Examining the odd, not the norm: Korean international students in Brunei Darussalam – a less-known place in Asia

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the mobilities of international students through less-known higher education contexts, with a particular focus on Korean international students in Brunei Darussalam. It pays attention to the infrastructures, including varied factors and actors, that contribute to Korean students’ choice and justification of Brunei as their study destination. Informed by narrative qualitative inquiry, the article, on the one hand, shows unique accounts of the internationalisation of higher education as it was conceptualised, pursued, adjusted and projected by a Bruneian university. It, on the other hand, reveals how the studied Korean students have viewed Brunei, which coincides with a particular tourist discourse about ‘exotic’, unknown/mysterious destinations. This discourse also constitutes what these students consider their distinctive advantages in studying abroad. The findings have important implications for English-&-English-Medium-Instruction-focused internationalisation and mobility trajectories, international student mobilities and higher education’ increased investments in the global university ranking exercise. The article also argues that Brunei’s higher education can establish its core and unique identity on the basis of the many values that are identified and highlighted by Korean students. This way Brunei can inspire, while remaining unique and relevant to its own society and welcoming to international students.