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

Why South Korean students study English extensively. Demonstrating 
English proficiency can be a valuable skill for South Korean students who live in South 
Korea. If a student fluently speaks English to an American, a Canadian, or a British 
citizen in the street, people will stare at him/her because there is a limited number of 
international people who can speak English as a native language. Most people will envy 
this language ability, and the positive social reaction inspires them to go to private 
English language schools and institutes or study abroad. In other words, South Korean 
social trends force students to intensively study English, and if they cannot prove their 
English abilities, they will be left behind and not have any chance to stand out in South 
Korea. 

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Most examinations leading toward university admissions and job qualifications 
require three major courses: Korean language, mathematics, and English. The Korean 
language and mathematics are important for students to master in order to locate job 
opportunities and gain admission to prestigious universities, but English has been highly 
valued compared to the above two courses. According to Hwang (2001),
[S]oo-nung (Korean ACT) consists of five major subjects and a selected category: 
Korean language (120), First Foreign Language : ‘English’ (80), mathematics (80), 
and social science and natural science (120) and second foreign language (40) 
(numbers in parentheses are distributed scores). (p. 612) 
The proportion that represents English (80) is about 18% of the total score (440).
Moreover, prestigious colleges require their own entrance exams which are comprised of 
mathematics, Korean language, and English. Some of the tests and contests are based on 
only the English section, so students who win those contests or score outstandingly on 
those tests are awarded special admission chances. As a result, it is very important for all 
students to master English abilities. 
As previously stated, most senior high school students have to take entrance 
exams such as the SAT or ACT. Every student really wants to be accepted into the top 
South Korean universities, such as Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei 
University, and so forth. In South Korea, people call these three schools SKY 
Universities. It is not easy for students to enter SKY universities, just as it is difficult for 
American students to enter Harvard or Stanford University. However, if students prove 
their English proficiency level as an expert, they will have a much greater chance to be 
admitted into SKY universities because SKY universities want to select the students with 

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special talents. This is why many parents spend a great deal of money for their children’s 
English education when their children start going to kindergarten or even earlier than that.
Recently, in the South Korean job market it has been difficult for senior college 
graduates to find a good job with large companies, such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and 
so forth, because there are too many highly educated candidates in South Korea.
According to Hadid (2010), “During the late 1990s, the Korean government decided that 
all Koreans should get a college degree. The government reached its goal in 2000, when 
89 percent of Koreans graduated from high school and attended college” (p. 1). Because 
of the government policy, there are many highly educated candidates in South Korea.
That is why companies decided to put stricter requirements on hiring job candidates: 
They should graduate from the top ranking universities. Moreover, most prestigious 
South Korean companies continuously require candidates to submit their English 
proficiency test score, such as Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Test of 
English for International Communication (TOEIC), International English Language Test 
System (IELTS), or Oral Practical Interview Computer (OPIc). For instance, many South 
Korean companies require all candidates to show at least a score of 800 or above on the 
TOEIC. Some of the companies eliminate the majority of candidates who scored below 
900 on the TOEIC during the first portion of the selection process (Educational Testing 
Services, 2011). Interestingly, even though most companies rarely use English while 
they work, job applicants have to achieve high scores in the above standardized English 
tests to be qualified to apply for a job. Therefore, senior college students must spend 
many hours studying English to obtain a high score on the above tests. Because of the 

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above reasons, college students are always looking for the best English institutions to 
improve their test scores and to help them speak like natives. However, it is not easy for 
them to quickly improve their English skills over a short period time, so many junior, 
senior, and even freshmen or sophomore college students decide to go to English-
speaking countries to study abroad for one or two semesters. Even if senior college 
students find a job with the previously stated companies, they cannot stop studying 
English because they should keep the high score of the above-mentioned tests and prove 
their speaking level of English to receive promotions in their companies. If they cannot 
prove their English proficiency, they cannot be promoted to the next position and will 
finally quit their job.