Most international students prefer studying in greater Seoul, new data says

Greater Seoul is the most popular place to study in Korea, with around 60 percent of the international student body enrolled in universities in the region, according to new data.

Sungkyunkwan University students participate in a Korean writing contest in August last year. The university was one of the top five universities with the largest number of international students as of 2023. [NEWS1]

Greater Seoul is the most popular place to study in Korea, with around 60 percent of the international student body enrolled in universities in the region, according to new data.

Among the 181,842 international students with student visas as of 2023, 59 percent were enrolled in universities in greater Seoul, according to data from the Korean Council for University Education released Monday.

A total of 7 percent were enrolled in universities in the Chungcheong provinces, and another 7 percent were enrolled in universities in the Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang areas. Another 6 percent were enrolled in Daejeon universities, and North Gyeongsang and Gwangju had 4 percent each.

Hanyang University had 6,612 international students — which includes degree program students and non-degree students enrolled in its language schools — as of last year. It was the university with the largest international student body.

Kyung Hee University followed with 6,395, Sungkyunkwan University with 5,472, Yonsei University with 4,965 and Chung-Ang University with 4,480.

To encourage international students to consider universities outside greater Seoul, the Korean Council for University Education suggested regional universities need to work with local businesses to create quality jobs for students after graduation.

Offering more benefits, such as scholarships, was also recommended.

"Apart from individual universities' efforts to attract more international students, the government also needs to implement detailed scholarship policies to help talented international students choose Korean universities regardless of regional preferences," said Oh Ye-jin, a researcher at the Korean Council for University Education.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]