Survey to International Students at Chonnam National University (Spring Semester, 2011)

KOREAN LIFE AND IMPRESSIONS:

http://web.chonnam.ac.kr/en/

A SURVEY TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AT CHONNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

(SPRING SEMESTER, 2011)

 

J. B. Nangpuhan II

Student, Master Program in Public Administration

Chonnam National University

South Korea

Course: Research Methods in Public Administration

 

Adviser: Dr. G. C. Jang

Professor, Department of Public Administration

Chonnam National University 

 

ABSTRACT

This survey aims to assess the lifestyles of international students studying at Chonnam National University (CNU). This university is regarded as one of the major national universities in South Korea. CNU’s enrollment exceeds more than thirty five thousand students with an increasing population of international students. Its motto is ‘truth, creativity, and service’ which is geared towards the development of the nation and the world.

Out of eight hundred fifty six international students, twelve percent or one hundred two ideal samples represented the whole population. The questionnaire containing nineteen closed questions was the main instrument used in this survey. Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage was used to analyze the data.

Results showed that majority of the international students are satisfied with the university facilities offered by CNU. Satisfaction with the services provided by the CNU International Affairs Office is a common trend. However, they consider studying in Korea difficult compared to their home country. This is because they often feel rigorous stress in their studies. Business administration and engineering at CNU are more globalized because many international students belong to these fields. Majority of them want to become professors after ten years and that they want to pursue their careers in their home country. In general, they consider living in Korea to be safe. Thus, they recommend CNU to other incoming international students.

 

Keywords: foreign students, Chonnam National University, life and impressions

 

INTRODUCTION

Over its fifty years of existence, CNU has remained steadfast in fostering the development and integrity of future leaders and professionals as one of the world’s leading institutions in research¹ and technology. CNU is generally regarded as one of the five major national universities in South Korea² together with Seoul National University, Pusan National University, Kyungpook National University, and Chungnam National University. The number of international students admitted to Chonnam National University in recent years is continuously increasing³. In Gwangju campus⁴ alone, 253 international students were admitted in 2006 increasing remarkably by 238 percent in 2010 for a total of 856⁵. This remarkable increase in the number of foreign students indeed shows that CNU is one of the growing global universities in Korea. With this concept in mind, it is timely to conduct a survey on life and impressions about CNU in particular and Republic of Korea in general. Hence, this survey.

This survey is based on the review conducted by Colleen Ward about the impact of international students on domestic students and host institutions in New Zealand⁶. It was found out in the review that research addressing the five key questions on the impact of international students is somewhat limited. The five key questions in the review are: (1) interaction between international and domestic students, (2) impact in the classroom, (3) impact on institutions, (4) impact in the community, and (5) strategies. There has to be more research to be undertaken with these five key questions in evaluating the environment as paramount indicators.

The thought of applying the concept of the review in Korea is timely because of the significant increase of international students in this 14^th largest economy of the world in terms of GDP⁷. This survey was a response to the challenge of Ward by extending the concept of evaluating the learning environment of international students at Chonnam National University. The major objective of the survey is to assess and document the lifestyle of international students studying at CNU-Gwangju campus.

 

METHODOLOGY

Samples will be chosen among the foreign students enrolled at CNU – Gwangju Campus. For reference consistency purposes, samples are those who have been studying at CNU no more than four years. There are 548 undergraduate and 308 graduate students for a total of 856 international students in 2010⁸. The structured questionnaire⁹ was floated to the target respondents. Then after they completely answered all questions, the questionnaires were retrieved and recorded accordingly.

The plan for this survey was to employ a probability sampling method by using stratified sampling¹⁰ but it was later changed due to unexpected hindrances in collecting data. Nonprobability sampling was then employed using convenience sampling¹¹. It was decided that only 12% of the population will be taken as samples. Based on the eight hundred fifty six foreign students at CNU in 2010, one hundred two samples were surveyed.

The survey was conducted for thirteen weeks. It started on March 14, 2011 and ended on June 10. The structured questionnaire is divided into four sections: a.) respondent’s background; b.) living experiences in Korea; c.) school life at CNU; and d.) future aspirations. The questionnaire consists of nineteen closed questions.

 

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

The floating scheme for the questionnaire was conducted using the following procedures. First, a meeting was set with one reliable international student and requested her to answer the questionnaire. Her suggestions and reactions in personally answering the questionnaire were carefully recorded. She shared her previous experiences in conducting surveys. Her recommendation to gather data through internet was very helpful. The Google Docs¹² platform was then used to make an electronic survey.

Second, the email addresses of international students were taken to the International Office’s list through the personal email account. The email addresses were sorted out by searching complete names of students using Facebook¹³ applications. Students with Facebook accounts received a personalized email along with the electronic survey link using their Facebook names¹⁴. For the second round of survey, an email was sent to all fellow scholars (Korean Government Scholarship Program¹⁵ - KGSP) whom the researcher is also a fellow. Those with no Facebook accounts were considered for the third round of survey. After reaching the five days deadline set for the first and second rounds, the third round of survey was sent. For this round, the link contains a Korean translation of the questionnaire so that other foreign students who cannot comprehend well in English language can do it using the Korean version.

The total number of students included for the first and second round of survey was 167 (115 for the first round and 52 for the second round). Some KGSP scholars were included in the personalized emails. However, only 69 of them responded to the survey with an equivalent percentage response of 41.32 percentage points. The total number of foreign students included for the third round of survey was 260, but only 43 of them responded, a 16.5 percent turnout. All in all, there was a response turnout of 26 percentage points or 112 out of 427 respondents. Since only 102 samples will be taken, a “first-in, first-served”¹⁶ method was used to complete all samples.

The content of the email for the first and second rounds asked their help to answer the survey. For the third round, a voluntary participation to complete the survey was the content of the email. 

 

METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

In sorting out the responses on the first round of survey, some gave more than one answer in item number nine in the questionnaire. Random selection was then employed in item number nine by using coin flipping¹⁷ to eliminate other responses thereby extracting only one response. The other items with more than one response were taken as it is. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences¹⁸ - SPSS program software with the guidance of Dr. Ghun C. Jang, professor at the Public Administration department of CNU and Dr. Sung Woon Hong, research specialist in the same department. The frequencies and equivalent percentages of all data were analyzed in a sequential process following the order of the structured questionnaire. However, prior to encoding the data into the SPSS program, deductive coding system¹⁹ was employed. There exists a coding reliability on the collected data since all variables were precoded prior to data collection. Then the data were evaluated carefully so as to examine multiple responses in each variable then conducted another series of coding method.

 

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

Results are divided into four areas – respondent’s profile, living experiences in Korea, school life at CNU, and future aspirations of international students.

 

A.      Respondents’ Background

1.       Gender

There are fifty six male respondents, higher by ten percent to that of forty six female respondents. This completes the total number of samples to one hundred two. Table 1 below shows the frequency and percentage of respondent’s gender.

Table 1. Gender of respondents

Gender	Frequency	Percent (%)
Male	56	54.9
Female	46	45.1
Total	102	100

 

2.       Age Range

Most of the respondents are at the age ranging from 21 to 30 years old. Forty of the respondents are at the age range of 21-25 years old, thirty seven are in between 26-30 years old. This represents that most of the foreign students at CNU are from 21 to 30 years old. The least group of respondents are younger students (between 15-20 years old) comprising a total of only four. Table 2 shows the percentage of each group according to their age range.

Table 2. Age range of respondents

Age Range	Frequency	Percent (%)
15-20	4	3.9
21-25	43	42.2
26-30	37	36.3
31-35	11	10.8
35-above	7	6.9
Total	102	100

 

3.       Academic Level

Eighty six of the respondents belong to the graduate school while only sixteen in the undergraduate school. This shows that the graduate school of CNU is more diversified²⁰. It means that students in the graduate school come from different countries. In the undergraduate school, most of the foreign students are from China and other neighboring countries in Asia.

4.       Field of Study

Many of the foreign students are in the fields of business administration and engineering. The study shows that twenty five respondents belong to the Department of Business Administration. Similarly, twenty five respondents are studying engineering-related fields. This shows that most of the foreign students (based on a diversified perspective) are interested in the fields of business administration and engineering. Another field having a high number of foreign students is the field of agriculture and life sciences, 18 of the respondents belong to this field. While only few are in the fields of social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, molecular medicine, and Korean language training. 

5.       Length of Stay in Korea

Most or 34.3 percent of the respondents have been studying at CNU for less than two years. 27.5 percent of the respondents have been to Korea for less than one year. 34.3 percent have been to Korea for 1-2 years. 15.7 percent stayed to Korea for 2-3 years while 14.7 percent have a length of stay of 3-4 years. Only 7.8 percent of the respondents have been to Korea for more than five years. This would likely indicate that more and more foreign students will be admitted to CNU in the future.

6.       Present Residence

Most of the respondents are staying in the university dormitory, forty nine percent of them. This is because CNU offered several types of dormitories for the students to choose. However, other foreign students prefer to live outside the university. 29.4 percent are staying in boarding houses, while 20.6 percent are staying in apartments. One respondent preferred not to give specific name of residence so he just indicated that he is living in Korea. The table below presents the frequency and percentage of respondents’ residence.

Table 3. Residence of Respondents

Residence	Frequency	Percent (%)
Boarding house	30	29.4
Apartment	21	20.6
University dormitory	50	49
Others (Living in Korea)	1	1
Total	102	100

 

B.      Living Experiences in Korea

7.       Living Safety in Korea

In general, the survey reveals that living in Korea is safe compared to other countries. This is indicated by sixty one percent respondents who said that it is safe to live in Korea. This is additionally supported by thirty percent respondents who revealed that it is very safe to live in Korea. The table below indicates the perception of respondents on how safe to live in Korea.

Table 4. Living safety in Korea

	Response	Percentage (%)
1	Very Safe	30
2	Safe	61
3	Neither safe nor unsafe	7
4	Unsafe	1
5	Very unsafe	1

 

8.       Culture Shock Experience

Most of the respondents said that their experience on culture shock in Korea is very often. This indicates how diverse the culture of each foreign student. Forty five percent of the respondents said that they very often experience culture shock which includes food, traditional practices in Korea, and others. Out of one hundred two respondents, five of them said that they always experience culture shock. However, twenty two said that they have not experienced it, twenty six indicated a rare experience of culture shock, and three said they never experienced it in Korea. Table 5 below shows the result.

Table 5. Culture shock experience

Culture shock experience	Frequency	Percent (%)
Almost always	5	4.9
Very often	46	45.1
Not at all	22	21.6
Rarely	26	25.5
Almost never	3	2.9
Total	102	100

 

9.       Major Problems Encountered

The survey reveals that the major problem of foreign students is language. This means that they cannot communicate well using Hangul²¹, the native alphabet of the Korean language. Eighty nine of them experienced major problems in their studies while only thirteen said the other way. 

10.   Person Usually Consulted to Solve Problem

The survey also reveals that most of the foreign students usually consult their problems to their friends with a 68.4 equivalent percentage. Only fourteen percent consult their problems to their professors. Others also consult their problems to their parents (4.4%) and spouse (2.6%). However, 10.5% consult their problems to no one. This is quite alarming because there is a possibility that it will affect their study if they will not handle their problems properly.

 

C.      School Life at CNU

11.   Studying Difficulty in Korea

Forty three percent of the respondents said it is difficult to study in Korea while eight percent replied very difficult. On the other hand, forty one percent said studying in Korea is neither difficult nor easy. Another eight percent said it is easy while none said it is very easy. These findings clearly indicate that although there is a language barrier problem by foreign students, they find studying in Korea as sometimes difficult and sometimes not. Variables such as culture, language, and university setting affect thess indications.

12.   Stress Impact of Studying at CNU

The survey reveals that many of the foreign students feel stress in their studies. Forty nine percent of the respondents ‘very often’ feel stress while sixteen percent ‘almost always’ feel stress. On the other hand, other foreign students also said they rarely feel stress (16%) while others said they do not feel stress at all (20%).

13.   Means to Relieve Stress

Since many of the students often feel stress in studying, they usually chat with their friends or family to relieve stress. Others go for a walk, watch movies, and sleep. While facilities within the university can help relieve stress, the interaction between international students and domestic students should have been more visible in this area. Social interaction might be of help to relieve the stress of international students.

14.   Satisfaction of Services Provided by the International Office

The survey reveals that more than half of the foreign students are satisfied with the services provided by the International Office of CNU. Fifty five percent said they are ‘satisfied’ while twelve percent replied ‘very satisfied’. However, twenty six percent of the respondents are unsure if they are satisfied, six percent are dissatisfied, and two percent are very dissatisfied. These findings indicate that although satisfaction is there, the International Office needs to make more dynamic approaches and services to international students.

15.   Satisfaction of School Facilities at CNU

In terms of school facilities, most of the respondents are satisfied. This indicates that facilities at CNU are very accessible to international students. 

16.   CNU’s Influence to the Respondent

In general, most of the foreigners would recommend CNU to other foreign students. Only few said do not recommend or that they neither recommend CNU. Only one responded to strongly not recommend CNU.

 

D.      Future Aspirations

17.   Place of Work After Finishing Study

More than half of the respondents preferred to work in their home country after finishing their study. They are fifty one or an equivalent of forty seven percent. Some said that they prefer to work in other countries and in Korea. Few have no plans yet or that they wanted to continue studying in other countries.

18.   Career Status after Ten Years

More than half of the respondents wanted to become a professor after ten years. This is interesting because it shows the extent of influence the professors at CNU have to international students.  The table below shows the list of professions that the respondents wanted to be after ten years.

Table 6. Career status after ten years

Career		Frequency	Percent (%)
1	Professor	52	47.3
2	CEO (Chief Executive Officer)	18	16.4
3	Businessman/Businesswoman	16	14.5
4	Administrator	15	13.6
5	Researcher, for PhD.	6	5.5
6	Interpreter	1	0.9
7	Engineer	1	0.9
8	Foreign service office	1	0.9

 

CONCLUSIONS

The survey revealed some strong points on the impressions of international students to Chonnam National University in particular and to Korea in general. International students studying at CNU are generally satisfied with the school facilities and the services provided by the International Office. CNU is more global in the field of business administration and engineering as many foreigners belong to these fields. Majority of them are staying in university dormitories. This indicates their appreciation on the presence of diverse dormitory buildings (nine university dormitories with different accommodation facilities and services) so they can choose the suitable place for them to stay. Also, the study showed that most foreigners come to CNU to study and gain knowledge then after that they will go back to their home country and apply the knowledge they learned. This is an optimistic role CNU has in serving the international community as they transform their students to serve the world. The study also showed that most of them wanted to become professors after finishing their study. This indicates the strong influence of CNU professors to their students. Foreigners also contend that it is safe to live in Korea.

On the downside, the survey revealed that most international students feel stress in their studies as they consider studying in Korea to be difficult. Their major problem encountered so far is language barrier. That means they have difficulty in communicating Korean language. They also experienced culture shock although that is considered normal. However, the existence of various facilities around the university helped them to relieve stress by way of chatting with friends and family members, going for a walk around the university, watching movies, and other helpful activities. These findings seemed in congruence with the generalization of Colleen Ward. That there is limited interaction between international students and domestic students within the university. The purpose of globalizing the domestic students with the international students is not effectively realized. Hence most foreigners rely on university facilities to entertain themselves and relieve their stress.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following are recommendations:

1.       The survey reveals that the major problem of foreign students at CNU is language barrier. It is then recommended that CNU might consider adopting relevant policies to address this problem. For instance, it would be good to standardize Korean-buddy system. That one Korean volunteer student should be assigned to every one foreign student. Of course, both buddies should understand each other in which they should have commonalities. Commonalities in terms of language (to understand each other using one language), field of study, and others. Although most foreign students have their advising professor, this Korean-buddy system will help the professor to better guide the foreign student.

2.       Foreign students are satisfied in terms of university facilities at CNU. However, there are those who are not satisfied with the services provided by the International Office. It is then recommended to better enhance approaches and services to address this issue.

3.       It is also recommended that related surveys should be conducted to monitor the lifestyles and impressions of international students. In this way, globalization will be on its harmonious track towards competitiveness and excellence.

4.       Due to limited interaction between international students and domestic students, further research should be undertaken to find out the causes and perhaps device how to solve the issue so as to achieve better university globalization.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This study could not have been a success without the invaluable contributions from people who shared optimistic criticisms and recommendations. I give special acknowledgement to my professor for ‘research methods in public administration’, Dr. G. C. Jang (장건춘 교수님) whose ideas and suggestions are my primary motivation to conduct this study. His desire to help international students for further skills enhancement is a golden sharing. He guided me rationally and scientifically from the beginning of this study until its culmination.

My special thanks also to Ms. P. Thu, a fellow student from Vietnam who shared her experiences in similar studies. Her suggestions contributed much for an effective and efficient scientific data gathering strategies. Also to Dr. S. W. Hong (홍성운 박사님), a research specialist from the Department of Public Administration of Chonnam National University who helped me analyzed my data.

I also acknowledge my fellows for reviewing my structures and methodologies: 조용석 선생님, 이형준 선생님, 설선미 선생님, and my friends at Chonnam National University.

Of course, my major motivation to pursue academic studies abroad are my family members: my loving wife (Desiree Gume), my proactive and smart kids (Derick Jules and Jiselle Danne), including my parents and siblings. Thanks also to my supervisor in the Philippines, Dr. S. L. Ngohayon.

 

REFERENCES/ENDNOTES

1 QS Top Universities. 2011. Introduction to Chonnam National University. Available at <http://www.topuniversities.com/institution/chonnam-national-university>. Accessed on April 25, 2011.

2 Wikipedia. 2011. Chonnam National University. Available at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chonnam_National_University>. Accessed on April 25, 2011.

3 Chonnam National University. 2011. Available at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chonnam_National_University>. Accessed on April 25, 2011.

4 Google Map. 2011. Chonnam National University. Available at <http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&sugexp=eppshb&cp=6&gs_id=m&xhr=t&q=chonnam+national+university&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1400&bih=935&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=ddePTq73L5GJmQW3y9EV&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=3&sqi=2&ved=0CAwQ_AUoAg>. Accessed on April 25, 2011

5 Chonnam National University. 2011. CNU_Statistics_2010. Statistical Yearbook. pp.81-82. Available at <http://www.jnu.ac.kr/Introduction/Int_05/Pages/Int_05_16.aspx>. Accessed on May 31, 2011. No longer available, updated by the 2011 Annual Report of CNU.

6 Colleen Ward. 2001. The Impact of International Students on Domestic Students and Host Institutions. Education Counts, Publications. Available at <http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/international/the_impact_of_international_students_on_domestic_students_and_host_institutions>. Accessed on April 20, 2011.

7 The World Bank Group. 2010. Gross Domestic Product – Ranking Table. Available at <http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP.pdf>. Accessed on April 20, 2011.

8 Chonnam National University. 2011. CNU_Statistics_2010. Statistical Yearbook. pp.81-82. Available at <http://www.jnu.ac.kr/Introduction/Int_05/Pages/Int_05_16.aspx>. Accessed on May 31, 2011. No longer available, updated by the 2011 Annual Report of CNU.

9 History Learning Site. 2011. Structured Questionnaires. Available at <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/structured_questionnaires.htm>. Accessed on April 25, 2011.

10 Chava Frankfort-Nachmias, C.F. & David Nachmias. 2000. Research Methods in the Social Sciences, Sixth Edition. New York, USA: Worth Publishers. Probability Sample Designs. pp.171-173

11 -----. Nonprobability Sample Designs. pp.168

12 Wikipedia. 2011. Google Docs. Available at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Docs>. Accessed on April 22, 2011.

13 Wikipedia. 2011. Facebook. Available at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook>. Accessed on April 22, 2011.

14 According to the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities of Facebook as revised on April 26, 2011 in Item 4 about Registration and Account Security, all users must provide their real names and information. Available at <https://www.facebook.com/terms.php>.

15 National Institute for International Education. 2009. Korean Government Scholarship Program. Available at <http://www.niied.go.kr/>. Accessed on April 22, 2011.

16 Wikipedia. 2011. First-in, first-served. Available at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-come,_first-served>. Accessed on April 22, 2011.

17 Using coin flipping is recommended to resolve disputes that would give an unbiased result. It is helpful in decision making purposes. Available at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin_flipping>.

18 Chava Frankfort-Nachmias, C.F. & David Nachmias. 2000. Research Methods in the Social Sciences, Sixth Edition. New York, USA: Worth Publishers. Data Processing and Analysis. pp.315.

19 Chava Frankfort-Nachmias, C.F. & David Nachmias. 2000. Research Methods in the Social Sciences, Sixth Edition. New York, USA: Worth Publishers. Data Processing and Analysis. pp.304-316.

20 In this survey, diversified means to increase the variety of products. The international students in the graduate school of Chonnam National University include those from Asia, Africa, North and South America, Middle East, and Europe.

21 Wikipedia. 2011. Hangul. Available at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangul>.