Minority Students’ Access to Higher Education in an Era of Globalization: A Case of Ethnic Koreans in China

The goal of this study is to investigate factors that influence minorities’ access to higher education, taking ethnic Koreans’ case in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the context of rapid globalization and mar-ketization. Geographical proximity to the land of origin and a relatively short history of immigration are some of the factors that distinguish ethnic Koreans from other ethnic minorities in China (S. Choi 2008). Also, the rapid marketization and globalization of the PRC and the growing interactions between the ethnic Korean society in China and South Korea are emerging factors that influence the lives of ethnic Koreans, in particular, their educational circumstances (Jacob and Park 2011).