Middling mobility and emerging cultural capital: a positional competition perspective on Chinese students studying in South Korea

Abstract

Chinese student mobility has diversified with the rise of educational hubs in Asia. However, the literature primarily focuses on student mobility to Anglophone universities. This study conceptualises Chinese students studying in South Korea as participating in a positional competition, wherein the concepts of middling mobility and emerging cultural capital are introduced. Through the lens of positional competition, this study investigates the engagement of middling mobile students seeking positional advantage by studying in Korea. It further explores the competitive edge gained by the emerging cultural capital acquired from Korea within the Chinese labour market. The promise and precarity inherent in middling mobility and emerging cultural capital are illuminated through the juxtaposed narratives of Chinese students, parents, educational consultants, and human resources managers. This study supplements the landscape of Chinese students in global higher education and enriches our understanding of student mobility and cultural capital from a positional competition perspective.

Keywords:

• Middling mobility
• emerging cultural capital
• positional competition
• higher education
• chinese students
• South Korea

Introduction

Chinese student mobility and cultural capital in a positional competition

The number of globally mobile tertiary students has doubled since 2007 to 6.387 million in 2021 (The UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2022). Chinese students are the largest cohort of globally mobile students enrolled in foreign tertiary education programs outside their country of citizenship. Although English-speaking countries such as the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom continue to be the top destinations for Chinese students, in recent years, the pattern of Chinese student mobility has diversified owing to the emergence of educational hubs in East Asia (Jon, Lee, and Byun 2014; Lee 2017; Wang et al. 2021). Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on international student mobility. Chinese students studying abroad have faced racist and xenophobic incidents, negatively affecting their motivation for international education (Mok and Mok 2023). The deteriorating diplomatic relations between China and its Western counterparts resulting from new geo-political realities have affected the study-abroad plans of Chinese students. Surveys conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 showed an increased preference among mainland Chinese students for Asian regions or countries as destinations for international education (Mok 2022; Mok and Mok 2023). With the Chinese policy transitioning from strict zero-tolerance to coexistence with the COVID-19 virus, Chinese international students are gradually resuming their plans to study abroad. Although traditional Western destinations have regained their attraction for mainland Chinese students, the spread of the pandemic has fostered the emergence of new study abroad destinations (Mok, Xiong, and Ke 2022).

International education provides students with cultural capital including foreign diplomas or degrees, as well as experience that may shape their disposition. Academic or institutional qualifications that endow social recognition to the possessor are referred to as institutionalised cultural capital. Capital acquired and accumulated via self-improvement in the socialisation process is known as embodied cultural capital (Bourdieu 1986). In a conventional Bourdieusian cultural system, members of the dominant class tend to obtain greater opportunities and rewards than members of the dominated class because the cultural capital they possess is better recognised and converted into advantages within a specific social context, which, according to Bourdieu (1984), is called a field. A field refers to a structured social space with its own rules that organises around various combinations of capitals (Bourdieu 1984). An individual’s position in the field of higher education largely hinges on the capital that they can mobilise. Certain institutional cultural capital and its derived value are preferred over others according to a global hierarchy in which some elite higher education, especially US universities, predominates (Kim 2016; Marginson 2006, 2008). The uneven distribution of cultural capital can be transformed into opportunity structures for students who are able to move (Kim 2015). To excel in this positioning arena, students and their parents strategically practice their spatial mobility to pursue overseas degrees as an opportunity to gain cultural capital and pave the way for career success (Brooks and Waters 2011; Findlay et al. 2012; Waters 2008). Cultural capital has ‘long been recognised as vital to the reproduction of the middle class’ (Brown 1995, 33). The privileged individuals with greater access to cultural capital are more likely to perpetuate positional advantage across generations, thus reinforcing a sense of fatalism.

Studies on Chinese student (im)mobility and their pursuit of cultural capital through international higher education have mainly focused on dominant hypermobile students who possess academic proficiency or financial means to study in the sought-after traditional destination countries or on dominated immobile students who lack higher education opportunities. Little attention has been paid to the middling mobile students and the cultural capital obtained from emerging educational hubs. This study conceptualises Chinese students studying in Korea as participating in a positional competition, wherein the concepts of middling mobility and emerging cultural capital are introduced. It first investigates how middling mobile students became engaged in competition for positional advantage via studying in Korea, and further explores the viability of the emerging cultural capital attained from Korean universities in the Chinese labour market. In this article, the derived meaning of studying in Korea and the role of Korean degrees in shaping opportunities for academic or career success are referred to as emerging cultural capital. While Korean degrees have not been traditionally recognised or valued, they have recently gained attention. Emerging forms of cultural capital bring attention to changing ways of cultural consumption and the tendency to include a wider range of choices in culturally privileging individuals’ repertoire (Prieur and Savage 2013). By capitalising on middling mobility to study in Korea and mobilising foreign cultural capital in the Chinese labour market, students exert their agency in positional competition. This competition, as defined by Hirsch (2005, 53), ‘is fundamentally for a higher place within some explicit or implicit hierarchy and that thereby yields gains for some only by dint of losses for others’. Judging from ‘conventional measures of economic output’, positional competition is inherently zero-sum; as individuals compete for limited opportunities, one’s gain in relative position comes at the expense of another’s loss. However, when it comes to ‘individual efficiency’, a clear-cut zero-sum perspective cannot fully capture the rewards of overseas study, which include embodied cultural capital (Hirsch 2005, 53). By accommodating the concepts of emerging cultural capital and middling student mobility, the positional competition perspective is transformed from a linear zero-sum game into a dynamic and multifaceted competition. While Bourdieu (1984) highlights how social hierarchies are reproduced in the field according to the possession of the dominant culture, the positional competition perspective illustrates a long and costly race while embracing the potential for transformative action and social mobility by highlighting the positional advantage and adding costs. It complements the dichotomy between hypermobility and immobility in student mobility, and challenges the conventional understanding in the dominant and dominated culture capital in higher education.

Chinese students studying in Korea: middling mobility and emerging cultural capital in the positioning arena

In the tilted global higher education landscape, where more attention and recognition has been given to traditional destination countries, Japan and South Korea (hereafter Korea) stand out as the two most notable non-Anglophone destination countries for Chinese students (Institute of International Education 2022; The UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2024). As early as 1896, Chinese self-funded students had already begun studying in Japan (Liu-Farrer 2011, 20), while Korea did not start accepting self-funded Chinese students until the year 2000. The history of Chinese students studying in Korea is much shorter compared to other countries; however, the number of Chinese students enrolled in degree programs has increased 44 times, from 1,378 in 2000 (Ministry of Education and Science Technology 2010, 157) to 60,356 in 2023 (Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) 2023). The Korean government has implemented a series of policies and programs to attract foreign students. In the last two decades, the number of international students in Korea has increased from 12,314 in 2003 to 181,842 in 2023 (Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) 2023). Chinese students make up the bulk of foreign students in Korea.

Previous studies of Chinese students in Korea have mainly focused on two dimensions: motivation and study experience. The push-pull model has been widely adopted to understand what motivate Chinese students to choose to study in Korea. However, push factors, such as fierce competition and high unemployment in China, are insufficient for choosing Korea as the destination country. The pulling dimension is decisive in the choice of destination (Guan, Mok, and Yu 2023). Chun (2009, 387–392) points out that the lack of a school-age population in Korea and the resultant loss in higher education enrolment plunged several universities into financial difficulties. Thus, Korean universities actively responded to the government’s call for the internationalisation of higher education and the enrolment of foreign students, which attracted thousands of Chinese students to Korea. Notably, researchers (Hu 2012; Lee 2012, 2013; 2017) found that Korea serves as a second option for some Chinese students when they cannot achieve their preferred educational goals in China. Students are found to be attracted by the cheaper tuition fees and living expenses, lax entrance requirements, and recommendations from parents, friends, and education agencies (Lee 2012, 2013; 2017). Some other intervening factors also have significant impact on Chinese students’ decisions to study in Korea. For example, the inspiring role of the Korean Wave in the decision-making process (Lee 2013; 2017). Besides, English-medium programs have been promoted vigorously in Korea to boost Korean universities’ internationalisation and attract more international students and faculty (Jon, Lee, and Byun 2014). In addition to these motivations, the experiences of Chinese students in Korea have also drawn academic attention. In a survey conducted by Cho and Jon (2009), Chinese students were satisfied with the educational facilities, but showed relatively low satisfaction with their academic achievement. Moreover, despite the cultural similarities between the two countries, some Chinese students have difficulty adapting to Korean society (Park and Deng 2013; Yoon and Kim 2017; Yu 2013). Overall, the process of acculturation and how it may impact students’ psychological well-being have gained significantly scholarly focus.

As an emerging study-abroad destination, Korea appeals to numerous Chinese students each year, many of whom return to China upon graduation as job seekers. Very few studies delve into their position in the Chinese labour market, leaving a gap in the literature. As middling mobile students, they demand educational upgrades; however, their academic performance may not qualify them for admission to the universities they desire in China. They belong to the quasi-middle class in China but do not possess sufficient financial conditions to study in highly sought-after destination countries. They are not only propelled by individual decisions but also channelled by multiple factors and stakeholders in ‘the middle space’ (Lindquist, Xiang, and Yeoh 2012). They embrace the emerging cultural capital accumulated during their studies in Korea but are poised for precarious recognition in the Chinese job market. Through the lens of positional competition, a case study of Chinese students studying in Korea demonstrates the promise and precarity of middling student mobility and emerging cultural capital. This study contributes to the existing literature on the landscape of Chinese students in global higher education. It further presents a holistic view of how students became embroiled in and undergird positional competition by including various stakeholders (i.e. students, parents, educational consultants, and human resources managers).

Methods

Research design

This study used a qualitative method to examine the mobility and cultural capital of Chinese students studying in Korea. Interviewing proved to be suitable for this case study, as it enables exploration of how mobility and cultural capital are validated in a global positional competition. The narratives derived from this study were curated from in-depth semi-structured interviews with four educational consultants, five parents, five human resources managers, and 17 Chinese students. Semi-structured interviews allow participants to describe and interpret their experiences as responses to the questions, while having the leeway to further expand the conversation (Brinkmann 2014). The interviews were conducted in Mandarin Chinese, and the interview transcriptions were translated into English. The open-ended interview questions explored major topics related to motivations, experiences, and employability. The data were analysed inductively.

As a qualitative study, this research does not aim to generalise the population but to conduct an in-depth exploration of a central phenomenon by using purposeful sampling strategies (Creswell and Creswell 2018). Three rounds of interviews were conducted between September 2021 and August 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic and the global travel restrictions made face-to-face interviews impossible; thus, the ‘second best’ (Holt 2010, 117) option of the online interview method was adopted for the first two rounds of interviews in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, the Chinese government’s lifting of the zero COVID policy and the gradual resumption of international flights made it possible to conduct a third round of interviews in person. A total of 31 participants were interviewed and five students who were expected to graduate after the first round of interviews were interviewed again for updates on their post-study experiences in the second and third rounds of interviews. The gender ratio of the selected students (the ratio of female to male is 10:7) is proportional to the gender ratio of foreign students in Korea, which is 7:5 (Korean Educational Statistics Service (KESS) 2021). Among the 17 interviewed Chinese students, 15 were self-funded, and two were on government scholarships. According to the 2023 Statistical Report on the Number of Foreign Students in Korea (Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) 2023), 58% of the Chinese students studying in Korea are enrolled in universities in the Seoul metropolitan area. This study included students from universities that host a significant number of foreign students in Seoul, as well as students from universities located outside the Seoul metropolitan area. Of the 17 students, 15 employed agency services when applying to the university program. To protect the confidentiality of all the respondents, pseudonyms are used and the universities are not specified. A multi-step snowball sampling was employed. According to the Ministry of Education, the People’s Republic of China (2019), most Chinese students who studied overseas returned to China after completing their studies. This provides a good example of mobilising foreign cultural capital in the Chinese labour market. In addition to interviewing students, other sampling categories (i.e. parents, educational consultants, and human resources managers) were chosen to develop, complement, and test the students’ narratives. Here, the narratives of the four correlative groups regarding studying in Korea corroborate and contradict each other from various perspectives. These offer better clues for understanding the complex power dynamics in a positional competition.

Findings

Capitalising on middling mobility to study in Korea for positional advantage

Mobility as the ability to go abroad to study can be practised and possessed (Moret 2018). It indicates the possession of beneficial qualities and the capability to participate in higher education, which have been recognised as a valorised pathway to social privilege, personal enrichment, and career development. While the choice of destination country is driven by personal preferences, it is also influenced by diverse factors such as financial status, academic performance, parents’ expectations, and educational consultants’ suggestions. In contrast to students who take mobility for granted and those who lack mobility, middling mobile students bridge the gap. Many aspire to receive a higher quality education, but either their grades are insufficient for admission to the desirable universities in China, or they are financially constrained and unable to pursue education in their ideal countries for overseas education. Marshalling the narratives of students, parents, and educational consultants, this section illustrates an assemblage of factors that shape middling mobile students’ decision of studying in Korea for positional advantage.

The phenomenon of study abroad fever has been prevalent in China since the 1980s. The term, Dujin, once used to describe the process of overseas study, metaphorically likens it to the gold-plating of an ordinary object. This reflects the conversion of economic capital to cultural capital through overseas education (Xiang and Shen 2009). A family’s financial status plays a significant role in determining whether a child can study abroad and which countries they can consider for their education. Some interviewees stated that Korea was not their initial choice when planning to study abroad. However, subsequent consultations with an educational agent prompted them to recalibrate their plans. One student recalled the following:

Originally, I wanted to go to New Zealand. However, the expenses are beyond my parents’ affordability. Then the consultant suggested that we consider Korea. I was told that I might be able to be admitted to a good ranking university in Korea. I was so eager to escape from my high school life and the upcoming college entrance examination (Interview with Zhao Zihao, 9 October 2021).

The interview extracts demonstrate Zihao’s middling financial status. On the one hand, his family financial circumstances seem to limit his access to the initially desired destination country and make studying in Korea a second choice. On the other hand, the expenses associated with studying in Korea have already far exceeded what an average working-class family can afford. A conservative estimate of the tuition fee for a four-year undergraduate humanities major in Korea is approximately USD 30,800, which is 4.6 times more than the per capita annual disposable income of urban residents in China and 12 times that of the rural residents’ per capita annual income (National Bureau of Statistics of China 2021; Study in Korea 2024). Zihao is allowed certain latitude in choosing a destination country. However, compared to the financially sufficient middle-class families, the decision to send a child abroad comes at a much higher cost for quasi-middle-class families, and the higher cost connotes higher expectations of returns.

The study abroad agency played a decisive role in Zihao’s case when choosing Korea for pursuing higher education. For Zihao, Korea has become a place where he can escape from the suffocating student life in China and fulfill his dream of attending a prestigious school. A consultant with experience in study abroad services for Korea since the early 2000s described his work as ‘assisting students and parents in pursuing the highest cost-effectiveness’ (Interview with Wang Meng, 5 August 2023). He elaborated on this by saying:

According to students’ academic performance and family financial status, I recommend the best-ranked schools or programs that they might have the possibility of being admitted to. Maximising the value they receive from their investments in education is especially important for families with relatively moderate financial resources.

The college entrance examination in China is often described as thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of horses crossing a ‘single-plank bridge’ (The State Council and the People’s Republic of China 2014). When the consultants recommend universities, they often compare Chinese and Korean universities that have similar world rankings. If the likelihood of being accepted by a good-ranking Korean university is higher than the probability of being admitted to a prestigious Chinese university through the college entrance examination, studying in Korea becomes a persuasive strategy to gain a positional advantage. Apart from referring to world rankings, universities in the Seoul metropolitan area are highly preferred by students and recommended by education consultants. There is a significant difference between universities in the Seoul metropolitan area and other regional universities in Korea. The term ‘in-Seoul’ is commonly used to refer to 4-year comprehensive universities in Korea, and being admitted to universities in Seoul, to some extent, holds the promise of a comprehensive education, better career opportunities, and immersion in the vibrant urban lifestyle of the capital city. For students who grew up in second or third-tier cities, or even towns in China, this holds great appeal.

Education, as a partial positional good, exists in two dimensions: the absolute dimension of education centres on the inherent value of learning and personal growth, and the positional dimension is often linked to the pursuit of credentials, degrees, and qualifications that set individuals apart from others and give them favourable positions in society (Brown 2003; Hirsch 2005). In the eyes of many students and parents, studying in Korea is to students what ‘standing on tiptoe is to an individual in a crowd’; this choice ‘gives a better view, or at least prevents a worse one’ (Hirsch 2005, 7). In the interview, Zhao Zihao’s father further explained his opinion on sending his child abroad:

Based on his academic performances, I’m worried that he won’t be admitted to the first or the second batches of universities (in China). Even if he could, I’m afraid that there won’t be any good majors left for him. We tried to secure him more options by sending him abroad. Just like the old saying said, rather be the head of the chicken, not the tail of the phoenix (Interview with Zhao Peng, 9 October 2021).

Like the English saying, ‘big fish in a small pond or small fish in a big pond’, the saying ‘rather be the head of the chicken than the tail of the phoenix’ connotes the importance of grabbing positional advantage in the hierarchy of the education system. High-ranking universities and promising majors contain social scarcity that affect the returns in the labour market (Araki 2020; Bills 2016; Brown 2013). The Chinese government has vigorously bolstered its competitiveness in higher education and improved the global standing of elite universities in the prominent league tables. Attending top-tier universities is not limited to studying abroad. However, only a small number of universities in China are favoured by the government and recognised in the labour market. These flagship universities are still inaccessible to most candidates in China due to the wide gap between the number of applicants and admissions. Moreover, the official household registration system, hukou, imposes various restrictions on university admissions based on a student’s residence record. For instance, the likelihood of potential students from Beijing being accepted at Tsinghua University is 30 times higher than that of students from Guangdong (Kirby 2022, 256–257). In a Chinese educational assessment system, the academic performances of many middling mobile students do not necessarily reflect their intelligence or ability to excel in their studies. Instead of suggesting that overseas study is a shortcut for mediocre Chinese students, this study aims to emphasise that studying abroad has, to some extent, broken the constraints of the household registration system and the disparities in educational levels among different regions, providing students with an opportunity to jump the national queue to pursue their desired higher education.

Korea—as a regional educational hub with its ‘lower costs living and education’ and ‘geographical and cultural proximity’ (Jon, Lee, and Byun 2014, 708)—has found a niche role in global higher education and has become a suitable choice for quasi-middle-class families in China. Furthermore, the diverse collaborative projects between universities in South Korea and China, along with the multilingual teaching approaches adopted by Korean universities, have provided numerous Chinese students with opportunities to enhance their resumes. Individuals who worry about not being able to achieve or maintain their desired positions acquire additional education to safeguard or defend their access to a promising labour market (Hirsch 2005). Huang Qin’s experience serves as a typical example.

I didn’t do well in the college entrance examination and wasn’t satisfied with the university I was admitted to. In my sophomore year, the university initiated double-degree projects with overseas universities. My English is not good, so I chose the cooperation project with a Korean university. I was thinking that learning a new language while obtaining a double degree could give me competitive advantages for landing a job in the future (Interview with Huang Qin, 12 September 2021).

Huang’s interview indicates that studying in Korea as an additional educational achievement became ‘a defensive necessity’ to her (Thurow and Lucas 1972, 38, as quoted in Hirsch 2005, 52). Similarly, some other students (Yu Yang and Yao Lei) brought up language learning as a bonus for studying in Korea. They believed that it would be easier for them as Chinese students to learn the Korean language, as the two languages are somewhat similar. Simultaneously, they can continue learning English because English-medium instruction is highly promoted in Korean universities (Green 2015; Jon, Lee, and Byun 2014). For students who are aware of the gap between Chinese and foreign higher education, studying in Korea is a means to an end, a way to obtain a positional advantage. Similar strategy can be found among Koreans graduated from US universities, instead of altering the disparity between Korean and US higher education, they prefer to leverage this difference to obtain a positional advantage as transnational middleman intellectuals (Kim 2015). However, it is crucial to note that as a destination country for studying abroad, Korea presents students with aspirations accompanied by uncertainty and even anxiety. This duality becomes increasingly evident during their study abroad journey and in the process of job hunting after graduation. Anxiety stems from the fear of falling behind and losing one’s social standing, which contributes to stress and emotional distress.

Meanwhile, other students considered studying in Korea as an end itself, rather than as a means. The Korean Wave (Hallyu) was one of the major motivations. Hallyu refers to the growing popularity of Korean dramas and K-pop as cultural phenomena that have expanded in influence since the 1990s. One of the ripple effects of the Korean Wave is that many people have become interested in Korean language and culture. Consequently, many people desire to study in Korea. Some interviewees (Xiao Mo, Li Rui, Wu Ping, and Zhang Ning) explained how their decision to study in Korea was inspired by Korean popular culture. Zhang Ning’s interview extract highlights how the Korean Wave influenced her decision (20 November 2021). ‘Korea is my first choice when considering studying abroad. The campuses appearing in the drama, the actors and actresses’ outfits, makeup, and the coffee shops all look so appealing, and even the language sounds tender and dulcet’. Although the momentum of the emerging culture industry is encouraging, the Korean Wave as the reason for people wanting to study in Korea makes this case more uncertain and therefore distinctive. Zhang Ning chose a major in cultural industry management and believed that Korean universities would be the optimal choice, not only to cater to her personal preferences, but also to avoid becoming a financial burden on the family. Zhang Ning’s mother approved of and supported her decision to study in Korea. Being the only child in the family, Korea’s geographic proximity to China brought a sense of reassurance to her mother. Moreover, her mother believed that studying abroad could provide opportunities for expanding horizons and gaining knowledge. Overseas education is expected to provide an additional advantage so that an individual can be ‘one step ahead’ of fierce competition (Xiang and Shen 2009, 516). Chinese parents often dedicate all they have to ensure that their children are one step ahead of others. The decision to study abroad is not just an individual choice but a family project. The involvement of parents in children’s plans for overseas study reflects the values of Confucianism, which emphasise the family as the basic social unit (Saich, 2017, as cited in Guan, Mok, and Yu 2023, 12). Sending a child abroad for studies not only carries parents’ expectations for their child but also holds parents’ aspirations for the future of the entire family.

In the decision-making process, educational consultants provide students and parents with information on universities, help them craft applications, follow up on admission processes, and estimate employability situations. Among the information provided, the possibility of being admitted to a higher-ranking university was mentioned as a persuasive factor when students and parents decided which university to apply for. A consultant who has been working in this field for 15 years explained that Korean universities usually have preferential policies for foreign students regarding scholarships and admissions quotas. She alluded to the different evaluation criteria that are applied to local Korean students and foreign students. However, she added the following:

This does not mean that you could obtain a degree without making efforts. For the top universities, it is still difficult to be admitted to and to graduate. There are also a few cases where students have to transfer to other universities because they can’t keep up with the pace (Interview with Chen Xian, 18 September 2021).

The top universities mentioned by Chen Xian were Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University, which are widely recognised for their academic excellence, historical significance, and strong reputation. Students may gain admission to a relatively higher-ranking university in Korea compared to what they could be admitted to in China, but this does not mean they could slack off. Education as a device of controlling social scarcity will sort out those who can best survive (Hirsch 2005). Korean higher education is equally competitive. Students inevitably became involved in another round of positional competitions during their studies in Korea.

Capitalising on the middling mobility to study in Korea is deemed a relatively good strategy in the interviewees’ existing situation. However, positional competition is a dynamic and evolving process, in which the perceived advantage of choosing Korea as a destination country cannot be guaranteed. Students’ situations may change during their studies and after completing their degree. The next section dwells on how the acquired cultural capital is mobilised by students and evaluated by human resources mangers in the Chinese labour market.

Mobilising emerging cultural capital in the chinese labour market for competitive edge

Studying in Korea helped the students acquire embodied and institutional cultural capital. Although the current prevalence of Korean culture worldwide seems to be transforming Korea into a sought-after destination for higher education, the viability of cultural capital obtained from Korea in the Chinese labour market remains under-researched. The emerging cultural capital obtained from Korea enables us to better comprehend one’s positioning in the labour market, less through the traditional canon of legitimatising cultural capital in a Western-centric context, but more through an expanded spectrum of possibilities in validating assets as capital in a non-Western society. This section illustrates how cultural capital affects the students and moulds their positions within the Chinese job market.

An overseas study experience offers ‘self-fashioning’ (Mitchell 1997, 230) that shapes and develops one’s disposition. Through socialisation within a particular social and cultural context, disposition is mainly manifested as a set of preferences and habits of thought and behaviour (Bourdieu 1977). The cultural awareness and sensitivity cultivated in Korea are embraced by students in their values and work-related attributes. When they relocate to the Chinese labour market, employers require not only professional knowledge but also a deep understanding of the local culture and effective communication skills tailored to the domestic environment. Compared to the returnees from western countries who often have issues re-integrating into Chinese society and reverse cultural shock (Ai and Wang 2017; Hao and Welch 2012; Tharenou and Seet 2014), returnees from Korea demonstrate a higher level of adaptability to Chinese society when faced with fast-paced work life and complicated interpersonal relationships.

Xiao Liang, who worked in Korea for two years before relocating to China, explained that the intense work ethic in Korea has enabled him to adapt to the work pace in China, ‘to be honest, compared to the work pressure I had in Korea, Chinese workplace doesn’t even feel that oppressive to me. My work experience in Korea seems to have cultivated my ability to work under pressure’ (Interview with Xiao Liang, 27 June 2023). It has been reported that more than one in ten Koreans work 60 h or more per week, which is twice the OECD average (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2020). This gruelling work schedule is indeed highly controversial and should be discouraged, but the experience of having studied and worked in such a high-pressure environment has cultivated the interviewee’s adaptability and resilience in the workplace. Furthermore, diligence, a key virtue in Confucian heritage culture, contributes to a strong work ethic in both Chinese and Korean societies. Confucian values may not explicitly endorse overwork; they can create an environment in which the diligence and dedication are internalised as the individuals’ disposition that unconsciously rationalise overwork.

Cultural similarities between China and Korea helped the interviewees in adapting more quickly to the workplace in China upon their initial arrival, while cultural differences between the two countries inspired the interviewees to negotiate from a reflexive perspective. Chen Yang, who studied and worked in Korea for over six years and recently returned to China, described how the life experiences in Korea have influenced her ways of communicating in the current company:

During my study in Korea, I had an internship experience at a Korean company. The hierarchical workplace culture left me with a less than favourable impression. So Korean enterprises are not my first choice. However, when I started my job in the current Chinese company, I realised that I have been unconsciously influenced by Korean honorific language system. Although Chinese honorifics are vocabulary-based and not commonly used, when communicating with Chinese colleagues and supervisors, I insist on using nin [honorific of you] instead of ni [you] to preserve a certain sense of boundaries. I think honorifics work as subtle reminder that we shouldn’t blur the lines between personal and professional (Interview with Chen Yang, 20 June 2023).

Although not fully identifying with certain aspects of Korean corporate culture, living, studying, and working in Korea helped her develop cross-cultural competence. Influenced by the Korean honorifics system, Chen Yang tends to selectively incorporate Chinese honorific vocabularies in workplace. And this reserved and indirect communication style is especially suitable when dealing with situations that require refusal and personal space.

Similar to Chinese students who graduated from Japanese higher education institutions who find their niche in bridging the Japanese and Chinese economies (Liu-Farrer 2011), the experience of studying and living in Korea can make a candidate more attractive to Korean companies. Graduates with a considerable level of linguistic and cultural skills are believed to be competitive in promoting collaborative exchanges between China and Korea. Almost all interviewees who returned to China from Korea secured their first jobs, either in a Korean company or in positions related to the Korean market. Feng Chuan is currently working as a localisation producer for a Korean game company. His experience of studying in Korea has earned him a certain degree of favour from Korean companies, but has also brought limitations to his career development:

This is my third job over the past few years. After returning to China, I initially worked as a translator at a Korean retail company, then hopped to a Korean manufacturing company, and now I’m employed at a game company. My job has always mainly been translation. The mutual recognition among Korean enterprises has formed a sort of employment circle, making it relatively easy to hop from job to job. However, the career advancement opportunities for Chinese employees within Korean companies in China are somewhat limited. The current company seems to be a decent springboard to a better and stable position in the future for me (Interview with Feng Chuan, 2 July 2023).

A significant number of Korean companies in China are small and medium-sized companies. The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted negative effects on economic and social development. Several small and medium-sized enterprises are grappling with operational challenges. Graduates who join these enterprises often find frequent staff turnover and limited room for career advancement. Many of the informants intend to work in Korean companies but took this working experience as a stepping stone to a more satisfactory position in the future. In addition, Korean companies may retain some distinct corporate culture, such as an emphasis on hierarchical relationships, overemphasis on collectivism, and long working hours as a sign of loyalty and diligence, which can be unappealing to some job seekers. Feng Chuan further explains, ‘the traditional manufacturing sector largely upholds a stereotypical Korean corporate culture. By contrast, the working environment in innovative industries tends to be more flexible’. Compared to traditional retail and manufacturing, nascent industries offer a more open, innovative, and flexible work atmosphere, making them more attractive, especially for young professionals seeking autonomy and challenging work environments. Consequently, they may seek to change or enhance their working environment through frequent job hopping or by making Korean companies springboards in their career paths.

Xiang (2021) described the state of people working in intensive labour as suspension, during which individuals move frequently and pause their routine life to benefit fast and escape quickly. Suspension is the translation of the Chinese term xuanfu, which literally means ‘hanging and floating’. This term can be explained more clearly through the image of a hummingbird frantically vibrating its wings, striving to sustain itself in the air. The bird struggles hard but moves nowhere and is incapable of landing (Xiang 2021, 236). Likewise, although Korean enterprises offer a significant number of employment opportunities, few positions that can provide long-term, stable career growth. Before people can land a stable job, they have to constantly switch jobs, and Korean companies are often the most ready-made choice. Anxiety and uncertainty accumulate and drive young professionals to continually seek new platforms and opportunities. This sense of anxiety was particularly pronounced among the middling mobile graduates who returned from Korea. They have an extra sense of indebtedness towards their parents, who invested almost everything into children’s education. Deeply embedded in Confucian culture, interviewees with reciprocal filial piety were eager to repay their parents’ investment in education with a prestigious job. Overseas returnees normally have a high expectation for their salary packages. However, they have to decide whether to accept an offer that is far below expectation to secure employment quickly when faced with a congested labour market. This is particularly evident in the pandemic era and its aftermath, when businesses are extremely cautious in the screening process. Human resources managers hold significant decision-making authority when it comes to the selection.

Considering these complexities, five human resources managers and employers were interviewed in this study. Their narratives provide a glimpse of how the applicants’ study experiences in Korea are evaluated in the Chinese labour market. Ya Lin is a 33-year-old human resources manager who has been working at a Korean manufacturing company for 10 years. She pointed out that there is a mismatch between the candidates’ expectations and the salary package that the recruiter can offer:

We received a pile of resumes from prestigious university graduates. Screening the resumes is the very first step. An overseas study background cannot promise anything. Graduates from overseas would normally have higher salary expectations. We are not selecting the best but the most suitable candidate for the corresponding position (Interview with Ya Lin, 1 October 2021).

The estimated number of graduates from regular universities in the 2023 academic year is expected to reach 11.58 million, increasing by 820,000 compared to the previous year (Ministry of Education, the People’s Republic of China 2022). Students graduating from Korea are confronted with challenges from their indigenous counterparts and other overseas returnees. On the one hand, China has initiated several projects to expand and internationalise its higher education. Graduates from elite universities in China are highly preferred in the labour market. An employer who works in a state-owned enterprise remarked that students who made it through the competitive college entrance examination in China proved themselves more than those who chose to study abroad (Interview with Liu Chang, 3 October 2021). On the other hand, the prestige associated with degrees from top-flight institutions continues to hold a significant appeal for employers in the job market. Consequently, degrees obtained from a rising educational hub, such as Korea, is caught up in constant repositioning and re-evaluation in the labour market when compared with others. However, even when faced with a less promising labour market, the interviewed students and parents still hold strong belief in the necessity of studying abroad. Brown (2003, 142) proposed the notion of ‘the opportunity trap’ to explain how middle-class families exhaust their resources to gain a positional advantage. It is a trap because ‘if all adopt the same tactics nobody gets ahead. But if one does not play the game, there is little chance of winning’ (Brown 2003, 142). The remarks shared by Li Wen, who works in a Sino-foreign enterprise, corresponded to this view:

The value of a Korean degree might not be comparable to those gained from top US universities in the job market. However, having some overseas study experience has become something basic on your resume. Although the recruiter might not give a great deal to your overseas study experience, he or she could think you are not international enough without having it at all (Interview with Li Wen, 4 October 2021).

For the employers, foreign degrees are used as screening devices to identify job seekers with a global perspective and cultural competence that the overseas education tests and certifies but does not itself produce (Hirsch 2005). Korean degrees holders in the screening process sometimes face the dilemma of being foreign but not international enough, and being competent but not competitive enough. As a form of cultural capital obtained from a non-mainstream country, Korean degrees’ competitive edge might vary depending on Korea’s performance in their corresponding industry. For example, the development and internationalisation of Korean popular culture have promoted the growth of several emerging industries, including entertainment, film, and medical aesthetics. Graduates with relevant expertise may enjoy a higher level of recognition in such industries. Zhu Yuanyuan, a television program producer who works at a regional TV station in China, expressed her preference for returnees from Korea when recruiting new employees:

The development of Korean entertainment culture is of considerable referential importance to us, it has a complete industry chain, with meticulous planning from creation to sale. And I hope they (returnees from Korea) can bring in fresh ideas and creativity (Interview with Zhu Yuanyuan, 27 August 2023).

With the Korean Wave sweeping across continents, knowledge and experience from Korea in relevant fields are considered more international. The cultural industry related majors have consequently attracted numerous Chinese students. In recent years, the number of graduates in cultural industry has increased steadily, and China is actively promoting the development of culture-related industries. However, the timing of industry development and academic program offerings does not always align, resulting in a situation where a significant portion of positions in the current cultural industry job market is occupied by individuals from non-specialised backgrounds. Accordingly, many young professionals are either shunted to positions that do not match their specialty or have to make additional efforts to secure a job. In the third-round interview with Zhang Ning (14 August 2023), who graduated with a cultural industry management degree, expressed her concern for the increasingly competitive labour market:

I once had relatively high expectations for the employment prospects in the cultural industry field. However, after graduating, I realised that the competition in this field has become increasingly fierce. A rising tide lifts all ships and I have to redouble my efforts. I am currently researching whether there are any certifications I can pursue, and I am even considering whether I should pursue another degree.

As more qualified candidates enter the job market, employers will intensify their screening processes. To succeed in an ever-intensifying positional competition, several job seekers choose to take on additional education, training, or endeavours to maintain their competitive edge. For the middling mobile students with emerging cultural capital, this means they need to work at full capacity to sustain a longer or more costly race; otherwise, they may have no choice but to drop out.

Conclusion

By observing and contrasting the narratives of students, parents, educational consultants, and human resources managers, this study illuminates the promise and precarity of pursuing higher education in Korea and the viability of cultural capital obtained from Korea in the Chinese labour market. On the one hand, the positional advantages of choosing Korea as a destination country, such as escaping the fierce competition in China, pursuing education in a higher-ranking university, affordable tuition, bilingual instruction program, geographical proximity, and cultural similarity with China, rationalise the decision to reap the benefits of pursuing overseas study. However, it is worth noting that student mobility is not only activated, but also constrained by an entangled mobility infrastructure, which includes socially structured access to desired universities in China, the hierarchical global higher education system, preferential policies of some educational institutions regarding international student recruitment, family financial status, students’ academic performance, the intermediary role of education agents, parents’ expectations, and students’ personal preferences. On the other hand, the cultural capital obtained from Korea validates its competitive edge in the Chinese workplace through a higher level of adaptability and resilience, situational communication skills, recognition among Korean companies, and credential scarcity in certain emerging industries. Nonetheless, faced with the double pressure of limited job offers and the flow of workers from domestic China and abroad into the job market, extra efforts must be made to keep up with recruitment requirements. To recap, students’ middling mobility and their emerging cultural capital enable them to compete in the positional structured fields of higher education and labour market. At the same time, they give structure to a stratified competition field, which is highly contextualised. Their cultural capital is often perceived as stuck in the dilemma of being foreign but not international enough, and competent but not competitive enough.

By considering these findings and applying a positional competition perspective, this study contributes to the existing literature in several ways. Geographically, it suggests a shift in focus from westward student mobility to intra-Asia student mobility. The hierarchy of global higher education legitimises the cultural capital obtained from Anglophone universities as desirable capital while simultaneously reinforcing a positional competition in higher education individually, nationally, and institutionally. This study holds heuristic values for the examination of how intra-Asia mobility and the cultural capital function in a non-Western context. Furthermore, highlighting Korea as an emerging educational hub does not diminish the importance of other Asian destination countries in global higher education, it enriches intra-Asia student mobility and complicates the positional competition. Conceptually, by introducing the middling student mobility and emerging cultural capital, this article draws focus to the plurality of international students and testifies to more possibilities for validating assets into capital. Middling mobility bridges the gap between hypermobility and immobility in the student migration regime, while emerging cultural capital challenges our conventional classification of the cultural attributes that can be capitalised upon. Furthermore, drawing on multi-perspective interview data collected from Chinese students, parents, educational consultants, and human resources managers, this holistic view serves as a methodological vantage point from which an ecosystem of various actors shaping student mobility and cultural capital is uncovered. It also helps us to recognise the agency and structural limits that are often inherent in international student mobility and cultural capital. The expenses associated with studying abroad stratify students into different mobility groups. This study exemplifies a growing group of students who come from quasi-middle-class families and are becoming active players competing for positional advantages. Ultimately, the middling mobile students managed to participate in a positional competition to outstrip their competitors at the cost of adding other assets. This is a competition where almost everyone intends to participate and can hardly choose to opt out.

This study seeks to investigate the promise and precarity of student mobility and cultural capital. However, it does not aim to negate the value of overseas study but to draw attention to the contingencies of mobility and cultural capital when participating in the competitive space of overseas study. The findings of this study were obtained using a limited number of interviews and should, therefore, not be generalised to all Chinese students in Korea. Rather, it should stimulate further debates and scholarly attention in this research area, which builds on and expands from regional student mobility.

Acknowledgments

The author extends her sincere gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their invaluable and constructive feedback, which greatly contributed to the enhancement of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Core University Program for Korean Studies of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Studies Promotion Service at the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2021-OLU-2250003).