Zhu Kai, 18, is the first senior high school graduate student in Beijing to receive a college admission notice this year. He's enrolled at Beijing Language and Culture University, and is all set to study Korean.

"Korean language study has always been my dream major, and when I received the notice I was sleepless for the whole night," said the excited freshman.

Crazy for all things Korean, over the past six years Zhu has collected piles of Korean movie DVDs. Last year he actually refused a college admission from two universities, because the major course was not Korean.

Like Zhu, more and more Chinese high school graduates are determined to major in non-English foreign languages, a trend boosted by increasing demand in the human resources market for personnel who can speak foreign languages other than English.

A survey jointly conducted by China Youth Daily and sina.com shows that among 1,526 respondents, 74 percent prefer to apply for foreign language-related majors, 72 percent of which are inclined to learn non-English languages. Only 18 percent choose English, with 10 percent undecided.

It seems that the leading position previously held by English, in the foreign language studies in China, has been quietly replaced by a new trend for other foreign languages. The country has, however, launched an English learning program in Beijing, to get residents ready to welcome foreign guests during the 2008 Olympics.

According to a report on eol.cn, China's largest portal website on education, a high employment rate has persisted for years for graduates in non-English language learning majors of the Beijing Foreign Studies University and Shanghai International Studies University, both leading foreign language study colleges in China.

The report said that since 2005, the demand for professionals who have a good command of Japanese, French, German, Spanish and other non-English foreign languages has doubled, and graduates in these majors will often have a handful of job offers to the envy of their peers.

Employment demand

The high demand from the employment market has directly affected the college application of high school graduates. Early in April 2005, the admission ratio of applicants for non-English foreign language majors in college had already reached 50:1 in Beijing.

Fueling the demand are the Olympics and other large-scale international events to be held in Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities in China, which needs a great number of service persons and volunteers who know other foreign languages apart from English. China's growing economic and cultural connection with non-English speaking countries and its accelerated opening-up pace are other reasons driving the trend.

Zhou Bo, a teacher at the University of International Business and Economics of China, who is in charge of the admission of high school graduates, said that the job market demand for college graduates in non-English language studies is increasing, especially for those who know both foreign languages and economics.