South Koreans wooed to study English in PH

THE Department of Tourism (DoT) seeks to attract more Koreans to come to the Philippines to learn English as a second language.

In line with its ESL program, the over a hundred South Korean students and parents at the Philippine Study Abroad Fair at the Samsung Textile Center in Seoul.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said in a statement on Friday that the Philippine ESL (English as a Second Language training) is one of the most in demand programs worldwide catering to Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and South Koreans alike, considering the country’s positioning as the world’s third largest English-speaking nation.

“It is very encouraging to see that more and more Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese, among other foreign students, are considering the Philippines over other English- speaking nations for their studies. With a booming tourism and improving economy, it is no surprise that the Philippines has become one of the choice destinations of foreigners for high quality and affordable education, as well as for fun vacations, ” Teo said.

The Philippine Study Abroad fair has become the “go-to” for potential South Korean students planning to take ESL in the Philippines. It also aims to help students and their parents understand the Philippine ESL system.

“Hopefully, this will also help keep our best teachers here, closer to their family and friends,” Teo said.

South Korea holds the record for breaking the 1.4 million mark, with a total of 1,475,081 arrivals in 2016, making up almost one-fourth of the country’s total visitor arrivals at 24.72 percent. This is 10.11 percent higher than the 1.3 million Korean tourists that came to the Philippines some two years ago.

For the first half of the year, the South Korean market has sustained its spot as the country’s 795,085 arrivals, representing 23.68 percent of the total market share.