Number of foreign students in S. Korea surpasses 310,000 for 1st time

A global scholar learns about taekwondo at a campus membership truthful held at Ajou College in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, March 4. Yonhap

The variety of overseas college students learning in South Korea has surpassed 310,000 for the primary time, authorities knowledge confirmed Saturday.

In keeping with the Korea Immigration Service, which is run by the justice ministry, the variety of overseas college students stood at 314,397 as of February, marking the primary time the determine has exceeded 310,000.

By class, 238,905 college students have been enrolled in universities and different greater schooling establishments, whereas 75,033 have been Korean language trainees and 459 have been different language trainees.

The variety of overseas college students has roughly doubled over the previous 5 years, from 153,361 on the finish of 2020 in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic to over 300,000 for the primary time in August final yr.

As of February, the whole variety of overseas nationals staying in South Korea stood at 2.71 million, up 4.4 % from a yr earlier, whereas the variety of overseas college students rose at a quicker tempo of 15 % over the identical interval.

Particularly, the variety of college students coming into the nation to attend universities elevated 22.2 % year-on-year to 238,905 from 195,450.

By nationality, Vietnamese college students accounted for the biggest share at 115,131, adopted by Chinese language college students at 78,529, Uzbek college students at 20,609 and Mongolian college students at 18,992.