SEOUL, Sept. 05 (AJP) - Korea has recorded its highest number of international students in 25 years, with over 200,000 enrolled this year—the largest figure since the government began tracking in 1999, the Ministry of Education announced Wednesday.
During a ministerial meeting at the Government Complex in Seoul, the ministry reported on the first-year progress of the "Study Korea 300K Project." Launched in August last year, the initiative aims to attract 300,000 international students to Korea by 2027.
Currently, 208,962 international students are enrolled in Korean universities, studying for degrees or learning Korean — a 15 percent increase from last year. The majority of these students come from China, making up 34.5 percent of the total, followed by students from Vietnam and Mongolia.
Among Korean universities, Hanyang University hosts the most international students (8,264), followed by Kyunghee University (6,929) and Yonsei University (6,621).
The project also focuses on helping international students find employment and settle in Korea after graduation, with the goal of boosting university competitiveness and addressing regional decline.
While 55.5 percent of international students intend to stay in Korea after graduation for further studies or work, only 8 percent succeed in securing jobs. About 29 percent return to their home countries, resulting in a low rate of actual settlement.
Barriers include a lack of job information, visa restrictions, and insufficient hiring of international students by companies due to a lack of awareness.
