Foreign students in South Korea top 250,000 for 1st time

The number of foreign national students enrolled in South Korean universities passed the 250,000-mark this year for the first time, recent government data showed Sunday.

According to data released by the Ministry of Education, a total of 253,400 international students were enrolled in Korean universities as of April 2025, marking a 21.3 percent increase from last year’s 209,000. The surge reflects the government’s goal under its “Study Korea 300K” plan to attract 300,000 students by 2027 and join the world’s top 10 study-abroad destinations.

"The government has already surpassed this year’s target for international student enrollment," an Education Ministry official said, adding that attracting 300,000 foreign students by 2027 now appears well within reach.

Degree-seeking students accounted for 179,000, or 70.7 percent of the total, up 22.6 percent from 2024. While humanities and social sciences remain the most popular fields, their share slipped slightly to 63.9 percent, while the proportion of students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, climbed to 23.9 percent, a 2.5 percentage point rise from last year.

By country of origin, China accounted for the largest share of students at 30.2 percent, followed by Vietnam at 29.7 percent, Uzbekistan at 6.2 percent and Mongolia at 6 percent.

The concentration of foreign students in the Seoul metropolitan area has eased. The number of students enrolled in non-capital regions came to 116,043, up 26.1 percent from a year earlier and representing 45.8 percent of the total.

Regions such as North Chungcheong Province and North Gyeongsang Province led the gains, with the former nearly doubling its foreign student population to 10,537 and the latter rising 41.7 percent to 16,109.

Officials attributed the expansion to the full rollout of the state-driven RISE program, which mobilizes local governments, universities and businesses to design tailored recruitment strategies and scholarships.

The Education Ministry also strengthened overseas recruitment through Korean Education Centers in 22 countries, focusing on nine key markets including Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. These centers organized study fairs, university partnerships and on-site counseling to attract high-quality applicants.

To help students adapt, the government expanded Korean-language courses and set up certified Korean-language centers across the country. Starting next year, universities will also raise the share of new students required to meet official language proficiency standards from 30 to 40 percent.

A new pilot regional visa program allows cities to customize D-2 student visa requirements to match local industry needs. For example, Busan permits semester-long internships for students in semiconductor and electric vehicle battery programs, while Gwangju offers reduced financial requirements for those studying AI and future mobility.

The D-2 visa is South Korea’s student visa for foreign nationals who plan to enroll in regular academic programs at universities or colleges here and allows international students to enter and stay in Korea for degree-seeking studies.

Additional measures include expanding government scholarships for STEM graduate students and hosting job fairs that connect international students with regional industries through the K-Work employment platform.

Vice Education Minister Choi Eun-ok said the ministry will “continue to strengthen quality management and support so that foreign students can settle stably in Korean society,” highlighting progress in creating a more student-friendly environment and improving post-graduation career opportunities