 

INDEED, research by Peter G. Ghazarian, a professor of education at Keimyung University in South Korea, suggests there may actually be untapped demand for an American education in both China and South Korea.

'''In surveys, he found, more students list the United States as their destination of choice than actually study there'''.

Still few expect South Korea to return to the strong growth it enjoyed in the middle of the past decade. And many believe that it is not a matter whether Chinese enrollments hit a speed bump, but when.

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