An increasing number of overseas Koreans are coming back to Korea to study. Many, according to Lee Jung-hoon, the dean of Underwood International College at Yonsei University, come to Korea to build social networks here and to develop expertise on Asia. Some also come to discover more about their cultural roots.

According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the number of such students at Korean universities jumped from 792 in 2004 to 2,157 in 2008, nearly a threefold increase in four years. Korean students from China made up the majority with 1,821, but numbers from North America and Europe also increased from 199 in 2004 to 411 last year.

If second-generation Korean immigrants from other countries who are not fluent in Korean are to study here, the universities need to provide classes in English and be equipped with facilities of an international standard.

UIC at Yonsei invite professors from leading universities in the United States and provide all lectures in English and is one of the most popular universities among foreign and second-generation Korean students. Half of the students enrolled at the UIC are graduates of high schools in other countries, and 20 percent of the student body are "pure" foreigners of no Korean descent.

The global management, U.S. and international law, and information technology majors at Handong Global University also offer all their coursework in English from the freshmen year.