As many as 50 students from a Beijing high school have transferred to four separate high schools in Seoul en masse as they aspire to study at South Korean universities, school officials said Thursday, amid Chinese parents'

increasing zeal for a high level of education in their neighboring country.

The third-year students majoring in the Korean language at Beijing Newbridge Foreign Language High School have been recently enrolled in the four schools -- Myungduk and Daewon foreign language high schools, Wooshin and Mirim Girls high schools -- to prepare for applying to South Korean universities.

Their decision to study in South Korea appears to have arisen from the high quality of dormitory facilities at the four schools and the schools' teachers as well as their familiarization with the local language and culture.

Of the 50 students, 14 were enrolled in Myungduk, five in Daewon, 15 in Mirim and 16 in Wooshin.

All of them, who transferred during the schools' second semester of the 2016 academic year due to the different school systems between the two countries, are to take classes in Korean.

In the case of Myungduk Foreign Language High School, the 14 Chinese students were equally separated into the groups of English and French majors.

An official at the school said, "These students seem to have no problem in taking classes in Korean as they have already acquired two years of intensive course in Korean," adding the school plans to let South Korean students mentor them in their studies at the school.

Chinese parents, who have an education fever no less than their South Korean counterparts amid China's decade-long one-child policy and economic development, appear to have decided to ship their children to South Korea to study.

In particular, the Chinese parents and children are reportedly looking forward to a relatively higher level of educational facilities held by South Korean high schools, their academic zeal and faculty. (Yonhap)