The number of international students enrolled in South Korean junior colleges has increased nearly sixfold over eight years, rising from 6,163 in 2017 to 37,260 in 2025, according to a report released by the country's Ministry of Education and the Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI).
The report, which examines international student enrolment trends between 2017 and 2025, also found a significant increase in the number of foreign students at general and industrial universities. Their enrolment rose from 90,095 in 2017 to 153,477 in 2025, marking a 70.4 per cent increase, Asia Today reports.
The growth has been particularly pronounced at junior colleges. Between 2023 and 2025, international student enrolment at these institutions increased by 117.5 per cent, compared with a 35.1 per cent rise at general and industrial universities.
The composition of the international student population has also changed over the years, with Vietnamese students emerging as a major group. At general and industrial universities, the proportion of Chinese students declined from 59.9 per cent in 2017 to 29.2 per cent in 2025. During the same period, the share of Vietnamese students increased from 10.9 per cent to 28.7 per cent.
The shift was more pronounced at junior colleges, where Vietnamese students accounted for 22,342 of the 37,260 international students in 2025, representing 60 per cent of the total. In 2017, they numbered 2,766 and made up 44.9 per cent of the international student population at these institutions.
Students from Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Nepal and Myanmar have also contributed to the growing diversity of South Korea's international student population.
The report also recorded a decline in dropout rates among international students between 2023 and 2025. At general and industrial universities, the rate fell from 6.85 per cent to 5.6 per cent. At junior colleges, it declined from 10.02 per cent to 7.23 per cent.
The report attributed the improvement to government measures to strengthen quality assurance and oversight of international education, including the International Education Quality Assurance System (IEQAS), as well as tighter visa-related regulations and universities' efforts to provide Korean-language instruction and support students' adjustment to campus life.
South Korea's international student population crossed 300,000 in 2026, reflecting the country's growing efforts to attract students from overseas amid a declining domestic school-age population.
