Fifty students from a high school in China have come to Korea to study.

They are all students in the third year of high school from the New Bridge Foreign Language High School in Beijing, and they all plan to major in Korean language at university. Korean media, such as the Donga Ilbo and Yonhap News, wrote about their journey on Aug. 25.

The students transferred to the Daewon Foreign Language High School, the Myungduk Foreign Language High School, Wooshin and Mirim Girls’ High Schools. Their goal is to graduate from a Korean high school and then enter a Korean university.

The students are all interested in Korea and have studied the Korean language. Their parents all permitted them to study abroad, as the Chinese parents highly value Korea’s strong enthusiasm for education and the nation's good educational environment.

Starting earlier this year, the New Bridge Foreign Language High School has been looking for ways for its students to study in Korea. School representatives made it a priority to check the dormitory at the Korean school, as well as the overall environment in which the overseas students would study.

Five of the students transferred to the Daewon Foreign Language High School and 14 to the Myungduk Foreign Language High School, while 15 are at Mirim Girls' High School and 16 of them are at Wooshin High School. All of them have passed the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) at either level three or level four.

Daewon Foreign Language High School's Director of Academic Affairs Shin Kwangsup said that, “Chinese students are eager to learn in class and have shown great enthusiasm for studying.”

“To help them communicate and adjust to their new lives in Korea, we will run a one-on-one mentoring system for each student with their teachers,” he said.

“In the future, we will be able to accept more applications from overseas students who wish to enter or transfer to our school, which also includes Chinese students,” he said.

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr