Circulating East to East

Research Question 1:
What are the distinct push–pull factors affecting Chinese 
students’ decisions to study in Korea?
Research Question 2:
How important are these distinct push–pull factors in influ-
encing students’ decisions to study in Korea?
In addition, there is a body of literature suggesting that students tend to be satis-
fied with their study-abroad experience if their desired choice and expectations prior 
to going abroad are met (Arambewela & Hall, 2009; Arambewela, Hall, & Zuhair, 
2006). In recognition of this relation, the study further proposes to determine the 
degree to which students’ preconceived push–pull factors correlate with their satis-
faction with studying in Korea. Therefore, the study examines the following ques-
tion as well:
Research Question 3:
What is the relation between the push–pull factors and stu-
dents’ satisfaction with studying in Korea?
Literature Review
The Dynamics of Korea and China’s Higher Education
Although long known as a leader in sending students abroad, Korea has also played 
host to a growing number of international students in recent years (OECD, 2015). 
According to the KEDI (2015), the number of foreign students studying at Korean 
universities increased dramatically from 3,693 in 2000 to 22,526 in 2005 and 49,270 
in 2007. In 2015, that number reached 91,332. Of this population pursuing higher 
education in Korea, the vast majority are from nearby Asian countries, particularly 
China. In 2015, among the 91,332 foreign students studying at Korean universities, 
Asian students represented 86.8% (79,257), including approximately 68% from China 
(KEDI, 2015). To better understand this emerging trend, it is important to first under-
stand the economic, social, and policy changes occurring within Korea and China’s 
higher education contexts that have contributed to the increases.
In Korea, government and institutions have made a concerted effort to recruit 
Chinese students to study in Korea. Beginning in the early 2000s, the Korean govern-
ment introduced a series of policy initiatives focused on recruiting more foreign stu-
dents. These measures stemmed from a desire to counterbalance Korea’s own shrinking 
population of domestic students. The most representative policy was the Study Korea 
Project, which encouraged foreign students to enroll in Korean universities (Byun & 
Kim, 2011). The initiative primarily targeted Chinese students. The project com-
menced with a goal of recruiting 50,000 international students by 2010. The govern-
ment ran education fairs, and individual institutions undertook rigorous efforts in 
China; consequently, the goal was met in 2008—2 years early. In addition, private 
institutions located in smaller cities outside the Seoul metropolitan area worked to 
aggressively recruit international students, particularly students from China. These 

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private institutions relied heavily on college tuition and fees as their primary source of 
revenue and thus believed that an infusion of tuition fees from Chinese students was 
directly linked to their survival (Byun & Kim, 2011). Consequently, the number of 
Chinese international students studying in Korea grew more than 28 times, increasing 
from approximately 1,832 Chinese students in 2001 to approximately 52,226 in 2015 
(KEDI, 2015).
Simultaneously, the higher education context in China also contributed substan-
tially to the trend. Significantly contributing to the increase in the number of Chinese 
international students was the country’s recent economic growth, the government’s 
decision to expand the number of students whom China sent abroad, and its inade-
quate supply of Chinese universities. Dating to the early 1980s, Deng Xiaoping made 
a deliberate decision to expand the number of Chinese students studying abroad to 
strengthen the country’s economy and prosperity. Since then, a considerable number 
of Chinese students have studied overseas. In addition to fostering economic reform 
and growth, the number of Chinese students studying abroad has increased substan-
tially in the last two decades. Consequently, China has now become the largest 
exporter of international students (OECD, 2015). Among a variety of factors, how-
ever, the factor deemed to have had the greatest effect on Chinese students’ decisions 
to study abroad has been the inadequate supply of universities in their home country 
(Zhao & Guo, 2002).
After the Cultural Revolution had run its course, the Chinese national college 
entrance examination (the Gaokao) was reintroduced in 1977. In 1977, there were only 
220,000 spaces available; 30 years later, the number of spaces had grown to 5.6 mil-
lion. Despite this expansion of the Chinese higher education sector, 6 million vacan-
cies in the Chinese higher education system existed, whereas approximately 9 million 
students take China’s national college entrance examination every year (Levin, 2010). 
This disparity contributed not only to a fierce competition among students on the 
Chinese national college entrance examination but also to a reality that a substantial 
number of students will fail to secure placement within the Chinese higher education 
system. Therefore, to secure competitiveness in the job market, many Chinese stu-
dents have chosen to search outside of Mainland China to secure postsecondary 
degrees and to experience high-quality education (Davey, 2005; Yang, 2007). Thus, it 
is not surprising that many Chinese parents invest up to one third of their income 
(Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002) to financially support their child’s decision to study abroad. 
Overall, all of the features mentioned above, that is, government support, severe com-
petition to enter college, job market conditions, and parental support, have contributed 
greatly to the increasing number of Chinese students studying abroad (Duan, 1997).
Chinese students’ decisions to study in Korea are affected by the complicated and 
dynamic contexts of both Korea and China. The majority of the literature on interna-
tional students (both in Western and non-Western countries) has attempted to under-
stand the factors influencing students’ decisions regarding where to study; for a 
theoretical framework, these studies have generally relied on the push–pull model. 
The next section examines and addresses the literature that explores international stu-
dents’ push–pull factors.

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