Globalization and technology are two of the many drivers that impact today's education, locally and internationally. The purpose of the research study was to identify how online learners in Korea and the US perceived online learning motivation differently and what learner characteristics and cultural orientation affected the online learners' learning motivation. Major findings revealed that there was a significant difference in learning motivation between the US and Korean online learners. The study also discusses how cultural orientation and learner characteristics affected the learning motivation of online learners for each country.