South Korean Financial Crisis Burdens Students

Yu hahk saeng. With the economic crisis in South Korea, this word for "overseas student"--formerly a positive connotation--has started to acquire distinctly ambiguous overtones for South Korean students at Harvard.

With the Korean won now half the value it had last year against the dollar, tuition and living expenses have soared for South Korean students studying in the U.S.

South Korean students at Harvard have not escaped the trend.

Jim Miller, director of the Financial Aid Office, said that he thinks about 10 to 12 South Korean students have called for reconsideration of financial aid because of the economic crisis.

Due to the volatility of the current situation, Miller said the office has still not formulated a long-term response.

However, Miller said the office is making some adjustments for the students.

"We're dealing with each one individually, trying to deal with the short-term issue of registration [for the spring semester]," Miller said. "In some cases, we're giving them more time [to pay] than the regular deadline, and in others we're giving them small loans."

A South Korean sophomore, who asked to remain anonymous, said he is seeking financial aid reconsideration.

Though he is already working two jobs this semester, he said that due to the crisis he is now looking for additional jobs for next term.

"My parents couldn't send me much to begin with, but now my father's income in dollars is less than 70 percent of what it used to be," he said.

David S. Bahk '00, another student from South Korea, said that the economic situation in Korea has dominated his conversations with fellow South Koreans.

"When I call my parents [in Seoul] it's the first thing we talk about," Bahk said. "When-ever I meet up with other students from South Korea, it's the first thing we talk about."

South Korean graduate students at Harvard said they are also feeling the pinch.

According to Kyung-Ah Park, a student at Harvard Business School, South Korean graduate students sponsored by international firms or who have some reserves due to having previously worked in the U.S. are relatively unaffected.

But the story seems to be different for graduate students supported by South Korean firms or foundations.

Byounghee Min, a second-year student at Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, said the South Korean foundation that had given her a scholarship to study at Harvard has notified her that it would have to delay giving her living expenses for a month.

"I'm okay right now because I have a little reserve money...but only for one month," she said. "I'm praying that the situation will get better."

Another South Korean graduate student, who also asked to remain anonymous, said South Korean firms used to give employees studying at Harvard living expenses as well as tuition, but now students must pay for living expenses out of their own pockets.

According to the South Korean consulate in Boston, there are about 4,500 to 5,000 South Korean students studying in the New England area.

While the consulate has not yet finished compiling statistics on South Korean students forced to withdraw because of the crisis, some Boston-area schools are making provisions for the students.

Lawrence E. Bethune, vice-president for student affairs at Berklee College of Music, said 6 percent of its total student population is Korean.

"We are allowing our Korean students to pay only 60 percent up front and pay the other 40 percent in April," Bethune said.

While describing the next couple of years as "difficult," Professor of Korean History Carter J. Eckert said he was relatively optimistic about South Korea's future.

"I think people are going to pull together," he said.

Eckert said he admired the "spirit" of Korean and Korean-American students from all over the U.S. who have been asking him for his advice on how to solve the crisis.

Perhaps because of this "spirit" however, the sophomore who spoke on condition of anonymity said the economic downturn in South Korea has also turned South Koreans against students who study abroad and use up foreign exchange.

"I think [hostility] is prevalent because the majority of [college] students who come aren't the brightest of students and [come because they] couldn't handle the Korean system," the sophomore said. "Also, they tend to be rich and wasteful, spending a lot of money in the U.S."

Still, the student said he believes the prestige of the Harvard name has shielded him from the general social censure of studying abroad.

"Koreans are more obsessive about Harvard than any other college, and are probably more obsessive about Harvard than any other people," he said. "If you go to Harvard, they think you're a good kid."

Bahk agreed with the sophomore.

"[My family] has a different attitude toward Harvard," Bahk said, explaining that his entire extended family is chipping in so that he could stay at Harvard.

"[Since] I go to Harvard, they're willing to support me 100 percent," Bahk said. "They think it's not a waste of money."

--Elizabeth Gudrais contributed to the reporting of this story.

While the consulate has not yet finished compiling statistics on South Korean students forced to withdraw because of the crisis, some Boston-area schools are making provisions for the students.

Lawrence E. Bethune, vice-president for student affairs at Berklee College of Music, said 6 percent of its total student population is Korean.

"We are allowing our Korean students to pay only 60 percent up front and pay the other 40 percent in April," Bethune said.

While describing the next couple of years as "difficult," Professor of Korean History Carter J. Eckert said he was relatively optimistic about South Korea's future.

"I think people are going to pull together," he said.

Eckert said he admired the "spirit" of Korean and Korean-American students from all over the U.S. who have been asking him for his advice on how to solve the crisis.

Perhaps because of this "spirit" however, the sophomore who spoke on condition of anonymity said the economic downturn in South Korea has also turned South Koreans against students who study abroad and use up foreign exchange.

"I think [hostility] is prevalent because the majority of [college] students who come aren't the brightest of students and [come because they] couldn't handle the Korean system," the sophomore said. "Also, they tend to be rich and wasteful, spending a lot of money in the U.S."

Still, the student said he believes the prestige of the Harvard name has shielded him from the general social censure of studying abroad.

"Koreans are more obsessive about Harvard than any other college, and are probably more obsessive about Harvard than any other people," he said. "If you go to Harvard, they think you're a good kid."

Bahk agreed with the sophomore.

"[My family] has a different attitude toward Harvard," Bahk said, explaining that his entire extended family is chipping in so that he could stay at Harvard.

"[Since] I go to Harvard, they're willing to support me 100 percent," Bahk said. "They think it's not a waste of money."

--Elizabeth Gudrais contributed to the reporting of this story.