hankyoreh

Staff at Incheon International Airport remove disease control tools used at information stations from the arrival area of the airport on April 1, when the airport’s operations returned to pre-pandemic levels. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

“I thought that because of COVID-19 I couldn’t even dream of doing student exchange before graduating, but seeing my friends going abroad one by one from this spring semester makes me realize the endemic is really [coming]. I’m also preparing documents so I can study abroad this fall semester.”

These are the words of a 25-year-old university student surnamed Kim, who is excited at the thought of going to a university in Romania as an exchange student. Kim has been busy since January preparing various documents for the application process.

Kim also said they’ve diligently followed online lectures for the TOEFL test, which they need to take in order to study abroad. Even though they've been busy, Kim says, “I'm excited to be able to go on exchange before graduating.”

Amid cautious predictions that the COVID-19 pandemic is beginning its shift to endemic, the number of students going abroad from Korea has been rapidly on the rise. Several universities are reporting that the number of students studying abroad is recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

According to figures shared with the Hankyoreh by Seoul National University on Thursday, the number of exchange students sent from SNU to foreign countries decreased sharply after the outbreak of COVID-19, with the 587 sent in 2019 dropping to 140 in 2020 and123 in 2021.

However, these numbers are slowly recovering, with SNU reporting 178 students going abroad this spring semester and another 307 scheduled to go in the fall.

During the pandemic, the number of students going abroad decreased significantly due to quarantine-related issues, concerns about contracting the virus, and the cancellation of programs at foreign universities. However, many of these concerns are starting to be resolved in 2022.

Other universities, such as Chung-Ang University and Yonsei University, reported similar experiences.

Foreign language centers and university admission-related institutions are also recovering.

“As the [COVID-19] virus spread, there were almost no customers to the extent that there were less than one to two inquiries a week, but recently we are receiving four to five inquiries per day about language study and studying abroad,” said Kim Ki-dong, the CEO of Top Class Study Abroad Center. “As international student insurance begins to cover COVID-19 infection and the perception of risk related to the virus decreases, the path to studying abroad seems to have begun to recover.”

Large study abroad companies are also planning to hold previously canceled study abroad fairs.

“After COVID-19, the study abroad expo was held in a significantly reduced form at the [company’s] headquarters, but starting the second half of the year, the study abroad expo will be held at COEX as before with thousands of people [attending],” an individual affiliated with Edm Education’s study abroad center said.

The number of students preparing for language proficiency tests such as the TOEFL and IELTS, which are mandatory for students hoping to study at foreign universities, has also begun to increase. According to data provided by Pagoda Academy to the Hankyoreh, the number of students who registered to take TOEFL and IELTS courses online and offline at the institute from January to March this year increased by 66% compared to the same period last year.

By Ko Byung-chan, staff reporter

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