> some of my friends went to Japan for advanced degrees. Most of them came back within a couple of years after their study. 10x or more people around me went to US. The majority of them are still in the country after a few years.

My thinking is that Japanese and Korean work culture is quite similar. So if you want to live in that culture, why not do it closer to your family?

However, if you get smitten by a more western lifestyle in the US or Europe, it will be very hard to return home.