Study in Korea: Data by Korean Educational Development Institute Reveal 10% rise in International Students in South Korea

As per the data compiled by the Korean Educational Development Institute around  166,870 International students were studying in Korean Universities in 2022. It represented a significant rise from 152,258 foreign students from a year earlier. The data includes students enrolled in graduate and postgraduate programs in non-degree and language programs. 

Due to the pandemic, the International students enrolled in Korean Universities has declined to 153,676 in 2020. Most of these students have either returned to their home country or postponed their enrollment. However, the new data reveals a 10% rise in International students in South Korea due to ease of travel restrictions.

Reasons for the Increase in International Students in South Korea.

The Korean Universities, particularly the ones located outside Seoul are seeking to attract more international students. The low number of domestic freshman students owing to the low-birth rate are causing the universities to welcome International students.

Statistics Korea data reveals that only 19,939 babies were born in February this year. It is a 3.7% decline from the previous year. Moreover, the Korean birth rate has been falling for 87 consecutive months.

As a result, the Korean Education Ministry is also planning to attract more international students. According to the Education Minister, Lee Ju Ho, the education ministry will take efforts to improve the visa issues and the scholarship system to help the local economy. The steps are likely to bring talented international students to the Korean shores.

Moreover, the rebound in figures of international students in South Korea can be attributed to the ease of global travel restrictions post the pandemic.

Benefits of Studying in South Korea for International Students

International students are increasingly preferring to study in South Korea for several reasons. South Korean universities come under the best universities in the world and offer high quality education. For example, Seoul National University is ranked 29th as per the QS World Ranking 2023. Other popular universities are  Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Yonsei University. 

Moreover, most of these universities offer English taught -programmes making it easy for international students to learn.  Several scholarships are also available for international students such as Global Korea Scholarship and Scholarship for Asian Students in Korea. 

To discover more news updates like this one, visit the study abroad experts at Leverage Edu.