Internationl Communication 16 | Kathleen Adelaide Setiawan 

Amid the shift to online classes in the few months following the COVID-19 pandemic, many students returned to their hometowns troubled over having to give up their social lives, and vital on-campus networking opportunities. As for graduating seniors, they lost the chance to walk across anything, but a virtual commencement ceremony stage. 

The campus closures, however, have created \much greater calamity in the lives of more than hundreds of thousand international students who left their home countries to further their education in South Korea. Those who were able to flee the country before the travel restrictions are now in different time zones, trying to be a part of the online classes at an unreasonable time of the day. But those who were not able to travel to their home country because of financial constraints or travel restrictions that are placed are now trapped in South Korea. In many cases, they are left to fend for themselves, having nowhere to live, are isolated from the community they bonded with, and faced with a lack of a steady source of income. 

A significant number of self-financing international students are also watching their financial reality fall apart. Many who work on or off campuses, lost the jobs they needed to support themselves. And while some come from families wealthy enough to pay for their housing or hurdle them home, many others are struggling to cobble together their tuition fees that tend to be much higher than those paid by Koreans.

As their bank accounts dwindled away, a couple of international students say they often have to go on without meals. Others are settling in their relative’s home or their friends, but do not know how long they will be welcome. And those who rushed to catch their flight home before international borders closed are now unsure whether they will be able to come back in time for fall 2020. 

These are the predicament we, internationals, find ourselves in. We find ourselves in a state of limbo, feeling helpless, alone, and praying for better days.

No doubt, the pandemic has induced a tremendous degree of stress for everyone. Yet the stress on international students is significantly greater than on most of the domestic students in South Korea. International students not only have to worry over their own welfare, but rather, they also have deeper concerns for the safety and well-being of their families in their home countries, thousands of miles away and in different time zones. The magnitude of the stress is even greater when considering that there is no clear guidance for them in terms of whether or not they should remain in South Korea or return home, or if they can choose deliberately. 

In spite of the fact that South Korean universities are making the best efforts to protect their students from being exposed to COVID-19. Given all these concerns, universities could be doing more to help alleviate this difficult situation and to accommodate the needs of international students throughout this crisis. 

As we witness the outbreak unfolding globally, academic authorities should give more consideration and offer systematic support to help vulnerable international students. As they develop policies to respond to this fast-changing situation, they cannot afford to neglect others. And in the same way that the pandemic transcends borders, compassion and aid must do the same. As mankind finds itself battling a common threat, it must become more united than ever before.