Shanghai, September 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Along with the waves of Chinese students studying abroad, vacationing overseas, and investing in property, forward-thinking international enterprises from China are increasingly extending their investment reach to Jeju Island. One of the most notable examples is the largest single-investment project in Jeju’s history, being advanced by Landsea International.
Landsea International (HK00582) is an international capital company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, endowed with formidable investment capabilities.The company’s Chairman, Mr. Yang Zhihui, brings over a decade of experience in real estate development.Starting from mainland China and under the banner of being a “creator of quality living,” he has delivered exceptional integrated real estate products to China.
China Landsea and Singapore’s Genting Group joined forces to invest $1.9 billion in developing the Mythical History Park, one of six core projects on Jeju Island. Jeju · Landsea Resort Park, adjacent to another core project—the “English Education City”—enjoys unparalleled convenience and stands out as an excellent choice for Chinese parents considering Jeju for their children’s education.
Recently, the BBC produced a documentary that brought five Chinese teachers to a top secondary school in Hampshire, UK, where they set up a temporary Chinese-style classroom. There, British students spent four weeks learning under the Chinese teaching model. The BBC used this to explore the differences between Chinese and British education systems. Upon airing, the documentary sparked widespread debate among mainstream media and online audiences in both China and the UK regarding contrasting educational approaches.
In the context of the Chinese education model, collectivism, uniform training, high-intensity drills, and discipline are ironclad principles. Among the five teachers sent to the UK, head teacher Zou Hailian brought China’s emphasis on “collective awareness and discipline” to the British classroom. He fostered a sense of unity through group exercises, uniform changes, class committee formations, duty assignments, and morning calisthenics… Zou believed these methods would help students “develop a greater sense of responsibility and hone their leadership, communication, cooperation, and organizational skills.” However, the British students clearly showed little enthusiasm in the days that followed.
In math, science, and chemistry classes, British students also exhibited stark contrasts with the Chinese education model. As is well known, British students have consistently underperformed in math compared to their Chinese counterparts in international competitions, and the way math is approached reveals the root of this disparity. In China, math is almost synonymous with intelligence—it is considered one of the most crucial foundational subjects. In the UK, however, math and science are not treated the same way. Schools in the UK group students into different classes based on ability and encourage them to ask questions. In science and chemistry lessons, teachers don’t simply tell students what to do—they guide them to research and discover on their own. While mistakes are common, science is inherently a process of correcting errors to uncover truth. In the Chinese-style classroom, however, the approach was different: the teacher demonstrated experiments at the front, and students were only required to observe the results and take notes. All knowledge was imparted via notes rather than hands-on experimentation—but this method is systematic and the fastest way to deliver information.
Math teacher Zou Hailian also noticed differences between the students of the two countries during his teaching. When teaching the Pythagorean theorem using the traditional method of “deduction, proof, application,” many students questioned the need to understand the proof, believing it sufficient to know how to use the formula. In a preview clip before the documentary aired, British students also voiced their objections to the Chinese teaching style: “I don’t think we’ll ever use this in real life. They should teach us how to pay taxes or find a job instead.”
Although the documentary remains unfinished, viewers can still draw some conclusions. Chinese students grow up in an environment of repeated pressure and conformity, yet at the university level and beyond, they tend to pursue further studies in Western countries like the UK. Without delving into the reasons behind this contradiction, it’s clear that Chinese-style education is a tough but contextually appropriate choice. As one of the Chinese teachers in the documentary put it, it’s the “systematic and fastest way to deliver knowledge”—not necessarily a form that aligns with individual educational development. Cultivating open-minded, globally aware youth—or even fostering an open, prosperous, dynamic, and critical society—requires a more natural, non-coercive, and non-mechanical approach to education.
The Western education model, represented by the UK, actually has a significant market in China. An increasing number of affluent families are choosing to send their children to international schools in the UK and elsewhere to receive authentic Western education and enjoy greater freedom. However, many parents are reluctant to send their underage children abroad due to various concerns—most notably, the long flight distances (often 15 hours or more), which pose challenges for safety and daily care. As such, studying abroad at a young age remains a niche market. Recently, Jeju Island’s English International Education City, which offers proximity and access to top-tier educational resources akin to those in the UK and other Western countries, seems to have addressed this issue.
First, Jeju Island’s exceptional geographical advantage provides parents with a more convenient environment for supervision and care. Flights from Shanghai take just 50 minutes, and from Beijing around 2 hours—children can even return to the mainland for weekends. A short flight is closer than traveling to Hong Kong. Second, Jeju Island boasts abundant educational resources. The International English Education City is a world-class educational hub jointly developed by the Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC) and the Jeju Provincial Government, and is one of the island’s six key projects. Within the English Education City, Jeju’s British North London Church School sees 95% of its graduates admitted to prestigious institutions such as Oxford, Harvard, and Cambridge. The neighboring Canadian Branksome Hall has over 60% of its graduates entering the University of Toronto, with the remaining 40% gaining admission to universities ranked within the global top 50. Although tuition fees in Jeju are relatively high, they haven’t dampened Chinese parents’ enthusiasm for enrolling their children in international schools there. The reason? Jeju’s unique availability of quality education resources for younger students.
Many Chinese parents are also choosing to purchase property in Jeju—not only for the convenience of their children’s education but also to enjoy leisure and vacation benefits, benefit from potential property value appreciation, and secure South Korean permanent residency, laying the groundwork for future immigration or permanent settlement in Korea.