People wearing face masks walk past a 'no tourists' sign at the main entrance of a university in Seoul on Feb 4, 2020. (JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)

SEOUL - Gripped by the rapid spike in coronavirus cases, international exchange programs are being cut short and overseas students are returning home.

Breanna Morgan, a 19-year-old student at the University of Alabama, arrived in Seoul just five days ago when she found out she had to leave. Last week, her US-based program provider International Studies Abroad notified her and some 70 Americans on that their exchange semester program at the Korea University was suspended due to concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak. 

“I was very upset to hear that I have to go back home just after getting settled here. I had just unpacked the day before after purchasing all of the essentials that I would need,” Morgan told The Korea Herald, upon returning home. “But I think at this time, it is better to think about our health and safety, over not being able to come (back to the US) later on.”

I was very upset to hear that I have to go back home just after getting settled here. But I think at this time, it is better to think about our health and safety, over not being able to come (back to the US) later on.

Breanna Morga, a 19-year-old student at the University of Alabama

“I plan to go back to Korea University in the fall, if the virus outbreak is curtailed by then. But if not, I will keep waiting until it is.”

“I am extremely disappointed,” said Andrea Snyder, a 22-year-old American who is returning home this week. “I feel as though the danger portrayed by media outlets in the West on Korea, specifically, is no way near the danger that I feel being in the country. I would prefer to stay back here.”

Snyder, an American University student who is studying Korean language at Sogang Univerisity, received a notice from her school in Washington, DC last week, that it is suspending all programs in Korea indefinitely. The decision was based on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory, which raised the warning level to the highest for Korea, urging Americans to avoid non-essential travel, as well as major American carriers reducing flights between US and Korea, she added.

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Snyder came to Korea last August, and was planning to stay for another semester, until it was cut short. She also received a separate notice from her scholarship provider – Boren Scholars, which is funded by the US Defense Department – mandating all recipients to return, on the heightened travel advisory level by the State Department.

The US State Department on Saturday raised its travel advisory for Daegu to the highest level on the country’s four-notch system, urging Americans not to travel to the city hit hardest by the coronavirus. For the rest of Korea, the advisory remained at Level 3, which means “reconsider travel.”

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced the government is requiring medical screening procedures for travelers from Korea and Italy before boarding and upon arrival.

While the US hasn’t imposed an outright ban on Korea, it has been upping restrictions lately. 

South Korea is battling the largest outbreak of COVID-19 outside of China. 

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In the past few days, major US schools have announced they are suspending study abroad programs in Korea, some as well in Italy, another country experiencing a significant outbreak. Cornell University, USC, UC San Diego, University of Wisconsin, University of Georgia, University of Colorado Boulder, are among many that have shuttered their programs here.

Meanwhile, other institutions, including Harvard University and Stanford University, are discouraging all travel by students and faculty to and from Korea.

Universities in Singapore have also suspended all student exchange programs to Korea – including the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University.

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With a growing number of countries closing their borders for travelers from Korea, more students are expected to return home, or have decide not to come back. As of Monday, 81 countries and regions are imposing entry restrictions and special quarantine measures on those traveling from Korea, including 36 places that have barred entry.