The number of young students going abroad to study increased last year, reversing a three-year downturn.
A total of 18,741 elementary, middle and high school students left for schools in foreign countries in 2010, up 623 or 3.4 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Monday.
The number of children heading overseas grew steadily in the 2000s until 2007 when it fell to 20,951 from 27,668 in 2006.
In 2009, the number plunged by about 9,000 from the year before, marking the biggest drop.
Of the 2010 tally, Seoul accounted for 6,496, Gyeonggi Province 6,037, Incheon 917, Daegu 578, Daejeon 566 and other regions the remainder.
Elementary school pupils accounted for 8,794, up 5.1 percent; middle school students 5,870, up 2.7 percent; and high schoolers 4,077, up 1.3 percent.
The United States was the most favored destination, attracting 6,403 or 34.2 percent, followed by Southeast Asia with 4,178 or 22.3 percent, Canada with 2,568 or 13.7 percent and China with 1,680 or 9.0 percent.