Koreans invading domestic Chinese schools now.

Not only are some Koreans having their kids adopted by US servicemen and -women in order to send their children to Korea's international schools, or buying residency in foreign countries for the purposes of . . . sending their children to Korea's international schools, but more and more Koreans are sending their children to local Chinese schools:

The number of students enrolling rose to 2,500 this year from 2,300 a year earlier against dwindling figures for Chinese schoolchildren, according to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

Korea has about 20 Chinese schools across the country, and many parents are sending their children to them so they can learn the language.

``My child can learn Chinese at a relatively cheap cost here. I am 100 percent satisfied with this Chinese school,'' said the mother of a six-year-old girl attending Busan Chinese Primary School in Chorayng-dong in the nation's biggest port city.

Another father of a child attending the school said his seven-year-old son would study at the Chinese school until fourth or fifth grade before transferring to a Korean school. ``We can save one year, as Chinese schools enroll children one year earlier than Korean schools and tuition is cheap,'' he said.

. . .

Principals and parents at Chinese schools say more than half of students are Korean nationals and many don't meet the requirements for admission.

Asked about admission criteria, the largest Chinese school in Incheon said any Korean children, regardless of whether they have foreign residence cards or more than three-years overseas, can apply to the school.

``As far as I know, Koreans account for more than 80 percent of the total of students at most Chinese schools in the provinces,'' said a principal of one school in Busan.

I'm surprised those schools can survive the trauma of two nationalities calling each other "外國人" at the same time. Or "外国人," whatever, you get the point.