North Gyeongsang to enroll more foreign students at vocational high schools in 2025

High schools in North Gyeongsang will enroll more foreign students, driven by growing interest from Asian countries.

Students pose for a photo during the opening ceremony of a job training camp for foreign students held in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang, in July. [NORTH GYEONGSANG OFFICE OF EDUCATION]

High schools in North Gyeongsang will enroll more foreign students, driven by growing interest from Asian countries.

Eight vocational high schools in the province will admit 70 international students for the 2025 academic year, according to the North Gyeongsang Office of Education on Tuesday. This includes 42 students from Vietnam, 14 from Mongolia, eight from Thailand and six from Indonesia.

The new enrollment figure marks a 45.8 percent increase from the current 48 foreign students enrolled across these schools, who were also the first international students to attend vocational high schools in the region.

Korea Marine Meister High School, which recruited four male students from Indonesia this year, plans to enroll six students next year. Uiseong Uni-tech High School will admit eight students, the same as this year. Silla Technical High School will increase its enrollment to 14, up from the current nine male students from Vietnam.

Gyeongju Business High School will see the largest increase, expanding its intake of foreign students from eight to 14 next year. Gyeongju Girls' Information High will recruit eight female students, the same as this year.

Myungin High School will admit six students next year, double the current three from Vietnam. Korea International Culinary Arts High School and Korea Railroad High School, which each recruited four students from Mongolia this year, will expand their numbers to six and eight, respectively.

Gimcheon High School will admit 16 foreign students for the 2025 academic year, doubling the current eight. This includes eight students from China, seven from Vietnam and one from Cambodia.

The program is drawing significant interest from participating countries, according to Kim Jong-won, head of Korea International Culinary Arts High School.

"Over 200 people attended the information session held in Mongolia last summer, despite limited promotion, which shows the high level of interest among prospective students," said Kim. "We aim to admit top foreign students, helping them grow and contribute to the local community."

Lim Jong-sik, superintendent of the North Gyeongsang Office of Education, said the province’s vocational high schools have become popular as they collaborate with local businesses to offer vocational training, alongside Korean language and cultural education.

“We will admit foreign students essential to our community and support their development, so they can become active contributors to Korea,” Lim said.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]