The global economic slump and financial crisis are clobbering South Korean students’ hopes of studying in the United States and other high-priced destinations, The New York Times reported today, citing the plummeting value of the South Korean won against the U.S. dollar as a key factor.

South Korea sends more college students to the United States than all but two other countries, India and China, according to the most recent data from the Institute of International Education’s “Open Doors” report, which covered the 2007-8 academic year, before the financial crisis struck.

The Times article echoes trends evident last November in the Council of Graduate Schools’ annual report on international graduate enrollments on American campuses. The report, based on fall-2008 data, said that total enrollments and first-time enrollments from South Korea were down, by 2 percent and 4 percent, respectively. The report’s author ascribed the trend in part to South Korea’s efforts to increase graduate enrollments at home.

According to the Times, South Korean students are seeking English-language study in cheaper locales, including Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Africa. —Andrew Mytelka