Universities, business welcome government's plans to attract 300,000 foreign students by 2027

Universities outside of Seoul and companies with labor shortages are welcoming the Ministry of Education's plan to host more international students, while some are concerned about the plan lowering universities' admission standards.

First-year international students at Korea University pose for a photo during orientation day. [NEWS1]

Universities outside of Seoul and companies with labor shortages are welcoming the Ministry of Education's plan to host more international students, while some are concerned about the plan lowering universities' admission standards.

The Education Ministry announced the Study Korea 300K Project on Wednesday, aiming to attract 300,000 international students by 2027.

There were 207,126 international students staying in Korea with the D-2, D-4-1 and D-4-7 student visas as of June, according to the Ministry of Justice. That's up 17.6 percent on year.

Two major goals of the plan are to attract more students to universities outside of Seoul and to support students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, by increasing the quota for government scholarships.

The Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) quota will be increased to 6,000 in 2027, compared to 4,543 last year. Among the total, the quota for scholarships for graduate school students studying STEM subjects will be raised to 2,700 in 2027, compared to 1,355 last year.

The GKS country quotas for Poland and the United Arab Emirates will be increased to foster students interested in defense and nuclear technology. The quotas for India and Pakistan, countries where many STEM students come from, will also be increased.

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho announces the Study Korea 300K Project to increase Korea's international student population in a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Private universities outside of Seoul welcome the plans as they have been turning to international students to fill their classes for a long time.

"There's a saying that some universities will even give cash incentives to study abroad agencies to get more international students," said a spokesperson for a vocational university in Gyeonggi. "That's how much universities are desperate to admit more international students."

Career training programs for STEM and manufacturing industries will also be provided.

"There's isn't a factory at our industrial complex that doesn't have a foreign employee," Kim Chang-soo, director of Siheung Industrial Business Association, said. "Because there's such a big labor shortage, even the foreigners are selective about which companies they work for."

"We need a larger quantity of labor, and if universities provide career training to students, that will definitely be welcomed."

There are already universities where international students make up almost the majority.

As of 2022, 400 out of 810 students at one university in Gangwon were international students.

"Our international students work at local food and seafood businesses and contribute to the local society," the Gangwon-based university's spokesperson said.

Graduate schools are no exception.

There were 15 graduate schools in Korea where international students held the majority in 2022.

A total of 91.9 percent of Sehan University's graduate school students were foreigners. Foreigners made up 79.3 percent of Yewon Arts University's graduate school, 79.1 percent at Woosong University's graduate school, 73.5 percent at Chugye University For The Arts' graduate school and 65.5 percent at Woosuk University.

Despite grand plans, some say universities need to focus more on creating an educational environment that can provide quality education.

One of the changes announced by the Education Ministry is lowering Korean proficiency requirements.

Specific details are to be discussed with the Justice Ministry, but the Education Ministry said language requirements will be made lenient.

"We ask our applicants to have TOPIK level 4 or above, but professors who have interviewed the international students say the applicants lack in both Korean and English proficiency," a director of international students affairs at a university in the Gyeongsang region said.

"Over half of the applicants are turned down, and there needed to be a certain language standard."

Although lowering the language requirement could attract more students, some say that students admitted with lower language proficiency are bound to struggle in Korea.

"TOPIK level 3 is basically just kindergarten-level Korean," a Chinese student at a university in Seoul said. "For level 3, you are taught to ask how much things are at a supermarket, and it's difficult to keep up with the classes [at that level]."

Although international students select classes advertised to be taught in English to avoid such problems, some professors teach those courses in Korean.

"My friends and I signed up for an English-taught class when we were studying as exchange students, and it was difficult because the professor just taught in Korean," said Camille, a 22-year-old exchange student from France who studied in Korea last year. "It's not just the classes, and even the international students office lacks staff who are fluent in English."

Support for those who want to study Korean was also suggested.

"There are students from economically-challenged countries that want to learn Korean but can't because they don't have the money," said a head of an international affairs office at a university in Seoul. "There needs to be monetary support for those students."

BY CHOI MIN-JI, CHANG YOON-SEO, LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]