Koreans` spending on overseas study dips most in decade

By Kim Soo-yeon
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- South Koreans' spending on overseas study fell in the
January-May period at the fastest clip in more than a decade amid an economic
slump and a weak currency, the central bank said Tuesday.
Koreans spent a total of US$1.35 billion on overseas study during the first five
months of this year, down 28.4 percent from a year earlier, according to data by
the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figures marked the fastest decline since a 35.2
percent fall in the January-May period of 1998 when the country was in the midst
of the Asian financial crisis.
Koreans' expenditure on overseas education had been on an upward trend, reaching
up to $2 billion in 2007, but the global financial meltdown sparked by the
collapse of Lehman Brothers last year has prompted more people to cut back on
such spending, it added.
The decline was largely attributable to the local currency's weakness against the
U.S. dollar and the ongoing economic downturn which is denting households'
income, experts say.
Many parents in Korea spend large sums of money to send their children abroad due
to fierce competition for higher education and a zeal for English study. But
so-called "goose fathers," men who stay in Korea to support families overseas,
are reeling from an increasing financial burden due to the won's depreciation.
The Korean currency declined 25.7 percent against the greenback last year alone.
Since falling to an 11-year low of 1,570.3 won in early March, the local currency
has gained about 22 percent.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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