CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines – A Korean educator is calling on the Philippine government to help regulate the rising cost of English as Second Language (ESL) schools in the Philippines as it may adversely affect the number of Korean visitors to the country.

“What make the Philippines attractive to Koreans are the affordable ESL schools here, which Korean students are banking on to learn the English language fluently,” said Jaehee Jung, head of Korea’s Hallum College’s Department of Tourism and English. “Unfortunately, the program rates of ESL schools here are getting to be more expensive.”

Jung said a two-month ESL program for instance costing only $1,000 in past years has now gone up to $2,000, which is similar to rates charged by ESL schools in Australia and New Zealand.

“The government should control the rates for ESL services, otherwise you lose out on opportunities to other countries,” said Jung in an interview.

He added that the influx of more Korean capitalists investing in ESL training facilities in the Philippines should also be regulated in order to standardize ESL service here.