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2009 Fall Korea Post-Fair Report
Report Contents:
Pre-Fair Orientation: Korean Student Market Status
On the morning of Saturday, September
26th, AIEF’s pre-fair orientation was held at the Oakwood
Premier Hotel in Seoul. U.S. Embassy Consular Officer Ms.
Kim Furnish reported at the orientation that the U.S.
Embassy in Seoul handles around 300,000 visa applications
per year. The busiest visa processing times are summer and
winter, she said. According to Ms. Furnish, the wait for a
student visa interview is typically just one day. She
estimated that the acceptance rate for student visa
applications is around 95 percent. One of the most common
problems she has observed among Korean student visa
applicants is that their I-20 may indicate proficiency in
English, while in fact they may not be proficient. In such
cases, she suggested that the school note that it has an ESL
program.
Mr. Stephen Smith, director of AIEF’s
Washington, D.C., office, shared information about Korean
education trends. He cited the Korean government’s desire to
merge a number of state universities owing to low enrollment
rates and funding issues. Smith also brought attention to a
joint declaration issued by the presidents of 200 four-year
universities on reforming the university admissions system by
seeking alternatives to Korea’s college entrance exam and
grades-oriented admissions policy, which are thought to place
too much importance on assessing rote memorization. The
presidents believe that a student’s creativity and other
abilities should also be taken into account.
In reference to Korea’s educational
globalization efforts, Smith noted that the Korean government
has pledged approximately US$600 million over the next five
years to its World Class University project. As part of this
project, Korea would like to attract branch campuses of
well-respected Western universities. Fifteen foreign
universities, all American but for one, are seeking to open
branches on the Songdo Global University Campus in the Incheon
Free Economic Zone (FEZ), said Smith. He related that two U.S.
university branch campuses in Songdo are already recruiting
freshmen for fall 2010.
Presenting statistics provided by the
Korean Embassy in Washington, DC, Smith said that an estimated
216,867 Korean students were studying abroad in 2008. Out of
this number, 62,392 were studying in the USA. China was the
second most popular destination for Korean students, with
57,504. Smith pointed out that the majority of Korean students
in the USA (52,178) were seeking degrees, whereas most Korean
students in China (42,128) were there primarily for language
study.
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Pre-Fair Publicity
Beginning two months
before the event, AIEF’s Fair was publicized in a wide
variety of Korean media, including websites, newspapers,
flyer, posters, radio programs, signs, placards, banners,
and invitation cards.
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Seoul Fair Statistics
As part of the biannual
Korea Student Fair, the 2009 Fall American Education Fair in
Seoul ran from September 26-27 in COEX. An estimated 3,500
people visited AIEF’s American Pavilion, and 1,180
registrations were collected at AIEF’s booth.
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Seoul Fair Highlights
Located to the left of
the main entrance to the Korea Student Fair exhibition venue
in COEX, the American Pavilion was decorated with a red,
white and blue motif. The American Pavilion, organized and
coordinated by AIEF, was reserved exclusively for authorized
U.S. school representatives. Representatives from the U.S.
Embassy and the Fulbright offices in Korea were provided
with booths so they could answer questions posed by fair
attendees. At the entryway to the American Pavilion, our
staff at the AIEF booth offered free counseling and directed
student traffic.
As a complimentary
service provided to American Education Fair exhibitors, AIEF
arranged for interpreters from Korean colleges and universities
to translate for the representatives in each booth of the
American Pavilion.
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UScampus Guide
Thousands of free
copies of the 2009 fall edition of UScampus Guide were
presented to Fair visitors. An AIEF publication, this
semiannually published magazine offers accurate and
up-to-date information to international students interested
in studying in the United States. Complimentary copies of
the magazine are distributed at all of AIEF’s American
Education Fairs in Asia, as well as at EducationUSA Centers,
public libraries, and other sites in the region. If you are
interested in submitting an article or placing an
advertisement in UScampus Guide, please e-mail info@aief-usa.org.
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Seoul Special Seminars
In conjunction with the
AIEF Fair, a series of informative seminars for students was
offered. Seminar topics included “American University
Education,” “A Correspondence Law School and an Associate
Degree for Nursing,” “U.S. Education and U.S. Education
Center (Fulbright) in Seoul,” and “Cyberspace and Study
Abroad Strategies: Web-based Resources of Fulbright Korea.”
In addition, at the request of AIEF, U.S. Embassy consular
officer Ms. Kim Furnish provided presentations to Korean
students and parents on the student visa application
process.
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AIEF’s Student Tracking System
Pre-Fair online
registration was offered to grant students complimentary
entrance to the Korea Student Fair. Visitors to the American
Pavilion were encouraged to register their educational goals
and contact details in AIEF’s student tracking system. All
registered student data has been verified, entered into the
AIEF computer database and sent to each school that
participated in the American Pavilion.
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Seoul Social
KTF president Mr.
Hongyu Lee and AIEF invited fair participants to a dinner
gathering to celebrate the successful conclusion of the
first day of the event. American Pavilion guests enjoyed the
cordial atmosphere and delicious dishes of the international
buffet at “Marche” restaurant in COEX..
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2010
Spring AIEF Fairs in Asia
Registration is now open
for AIEF’s 2010 American Education Fairs in Asia. The Fair
schedule is as follows:
Taipei - March 20-21
Kaohsiung - March 22
Taichung - March 23
Seoul - March 27-28
Busan - March 30
Online registration is available at: http://www.aief-usa.org/services/signup_fair.htm . For more
information, please visit our website, www.aief-usa.org, or call
the AIEF office in California at 714-985-1995.
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