Reduced Overseas Expenditures
According to the Bank of Korea on Feb. 3, money spent studying and staying in overseas countries by Korean students (including students studying languages and exchange students) last year was US$3.702 billion, which decreased 14 percent from the previous year. The annual amount is the lowest in nine years after 2005, when it reached US$3.3809 billion. The costs for studying abroad decreased because of the drop of the number of students studying abroad.
The costs of studying abroad reached a peak with US$5.0253 in 2007 just before the global financial crisis and continued to fluctuate.
The number of Korean students studying abroad calculated each year by the Ministry of Education starting from April 1 was 219,543, which decreased 3.3 percent (7,583) in one year. The number of students studying abroad continued decreasing for three consecutive years since 2011.
The reduced rate of Korean students studying in the U.S., Australia, and England was most noticeable, because the fees for studying and staying are relatively expensive in those countries. The number of students studying in the U.S., which has the largest number of students studying abroad, gradually decreased from 73,351 in 2012 to 72,295 in 2013 and 70,627 last year.
Korean students studying in Australia decreased by 20,000 for three years to 14,139 students last year. The number of students studying in the U.K. also dropped to half for the same period. On the other hand, the number of students studying in the Philippines sharply increased 52 percent last year, with 7,073 students from 4,668 students in 2013.