ID :
406754
Mon, 05/16/2016 - 08:52
Auther :

Potential 'wild geese families' detour to Jeju for English education

By Kim Eun-jung JEJU ISLAND, May 13 (Yonhap) -- Cho Haeng-do moved to Jeju Island from Seoul with her only daughter, Lee Sol, when the 15-year-old was accepted to Branksome Hall Asia (BHA), the Korean branch of a Canadian boarding school for girls, four years ago. After extensive research and several calls to her friends living abroad for children's education, Cho and her husband decided to send their kid to the Western school in Jeju so she can study international curricula in English in her home country. "Education is important, but family is more important for us. Jeju is close so my daughter and I can get together with her father as much as we want," Cho from the affluent Mokdong region in western Seoul said. Cho bought an apartment next to the campus to live with her, while her husband is currently working in Seoul and visits Jeju to see them every other weekend. She is one of the ardent Korean mothers who growingly are giving a second thought when considering sending their children abroad to help them study English while sparing them the stress of educational pressure cooker.Breadwinners who live apart from their families and meet them occasionally like Lee Sol's father are called "sparrow dad." It is a comparative term coined after "wild goose dads," who send money to their wives and kids staying abroad for education and occasionally visit them. For those dissatisfied with Korea's rigid education system, Western schools in the Jeju Global Education City, a 3.79-million-square-meter complex in Seogwipo on the southern island are emerging as a feasible alternative to studying in English-speaking nations, including the United States and Australia. The North London Collegiate School (NLCS) first opened its Asian campus of the British boarding school in 2011, and BHA opened its Korean branch the next year, as part of the Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC)'s 1.78 trillion-won (US$1.51 billion) project. YBM, a South Korean language education company, is also operating the Korea International School that has focused on an American boarding school curriculum since 2011. St. Johnsberry, an American boarding school, will open its doors in September 2016. The South Korean government in 2008 first proposed an English campus town with prestigious Western schools to address rising social programs associated with the boom in early study abroad. Living apart for years often strains marriages and undermines the role of fathers, with some spouses having affairs or marriages even ending in divorce. Officials also raised eyebrows over the massive capital outflow for costly tuitions and their living expenses, potentially leading to a brain drain from Asia's fourth-largest economy. "The project was initially aimed at absorbing demand for overseas study by offering a more global and English-language curriculum at home. So far, it has fulfilled its initial purpose as more students are opting to come to Jeju for better education," said Jung Wook-su, the chief executive of Haeul, an operating unit of the JDC's education project.The ambitious education experiment also came in response to growing calls for alternative schools focused on enhancing students' creative thinking and communication skills. For example, an assignment for Lee Sol's mathematics class at the BHA was on how to use a trigonometrical function to design a comfortable hand rail for her handicapped classmate. Students measured the height and width of the handrail and presented the best degree of rail that would help her wheelchair-sitting classmate move smoothly to the cafeteria. "I was impressed that students can actually learn mathematics through discussion and realize that it can be used in real life application," Cho said. "I wonder how many Korean schools could teach mathematics that way." The schools in the southern resort island have drawn more attention amid the lackluster economy and tight job market facing foreign school graduates, who have loose ties here and sometimes insufficient native language proficiency. The number of students attending the three schools has more than tripled from late 2011 to 2,404 in December 2015. In contrast, Korean students studying abroad from elementary to high schools decreased 12 percent on-year to 10,907 in the 2014-15 academic year that starts in March, according to the education ministry data. If this trend continues, the number is expected to dip below 10,000 this year for the first time in 14 years, the ministry said. The figure was just shy of 30,000 during the peak year in 2006 and sank below 20,000 three years later in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. The opportunity of studying at elite schools, however, comes with a high price tag. Sending a child, let alone two or three, to one of the schools is costly. Annual tuition fees range from 25-50 million won depending on grades and residence options. It is much more expensive than local public schools, but cheaper than the comparative options for studying abroad that also entails high living costs. Those who opt for the Jeju campus usually value family connections to reduce problems associated with identity crises and Korean proficiency.Yoon Seung-hwan, who had spent some years in an American elementary school and studied at a Korean middle school in Seoul, said that he is most satisfied with his last five academic years in the NLCS. "When I was attending the Korean school, classmates competed fiercely with each other and attended several hagwons (private cram schools) after school. Here, I study and also participate in various extracurricular activities," said the 20-year-old wearing a slim suit with a tie, a dress code for seniors. "The sheer quality of knowledge I learned here may fall short of that acquired by Korean students, but I think having a wide range of experiences will give me a competitive edge in college and in the future." Chinese public schools are no exception to the notoriously intense atmosphere. Even at primary schools in big cities, kids put in long hours to ensure they get good grades and study higher-level courses several years in advance. "My old schools in Beijing had really intense programs and focused on academic performance," said Yuehan Li, an eighth grader at BHA. Li believes proficiency in English and Korean in addition to her native language will also give her more chances to achieve her dream of becoming a music producer like Zico of Block B, one of the hottest K-pop artists. "Teenagers in China really like K-pop and dramas. Whenever I turn on music programs, there are idol singers and dancers," the 15-year-old said. Another appealing point for the Chinese is a clean environment and an accommodative visa policy of the holiday island-cum-business park. The special autonomous province grants permanent residency to those who invest in real estate worth 500 million won or more and hold it for at least five years. It is also close from major cities: a one-hour flight from Shanghai and a two-hour one from Beijing. Jin Honghua from Beijing applied for a residency visa after buying a residential resort in Seogwipo three years ago and sent her only daughter to BHA the next year. "Jeju is so close to Beijing, even closer than cities in the inner mainland. I'm happy that my daughter can study international curricula in a clean environment," said Jin, whose husband is doing business in Jeju and occasionally visits Beijing. "My daughter used to have nasal problems because of the thick smog in Beijing, but her symptoms disappeared after living here." Buoyed by rising popularity, the JDC aims to have seven schools with 9,000 students by 2021. If that plan is realized, the project would create 368.7 billion won worth of economic value a year, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) estimated. To attract more schools to compete with other Asian education hubs, such as Hong Kong and Singapore, experts suggest the government ease regulations on for-profit institutions and provide other incentives. "Jeju Global Education City has created economic ripple effects, such as saved costs for English private education, capital outflows from studying abroad and boosting the local economy," said Kim Tae-kyun, a researcher at the Gyeonggi Research Institute. "To draw more investment, the government should give more autonomy to schools in terms of sending profits to their home country and give tax breaks."More institutions would mean tougher competition to attract students, but school officials say that's the way to go to become a real global campus down the road. "So what ends up occurring for families in Korea, but also international ones as well, is that they have more choices for schools," BHA principal Beverley von Zielonka said. But the expensive private education is not without critics. Some criticize the schools are "only for the rich," while others stress the need to develop competitive local institutions instead of paying high loyalty fees to imported ones. "There's a widening gap between those who have access to Western schools and expensive outdoor activities and those attending public schools in Jeju," said Kwon Mi-kyung, a history teacher at a girls' high school in Seogwipo. "If education is about empowering students for a better life, students from lower-income families are lagging far behind from the beginning." ejkim@yna.co.kr (END)

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