Even after graduation, H-1B employment is blocked, and the number of international students has been cut in half in the past 10 years. Mr. Kim, a Korean-American in his 20s who came to Korea to study and graduated from college, had planned to continue his master’s degree in the United States, but decided to give up that plan and return to Korea. He had hoped that earning a master’s degree in engineering would lead to employment at a US company, but the increasingly difficult reality was formidable.
Tuition, housing, and other expenses would cost tens of thousands of dollars annually, and the high exchange rate and rising prices in the US only increased the burden. Mr. Kim cited his wavering confidence in finding a job in the US as the biggest reason for his decision to return to Korea. He saw many of his acquaintances who had already completed their studies struggling to find jobs or losing their jobs due to company downsizing. In Korea, there was frequent talk that American degrees were no longer as valuable as they once were. Ultimately, he chose to return to Korea to help his family business and prepare for employment in Korea.
Like Kim, there are a growing number of Korean students in the United States who are dropping out of their studies or abandoning their plans to pursue further education or employment in the United States. This is due to the soaring exchange rate and skyrocketing prices in recent years, leading to a snowballing cost of living and studying in the United States. Furthermore, since the inauguration of President Trump’s second term, anti-immigration policies have intensified, and the increased scrutiny of student and work visas has deepened uncertainty about their residency status. Such cases are numerous.
According to Yonhap News, Mr. Lee (28), who graduated from a computer engineering department at a state university in the United States in 2023, returned to Korea in July of last year. He said, “After failing the H-1B visa lottery twice, I had no other options.” There was a three-year Optional Practical Training (OPT) period given to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors, but the job market was narrowed due to companies being reluctant to sponsor visas, so they had to pack their bags.
Lee said, “Since the second half of last year, when big tech companies carried out large-scale layoffs, the number of new visa sponsors has practically come to a standstill. I was accepted by a small and medium-sized IT company, but after failing the H-1B lottery twice, I couldn’t hold on any longer.”
Park (55), who sent his son to study abroad at the University of California, also said that he recently decided to have his son return to Korea. His goal was to have his son majoring in biotechnology go to graduate school, but the soaring exchange rate forced him to give up on that plan.
Park said, “I even considered taking out a mortgage on the apartment I had planned for retirement and eventually persuaded him to just finish his bachelor’s degree and come back. My son understood the reality and chose to return to Korea.” Kim (24), a design major at a New York university, took a leave of absence in June of last year after completing her third year.
“When I first studied abroad, the exchange rate was around 1,200 won, but it quickly rose to over 1,400 won. Adding up my annual tuition and living expenses, I ended up spending over 40 million won more per year than the Korean won my parents sent me,” Kim said. “I considered moving to the outskirts to save on rent, but the commute and safety concerns made it difficult. Ultimately, after discussing it with my parents, I decided to return to Korea for a while and see how things unfolded.”
This trend extends beyond four-year universities. Park (23), a community college student, also dropped out for similar reasons. Park said, “With the rising exchange rate, even community college tuition has become more expensive than private Korean universities,” and ultimately decided to prepare for the Korean university transfer exam. The decline in Korean students studying abroad in the United States is also reflected in the numbers.
According to the Korean Ministry of Education, as of April last year, there were 129,713 Korean students enrolled in higher education institutions overseas. This represents a 14-year decline since the peak of 262,465 in 2011. Overseas funding for study and training programs has also declined. According to the Bank of Korea’s Economic Statistics System, funding for study and training programs fell from $4.488 billion in 2010 to $3.0527 billion last year. According to a previous survey conducted by the Institute for International Education (IIE) on 828 higher education institutions in the United States last year, approximately 57% of institutions reported a decline in new international student enrollment, with 96% citing “visa application concerns” as the main reason for the decline.
A representative from one study abroad agency stated, “Many students are abandoning their study abroad plans due to high exchange rates or visa issues,” adding, “The study abroad market is in a severe state of decline.”