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

The concerns of Korean students after coming to UNK. Ten out of 30 Korean 
students mentioned that they seriously worried about how to spend their time to 
effectively and efficiently improve their English abilities. The majority of these students 
thought that their English skills would significantly improve if they stayed in the United 
States. However, in the interviews with these students, they found that it was very 
difficult for them to considerably advance their English abilities like a native-English 
speaker. Two students, Daniel and Susan, said that they completely understood that it 
was not easy for them to achieve the certain level of native-English abilities even though 
they are currently studying abroad in the United States. Particularly, they have 
experienced that improving English abilities is much harder while they stay in Kearney, 
NE than what they expected. Furthermore, a couple of the 10 Korean students 
continuously stated that they have kept looking for a specific solution for how to use time 

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and money effectively to increase the level of their English skills while they study at 
UNK.
Nine out of 30 Korean students indicated that they wanted to know how to make 
friendships with UNK domestic students. One of the 9 Korean students, Patricia, 
mentioned that she did not feel happy hanging out with her Korean friends while she 
attended UNK because she thought that speaking Korean with her Korean friends 
interfered with improving her English proficiency. In addition, she stated that there were 
too many Korean students around her, so she usually met and saw the UNK Korean 
students when she walked around the UNK campus. The other 8 students also agreed 
that it has been very difficult for them not to pair up with the other UNK Korean students, 
and they strongly felt that they need to find an alternative plan to use English and to meet 
more UNK domestic students.
Eight out of 30 Korean students mentioned that they are really afraid of going 
back to Korea because of unknown future plans and a very competitive job market in 
Korea. These students discovered that they could improve their English abilities while 
they stayed at UNK. However, they strongly realized that they could be left behind and 
miss many opportunities in Korea, such as conglomerate internships, national or regional 
contests regarding each area of industry, chances of earning a certificate of qualifications, 
and so forth, compared to the other Korean students who take advantage of the above 
opportunities.
Seven out of 30 Korean students experienced that they struggled to gain a good 
grade in their UNK courses. Michael said: 

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I always felt that I have had no idea how to follow the UNK courses. For instance, 
in the UNK class, I received the survey document and the reading material from 
the professor. After 10 minutes, the professor let us talk about the survey 
questions and the reading material, but I was so desperate because I was only able 
to answer two survey questions and to read half of the reading material. Before I 
came to UNK, I had expected to follow UNK courses very well because I had 
learned English for more than 10 years, but after I came to UNK, I felt really 
terrible because I could not follow the UNK courses well. That is why I strongly 
felt that it has been really tough for me to follow the UNK courses.
Another student, John, mentioned, “I always missed one or two assignments because of 
some reason, so my grade in all of my courses is not great. I wanted to receive a better 
grade, but it is not easy for me to earn a good grade because I could not follow the UNK 
courses.”
Six out of 30 Korean students strongly believed that it has been very difficult to 
go somewhere in Kearney, NE because of the lack of public transportation. Furthermore, 
they thought that the town of Kearney and UNK needs to develop more amenities, 
services, and activities for international students. Because of this reason, it has been very 
challenging for these students to adjust to living in Kearney, NE.
As described above, the concerns were experienced by the 30 Korean students 
after they arrived at UNK. The following additional concerns were indicated by some of 
the 30 Korean students after they came to UNK: feeling the burden of the expensive cost 
of room and board and UNK non-resident tuition (2 responses); longing for Korean food 
and being tired of American food (2); worrying about being sick while living in the 
United States (1); and procrastinating while they attend UNK because of the comfortable 
and quite environment in Kearney, NE (1). 

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