Why Chinese students choose Korea as their study destination in the global hierarchy of higher education

This paper focuses on why Chinese students, who comprise a majority of international students in Korean universities, choose Korea as their study destination. Using a case study design, it explores the overseas education motivations of Chinese students at a selective institution in Seoul and a less selective institution in Daegu. The study focuses on how Chinese students make sense of their own mobility in a global context where the internationalization of education is unfolding as a spatially differentiated and uneven process. After analyzing the students’ narratives, their motivations and the meaning of their choice to study in Korea were classified into four categories: 1) bounded choice as a satisfier, 2) parentocracy as a delegated choice, 3) romantic choice by the Korean Wave (Hallyu), and 4) feasible choice as a pragmatic strategy.