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Journal of Studies in International Education 21(2)
The findings of this study imply that although Chinese students frequently talked
about Korean dramas and K-pop and that for many students, the Korean Wave helped
them to first know and understand Korea, its contributions to students’ decisions to
study in Korea were in fact trivial. Consistent with prior research (Chen, 2007; Li &
Bray, 2007), students were more likely to respond to the quality of education, parents’
recommendations, and the affordability of the education. Thus, government and edu-
cational leaders may wish to use the Korean Wave strategically as a manner in which
to promote awareness of the country while concurrently enhancing and advertising the
quality of the educational experiences students can receive.
Moreover, although the recruitment agency did not emerge as consequential in the
interview
responses, that factor was deemed to have a moderate influence on students’
study-abroad choices. One explanation for this finding was offered by a student study-
ing at a language institution. She suggested,
There are various recruitment agencies in China right now. Some only dealt with students
who are going to Australia or England, some help you with Korea or Japan. Based on
your interest, you know which recruitment agency you need to go to.
This perspective sheds additional light on the influence of a recruitment agency and
the role such an agency can play (Pimpa, 2003). Students who visit agencies that pri-
marily deal with Korea often visit that agency in pursuit
of more information regard-
ing the cost of living and studying in Korea. A student interested in other nations
would visit other agencies that focus on those nations instead. In other words, students
predetermine their study-abroad destinations prior to visiting an agency. This process
may be one of the reasons why although many students use a recruitment agency to
facilitate their study abroad, students did not consider recruitment agencies important
when prompted to name the influential pull factors.
In recent decades, because globalization and internationalization
in higher educa-
tion have drawn considerable attention, many higher education institutions have
worked to develop adaptive strategies to stay competitive in the global market (Asaoka
& Yano, 2009; Daly & Barker, 2005; de Wit, 2002). Thus, it is not surprising that
institutions across the world are developing and implementing polices to attract more
talented international students to their educational systems (Verbik & Lasanowski,
2007; Altbach & Knight, 2007). Nevertheless, although a majority of international
students have historically pursued their education in English-speaking countries,
Asian countries have emerged as new players in the internationalization of higher
education by attracting significant numbers of international
students from neighboring
countries, particularly China (UNESCO Bangkok, 2013; Verbik & Lasanowski, 2007).
The findings of this study provide meaningful implications not only for the Korean
higher education system but also for systems in neighboring Asian countries that have
also experienced a sudden growth in international student enrollment. These emerging
countries, including Korea, must think carefully about the unique pull factors that
drive students to study in non-Western countries and the push factors from their home
countries that, when combined, can be leveraged to strategically attract more
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international students. Simultaneously, it is important to consider the relation between
these push–pull factors and students’ level of study-abroad
satisfaction because simply
strengthening the pull factors may not always promote and guarantee positive out-
comes in the long run.
Limitations and Implications for Future Research
Although this study is among the first to have collected detailed information regarding
Chinese international students studying in the more than 37 universities across Korea,
there are several limitations and considerations to be considered in future research.
First, although push–pull models help us examine external factors that influence stu-
dents’ decisions to study abroad, such models do not adequately capture and account
for students’ internal factors such as individual preferences and personal characteris-
tics. Thus, to develop holistic understandings of students’ choices
and decisions
regarding study abroad, future research must account for both external and internal
factors that may influence students’ decision to study abroad.
Second, although the cross-sectional data set developed in this study provides
unique insights regarding the satisfaction of Chinese international students, the amount
of time that students have studied or stayed in Korea may significantly influence their
satisfaction. Considering that one’s satisfaction is not a static concept, but changes and
develops
constantly over time, the need for research using longitudinal data sets is
important. Therefore, future research must examine student satisfaction using a longi-
tudinal data set to better understand international students’ satisfaction.
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