Effects of Perceived Discrimination and Fear on College Life Satisfaction of Chinese International Students : Focusing on the Moderating Effect of Korean Language Skills

This study was conducted to confirm the effect of perceived discrimination and fear of Chinese international students studying at Korean universities on college life satisfaction and to verify whether students' Korean language skills have a moderating effect in their relationship. For the study, a survey was conducted on Chinese international students enrolled in Korean universities, and 203 response data collected from students under the age of 24 were analyzed with the SPSS 22.0 statistical program. As the results of the study, first, it was confirmed that both perceived discrimination and fear negatively impacted college life satisfaction among international students. Second, a significant moderating effect of Korean language ability was confirmed in the relationship between perceived discrimination and fear of international students on college life satisfaction. The results of this study suggest that in order to increase the level of satisfaction with college life by Chinese international students, the resolution of perceived discrimination and fear of international students are important factors, and that it is necessary to improve Korean language skills as a way to alleviate the decline in college life satisfaction due to perceived discrimination and fear. Based on this, it was proposed that both Chinese and other international students should enhance their emotional and psychological well-being, along with their Korean language skills, to successfully adapt to Korean society and become healthy members of a multicultural community through increased college life satisfaction.