Growing No. of Students Study Abroad
A growing number of Korean students of all ages are leaving the nation to study abroad.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said some 15-thousand young Seoul residents left for study in foreign countries last year, up from seven-thousand two years ago.
Particularly noteworthy is the rise in the number of elementary school students studying abroad. Their ranks nearly doubled to 82-hundred last year from 49-hundred in 2006.
The surge is attributed to intense pressure among Koreans to learn English. Also, many young students want to study abroad to ease their entry into foreign-language high schools.