"Korea Is Scarier" ... Surge in Chinese International Students Giving Up Entry

Dormitory Admission Rate Lower Than Expected... Some Return After Moving In

As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is rapidly increasing, on the 24th, international students from Sangmyung University who arrived from Jinan, China, are receiving guidance at the International Student Information Center in the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport. / Yeongjongdo - Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) rapidly spreads in South Korea, international students are increasingly avoiding traveling to Korea ahead of the new semester. This is a reversal from the initial situation where they were rushing to come to Korea to escape the unstable conditions in China, the origin of COVID-19. Some international students who had already entered Korea are even returning to China.

According to university campuses on the 27th, Sungkyunkwan University had planned for 91 Chinese international students to move into dormitories on the 24th and 25th, but so far only 12 have arrived.

At Kyung Hee University, out of 38 Chinese international students scheduled to move into the Seoul dormitory during the same period, only 23 have arrived.

Chungbuk National University expected 90 Chinese international students to enter the country on the 26th, but only 34 actually arrived.

Cheongju University also saw only 8 out of 21 scheduled Chinese international students enter the country. According to a preliminary survey by the university, those who had expressed their intention to enter Korea canceled their flight tickets a day or two before the scheduled date.

Chonnam National University anticipated 40 to 50 Chinese international students to arrive and prepared transportation accordingly, but only 15 students actually entered the university, far fewer than expected.

It is presumed that many of these Chinese international students canceled their entry because they judged that the risk of infection in South Korea is higher than in China due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 domestically.