Study abroad experiences of exchange students in South Korea

Abstract

Studying abroad is a wonderful way to travel to foreign countries and learn about other cultures. Thus, it is not surprising a number of university students around the world choose to live and study in other countries as exchange students.

In particular, a growing demand for student exchange programs in Korea is by no means a recent phenomenon. The thesis explored the study abroad experiences of foreign students who come to South Korea for student exchange programs. The study set out to explore reasons why foreign students choose South Korea as their destination, and focuses on similarities and differences in aspects of national culture and the challenges the students encounter during their time in South Korea. A further goal of the thesis was to help the Korean government and Korean universities continue to develop student exchange programs, and ultimately, to increase foreign students’ satisfaction with their experiences.

A descriptive research approach was employed and both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used in which semi-structured interviews and a survey were conducted as a means of collecting primary data. Semi-structured interviews of four foreign exchange students and survey results from 50 foreign exchange students were collected and analyzed. The semi-structured interviews were conducted through E-mail and the online survey was created using Google Forms. Both the interviews and survey were promoted through the social network services of foreigners in South Korea.

The results showed that the participants expressed a range of reasons to come to Korea, that they experienced cultural similarities and differences, and that they faced significant challenges during the exchange programs. Based on the analysis of the results, recommendations are provided to contribute to the further development of Korean education and its internationalization programs.