Fewer and Fewer Koreans Study Abroad

The number of Korean students going overseas to study has dwindled for a third consecutive year, according to statistics from the Education Ministry.

Their number kept rising from 2008 to peak at 262,465 in 2011, but since then they have been on the decline, reaching 219,543 this year.

The figures also include exchange students, language learners and those on foundation courses.

The U.S. still topped the list as a destination for Korean students last year with 70,600 or 32.2 percent, followed by China with 63,400 or 28.9 percent and Japan with 17,200 or 8.3 percent.

Next came Australia (14,100 or 6.4 percent), Canada (9,800 or 4.5 percent), and the Philippines and the U.K. (7,000 or 3.2 percent each).

The numbers have dwindled in most countries, most drastically in the U.K. with a 44 percent drop from 2012 to 2013 and New Zealand with a 43 percent decline. But in the Philippines they rose about 2,000 on-year.

"It seems that an increasing number of parents feel they can't afford the cost of sending their children abroad after a protracted recession, while many college students are deciding not to go abroad because foreign diplomas or degrees are no longer the magic wand they used to be for finding decent jobs," a ministry official said.

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Study Reveals More Sleep Reduces Risk of Dementia

Having enough sleep can help prevent dementia, according to a recent study.

Dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, is a neurodegenerative condition caused by accumulation of beta-amyloid in the brain.

A recent study, led by Professor Roh Jee-hoon at the University of Ulsan's Asan Medical Center in Seoul and Professor David M. Holtzman of Washington University in St. Louis, points out the relationship between sleep and orexin, a neurotransmitter that regulates arousal and wakefulness.

The findings support previous studies that show those who sleep fewer than six hours per night have more beta-amyloid in their brains than those who sleep at least seven hours.

Roh's study explains that less sleep increases the risk of dementia, as "modulation of orexin and its effects on sleep appear to modulate [beta-amyloid] in the brain."

The findings of the study were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

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Watchdog to Study IKEA Prices in Korea

The Fair Trade Commission will launch an inquiry into pricing at IKEA, the world's largest furniture chain, which will open its first store in Korea next month.

The move comes in response to allegations that prices here are in some cases nearly double those elsewhere.

The watchdog plans to publish its survey by February so that consumers can compare prices. It says the findings will pressure IKEA to voluntarily adjust its prices.

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Teens more resilient, tech savvy than older millennial: study

By Patricia Reaney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Young teenagers who make up the second wave of millennials, the generation that began in the 1980s, are more resilient, adaptable and tech savvy than their older counterparts, according to a new study.

The 70 million millennials, or Generation Y, have been dubbed the entitled or me generation. Younger millennials, aged 13-17, are very different in outlook, planning and use of technology than 20-somethings.

"The younger millennials have a more practical view of the world than older millennials did at the same age," said Alison Hillhouse, of MTV Insights, which conducted the study.

"For today's 20-somethings when they were teenagers their future looked rosy, easier and bright," she added in an interview. "Younger millennials are thinking, planning earlier.

Even in their early teens they are worried about their future, their job prospects and paying off college debts more than the first wave of millennials who came of age during the economic boom of the 90s and early 2000s.

MTV Insights, a research group of the American cable television channel which is a division of Viacom Inc, questioned 3,100 millennials, Generation Xers, who were born from 1965 to 1980 and Baby Boomers, as well as focus groups that compared the two waves of millennials.

Hillhouse said the classic millennial optimism shines through in young teens, but they are more pragmatic about the future after seeing the impact of the recession on their parents, the spiraling college costs and high unemployment rates for recent university graduates, and a spate of shootings.

More than three-quarters of young millennials asked said they worry about the impact the economy will have on them and their future. Sixty percent believe they will be worse off than their parent's generation, and an equal number are worried about getting into a good high school or colleges.

The study also showed that half of teens are scared about violence at school, and more than a third admitted they plot out escape plans when they are in a public place.

Unlike older millennials who pioneered social media, young teens tend to me more tech savvy, according to Hillhouse, and to curate and filter sites amd build gated groups online.

"We call them digital homesteaders, instead of digital pioneers. They have grown up with social media their entire life," she explained. "They are more in control of it."

Most teens in the study said they like to take a break from technology and when they are stressed 82 percent said they want to concentrate on just one thing, instead of multitasking.

Although teens are more physically protected by their parents than earlier generations, the surveillance does not extend to the Internet. About 70 percent of teens said they have the freedom to go anywhere they want online.

"They set rules and regulations for themselves," said Hillhouse.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

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Teens more resilient, tech savvy than older millennial: study

By Patricia Reaney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Young teenagers who make up the second wave of millennials, the generation that began in the 1980s, are more resilient, adaptable and tech savvy than their older counterparts, according to a new study.

The 70 million millennials, or Generation Y, have been dubbed the entitled or me generation. Younger millennials, aged 13-17, are very different in outlook, planning and use of technology than 20-somethings.

"The younger millennials have a more practical view of the world than older millennials did at the same age," said Alison Hillhouse, of MTV Insights, which conducted the study.

"For today's 20-somethings when they were teenagers their future looked rosy, easier and bright," she added in an interview. "Younger millennials are thinking, planning earlier.

Even in their early teens they are worried about their future, their job prospects and paying off college debts more than the first wave of millennials who came of age during the economic boom of the 90s and early 2000s.

MTV Insights, a research group of the American cable television channel which is a division of Viacom Inc, questioned 3,100 millennials, Generation Xers, who were born from 1965 to 1980 and Baby Boomers, as well as focus groups that compared the two waves of millennials.

Hillhouse said the classic millennial optimism shines through in young teens, but they are more pragmatic about the future after seeing the impact of the recession on their parents, the spiraling college costs and high unemployment rates for recent university graduates, and a spate of shootings.

More than three-quarters of young millennials asked said they worry about the impact the economy will have on them and their future. Sixty percent believe they will be worse off than their parent's generation, and an equal number are worried about getting into a good high school or colleges.

The study also showed that half of teens are scared about violence at school, and more than a third admitted they plot out escape plans when they are in a public place.

Unlike older millennials who pioneered social media, young teens tend to me more tech savvy, according to Hillhouse, and to curate and filter sites amd build gated groups online.

"We call them digital homesteaders, instead of digital pioneers. They have grown up with social media their entire life," she explained. "They are more in control of it."

Most teens in the study said they like to take a break from technology and when they are stressed 82 percent said they want to concentrate on just one thing, instead of multitasking.

Although teens are more physically protected by their parents than earlier generations, the surveillance does not extend to the Internet. About 70 percent of teens said they have the freedom to go anywhere they want online.

"They set rules and regulations for themselves," said Hillhouse.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

View the original article here