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KUALA LUMPUR : In the past, South Korean students went to the US, Canada and other Western countries hoping to get a better, more internationalised education. But these days, many are staying closer to home - Southeast Asia.
Lim Subin has been studying in Malaysia for the last three months.
The 15-year-old finished middle school in Seoul, and is now enrolled at an English institute in Kuala Lumpur to learn the language before entering one of the international schools in Malaysia. But Lim said it is not just English he is learning here.
"I think it is very different here from Korea. I don't have that much opportunity to practice English in Korea. But here, I get to use English in daily life and there are many foreigners, so I get to experience different cultures. I think it is very good," said Lim.
Cho Ji Eun is also from South Korea. She has taken a year off from college to study English.
"It was difficult at first because I was away from my parents. But I think the environment here to study English is much better than Korea. I think it is very good for students to come here and get the basic English lesson, especially for those who want to study in other countries like the UK and the US," said Cho.
Cho is from one of the three most prestigious universities in South Korea and yet, she said she still lacks the ability to speak proper English.
There are hundreds of South Korean students studying in Malaysia. But for them, the first obstacle they need to overcome is the language barrier.
Some 30,000 Korean students go overseas every year to study - about 20 times that of a decade ago.
According to the Bank of Korea, Koreans spent about US$821 million on foreign language study abroad in the first half of this year. That figure is expected to exceed US$2 billion by the end of the year.
The head of the English institute in Kuala Lumpur said the trend of Koreans coming to Malaysia has changed in recent years.
Hoo Foong Mun, academic director at ELS, said: "Five years ago, there were more adults coming. But now five years later, we have the younger ones - the teenagers - who are coming, especially to do the high school here."
This trend is expected to continue as newly-elected President Lee Myung Bak has emphasised the importance of an English education.
He has said he wants to bring in more English-speaking teachers to the country for those who prefer to stay at home. - CNA /ls
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