Understanding the Importance of English Education in South Korea and Exploring the Reasons Why South Korean Students Come to a University in the Midwest

Comparing Altbach’s, Chow’s, and Lee’s previous findings with this study’s 
findings.  In Chapter Two, “push” and “pull” factors were described, and the researcher 
mentioned how these factors influence South Korean students.  Before comparing 
Altbach’s (2004), Chow’s (2011), and Lee’s (2008) previous findings with this study’s 
findings, the researcher summarized the “push” and “pull” factors in Tables 3 and 4. 
As described above, the researcher was able to find “push” and “pull” factors 
through Altbach’s (2004), Chow’s (2011), and Lee’s (2008) studies.  In Chapter 4, the 

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researcher discovered the 9 reasons why the 30 Korean students decided to come to the 
United States and 1 of the American universities, UNK.  The researcher thought that the  
 
Table 3 
Push Factors 
Push Factors 
1.  Unavailability of specialized and training programs in international students’ countries 
2.  The competitive colleges or universities entry requirements in their countries  
3.  Unstable political circumstances and the overwhelming burden of their academic demands 
4.  To gain international experiences and to have opportunities to improve their career 
5.  To obtain English proficiency 
 
Table 4 
Pull Factors 
Pull Factors 
1.  The best academic program in the world; Ivy-League schools in America 
2.  Better pay and benefits in developed or advanced countries 
3.  International relationships between the host countries and home countries 
4.  The economic and military power of developed or advanced countries 
5.  Successful educational marketing projects promoted by study abroad destination countries 
6.  Complicated school application processes and visa procedures in study abroad destination countries 
7.  Safety issues 
 

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following reasons are closely related to “push” and “pull” factors.  First, the majority of 
the 30 Korean students studied English extensively through public schools and private 
institutes because of the importance of English abilities in the Korean society.  Second, 
the quality and the structure of the English educational environment in Korea were not 
effective or efficient, so most of the 30 Korean students came to UNK to overcome their 
lack of English speaking, listening, writing, and vocabulary skills.  Third, 21 out of 30 
Korean students heard the UNK information from their school representatives.  Fourth, 
20 out of 30 Korean students came to the United States to focus on improving their 
English proficiency.   
Fifth, 8 out of 30 Korean students obtained the diverse experiences by living in 
college dormitories and engaging with American students and the local community 
members.  Sixth, 8 out of 30 Korean students came to UNK because of the 
uncomplicated application process and the relatively low English requirement to gain 
admission to the UNK undergraduate program.  Seventh, 8 out of 30 Korean students 
thought that the United States has the best academic programs, a great amount of natural 
and financial resources, and a strong military power compared to any other country in the 
world.  Eighth,  7 out of 30 Korean students wanted to study in the specialized programs, 
such as leadership, aviation, pharmacy, English education, psychology, musical theater, 
sport marketing and business administration, in the United States.  Ninth, 5 out of 30 
Korean students agreed that they came to UNK because they heard that UNK is very safe 
compared to a big city in the United States.   

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Through this research study’s findings, the researcher of this study found that the 
nine factors significantly affected all 30 Korean students to come to the United States and 
the city of Kearney.  In addition, the previous studies’ findings and this research study’s 
findings have similarities and commonalities.  However, No. 2 “push” factor and No. 2 
and 3 “pull” factors had no significance to participants in this study.  Therefore, the 
researcher determined that except No. 2 “push” factor and No. 2 and 3 “pull” factors, the 
other “push” and “pull” factors strongly influence South Korean students decide to come 
to America instead of the other English speaking countries.