Tonking Bastola presented on opportunities and challenges for Nepalese students studying in South Korea. He outlined the Korean educational system and reasons for studying there including strong government support, academic excellence, affordable tuition, cutting-edge technology, and job opportunities. Nepalese student numbers have grown significantly in recent years. While scholarships help with costs, students face academic and social challenges. After graduation, opportunities exist in Korea, Nepal or third countries. Connecting Nepalese experts abroad could benefit development. The Society of Nepalese Students in Korea provides support, but COVID-19 has impacted the current situation.

1. NEPALESE STUDENT IN SOUTH KOREA:
OPPORTUNITIESAND CHALLENGES
Presented By:
Tonking Bastola
PhD. Candidate
College of Pharmacy
Wonkwang University,
South Korea

2. South Korea, an East Asian nation on the
southern half of the Korean Peninsula, shares one of the
world’s most heavily militarized borders with North
Korea. It’s equally known for its green, hilly countryside
dotted with cherry trees and centuries-old Buddhist
temples, plus its coastal fishing villages, sub-tropical
islands and high-tech cities such as Seoul, the capital

3. Educational System in Korea
• The Korean education is a single-track system, which operates on a 6-3-3-4 basis, with six years of elementary
school, three years of middle school, three years of high school, and four years at the undergraduate university level.
• One academic year has two semesters, the first semester is from March to June and the second from September to
December.
• There are two vacations, in summer from July to August and in winter from December to February.

4. Why Study in Korea
• Korea has a long history of prioritizing excellence in education.
Strong Support from
the government
• Various types of
scholarships available for
international students
• 2,000 government
scholarship recipients every
year
Academic excellence
• 433 universities and
colleges in Korea offer a
variety of degree
• programs in diverse fields
• Korea ranks at the top of
OECD countries for
scholastic achievement and
educational competitiveness.
Affordable tuition fees
• The average annual tuition fee
for Korean universities is
5,500 USD
• a year, roughly one-third of
that of other advanced
countries.
• most Korean universities
provide a wide range of
scholarships to international
students depending on their
academic performances.

5. Cutting-edge technology
• Korea’s continued investment in
R&D and ICT convergence has
led to 64 high-tech industrial
products having the largest shares
in the global market including
memory chips, smart phones,
liquid crystals and shipbuilding.
• An extensive nationwide 4G
network has expanded to reach
literally every corner of the
nation
World-class standard
of living
• Safest in the world
• Along with the extremely
low crime rate and the
nation’s location, which
keeps it completely safe
from natural disasters,
Koreans
Job opportunities
• 17 Korean global
companies listed in the
Fortune Global 500
• 12,000 overseas
branches established by
Korean companies
• Career and job fairs for
international students.

6. Higher Education Programs for International Students

7. Scholarshipsin Korea
1. University Scholarships
• Most of the Universities in Korea offer Scholarship for International Students
• Generally, 30-100% of tuition fee depending on their academic results.
2. Scholarships from the Korean Government
A. Global Korea Scholarship (GKS): Korean Government Scholarship Program

8. Nepalese students in Korea
• South Korea is becoming one of the best destinations to
pursue higher education for Nepali students.
• The first Nepali student came to Korea for higher study
dates back to late 70s. Since then students gradually
started to join universities in Korea for higher education.
• As per the record of the Korea Immigration Bureau in
2015 about 500 Nepali students were pursuing their
academic degrees and research activities in Korea which
now might increase up to 2000.
• The majority of those students are in the field of
biochemistry, Nano-Science, Molecular Biology, and
Natural Science while very few numbers of students are
in IT, Engineering, NGO Studies, Arts and Commerce.
.

9. • ResearchAssistant/Professor’s
Funding
• GKS-Scholarship
• UniversityScholarship
• Dependent
• Self-Payment
• Inreligious(Buddhismand
Christianity)
Way and Method: Nepalese students in Korea

10. Society of Nepalese student in Korea (SONSIK)
• InteractionProgram-Orientation
• EducationalSeminar
• SportTournament
• CulturalEvents-Nepalday
• SocialActivity

11. Challenges
Academic Issues

12. AfterGraduation
• Job opportunity in Korea/Further study
• Possibility for Nepal
• Third country
Problems
• Degree equivalence
• Theory base- Research base
• Working Environment

13. Suggestions to Nepalese
Government/Stakeholders
RECOGNIZE: Maintain up-to-date information about diaspora
Nepali experts and their expertise, thereby creating access to the vast
amount of intellectual resource that they are willing to contribute to
the nation.
PROMOTE: Make visible the work done by individual diaspora
experts and groups, promoting their contribution among government
and non-government agencies. Also foster greater respect for
diaspora experts among the public at home.
CONNECT: Encourage ministries, government agencies, and
academic and social institutions to use the database for reaching out
to diaspora experts and expand/enhance connections and
opportunities.
MOBILIZE: Create initiatives to mobilize the expertise of diaspora
experts, helping them network and learn about one another’s
contribution to Nepal, find/create opportunities for collaborating
with experts at home, and create new initiatives for the greatest
impact possible.
REWARD: Officially recognize the most impactful work done by
diaspora experts, providing moral and social support and allocating
resources for them.
Expectation from Nepalese
Government/Stakeholders as
Graduate Student
• Proper recognition
• Resources
• Satisfactory Job Opportunity
• Measure Investment on Education
and Research Field
• Proper Working Environment

14. Korea- Current Situation- Effect of COVID
Overall
• Fast Track down/ Emergency alert
• Social distancing
• Cover All COVID-19 Medical
Expenses
• Culture of Wearing Facemasks
• Transparency
Education
• Online classes
• Online Exams
• Online forms submission
• Online applications
Effect on Nepalese students
• Delayed Semester
• Chance of infection
• Job Problems

15. Information for Study and life in Korea?
Society of Nepalese Students in Korea (SONSIK)
www.sonsik.org.np
https://www.facebook.com/npsonsik
 National Institute of International Education (NIIED) – www.studyinkorea.go.kr
 We (Korean Universities Students and Alumni)
 Embassy of Nepal in Korea
https://kr.nepalembassy.gov.np/
 SONSIK Alumni in Nepal