Exploring international student policies in China, Japan, and South Korea before and after 2020

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Attracting international students has been a central focus of the internationalization efforts of higher education institutions worldwide. While English-speaking countries have traditionally been leading destinations for international students, non-English speaking countries, such as China, Japan, and South Korea, have also sought to enhance their appeal as host destinations. These three nations implemented several government-driven internationalization policies aimed at considerably increasing their international student population by 2020: Japan’s “300,000 international student plan,” “Study Korea 2020 Project” to attract 200,000 international students (the target year was extended to 2023), and “Project of Study Abroad in China” to recruit 500,000 international students. While each country was either nearing or reaching its target, the global outbreak of the COVID-19 in 2020 halted student mobility and dramatically altered the higher education landscape. The pandemic not only posed significant challenges to the international student market but also presented game-changing opportunities for institutions. The post-pandemic period has become a critical time for higher education institutions worldwide to reassess their strategies to attract international students.

Previous research on internationalization policies in East Asian regions has primarily focused on ongoing policies without adequately reflecting on past experiences or exploring the prospects informed by these lessons. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, much research has shifted to examining the pandemic’s immediate effects on international education policies and practices, such as how it has impacted student mobility, student teaching and learning, study abroad programs, and student decision-making processes in a single national or regional context. To address this gap, this panel examines the past, present, and future of international student policies by comparing three East Asian regions—China, Japan, and South Korea—with a particular focus on the pivotal year of 2020. By employing conceptual models to attract international students and drawing on qualitative interview data from international education experts, the panel aims to explore how these three countries have witnessed policy changes and emerging trends before and after 2020 through the lens of government policies and insights from international education experts. The analysis uses Ashizawa’s (2013) simplified model for attracting international student populations and restructured the models developed by Ebuchi (1997) and Yokota and Shiratsuchi (2004). The model comprises three approaches: 1) the diplomacy/international understanding and cooperation model, where scholarships are used as part of a national-level diplomatic strategy to attract global elites and foster pro-government sentiment; 2) the customer and strategic study abroad nation-building model, which treats international students as “customers” and higher education as a “product,” often setting higher tuition fees for international students than for domestic ones; and 3) the highly skilled talent acquisition model, which views international students as potential members of a highly skilled workforce who can contribute advanced knowledge and skills to the nation.

The pandemic has offered both challenges and opportunities: changing student mobility flows, teaching and learning methods, and the dynamics of study abroad, which have impacted international student policy and practice. After the pandemic, Japan was the first nation to announce a new internationalization policy in 2023 known as the “Japan-Mobility and Internationalization: Re-engaging and Accelerating Initiative for Future Generations” (J-MIRAI), aimed at increasing the number of inbound and outbound students to 400,000 and 500,000, respectively, by 2033. Following Japan’s lead, South Korea introduced the “Study Korea 300 K Project” to further promote internationalization and boost its international student population to 300,000 by 2027. These policies aimed to ensure a seamless transition for students from academia to the professional world. Both Japan and South Korea are now gravitating toward a highly skilled talent acquisition model, driven in part by serious demographic challenges, such as declining birth rates. The Chinese government has not yet announced a new policy but has moved forward after the pandemic. Interview data revealed that despite region-specific challenges, China, Japan, and South Korea share several overlapping issues from which they can learn and gain valuable insights. All three countries have sought numerically driven policies that have caused quality issues. The keywords for their current policies encompass “high-quality” education and students. Japan’s and South Korea’s new policies include the significance of enhancing the “quality” of students, teaching and learning environment, academic services, and support infrastructure while setting numerical target goals. China is also seeking quality enhancements in its internationalization practices. While these countries have individually sought to enhance their appeal as host destinations, the potential for them to learn from one another and collaborate to attract international student populations to East Asia exists.

This panel welcomes not only those involved in internationalization policy, practice, and research, specifically in East Asian regions, but also those whose internationalization initiatives are government-driven. The panel will offer the audience three case studies from China, Japan, and South Korea, allowing them to reflect on and share their experiences in their institutions and countries/regions. Furthermore, it allows the participants and presenters to envision how they can learn from each another and collaborate from the insights gained from past policies and the pandemic.

Sub Unit

• East Asia SIG

Chair

• Yukiko Ishikura, Osaka Univeristy

Individual Presentations

• Time to transform: International education experts’ view on government-led internationalization policies in Japan - Yukiko Ishikura, Osaka Univeristy

• Evolving international student policy landscape in China: The perspective of international education experts - Ming Li, Osaka University

• Adapting and Advancing: Expert Insights on the International Student Policies in South Korea - Yon-Soo Tak, Osaka Univeristy