South Korea on the Right Path to Meet Its Target for 300k Int’l Students by 2027

South Korea is on the right path to meeting the target of having 300,000 international students by 2027 under the “Study Korea 300K Project.”

The latest data show that South Korea has seen a 24 percent increase in international student enrollment, hitting 207,125, Erudera.com reports.

Under this strategy, the country aims to become one of the best study destinations for international students and boost its economy by attracting highly qualified workers.

Over the past year, Vietnamese students were the largest group of international students in South Korea. China was second-ranked, and Uzbekistan third.

There were 70,210 students from Vietnam studying in South Korea in 2023, followed by 63,860 Chinese and 11,975 from Uzbekistan.

Some of the changes to lure more international students include:

• Lowering the financial requirement to get a D-2 visa from ₩20 million to just under US$15,400.
• Increasing the number of hours international students can work while studying and during weekends and holidays.
• Offering different job opportunities for international students and extending the time the latter are allowed to stay in the country.
• From 2025 onwards, international students can stay in the country for three years while seeking employment. Currently, it is six months, possibly extending to a maximum of two years.

Since last year, the number of hours that international students pursuing bachelor degrees or those enrolled in language studies are allowed to work part-time, increased. It is now 25 hours per week, up from 20.

Like South Korea, other countries, including Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan, are planning to welcoming more international students in the next few years. These three countries have set the following targets:

• Japan aims to have 400,000 international students by 2033.
• Taiwan aims to welcome 320,000 international students by 2030.
• Malaysia aims to welcome 250,000 international students by 2025.

On the other hand, other countries like Australia and Canada have introduced new policies that affect international students, such as increasing financial requirements or restricting the number of study permits to address overseas immigration.

The Australian government plans to cap international student numbers to reduce immigration levels. The government said its goal is to reduce migration from 540,000 to 250,000 in 2024/25.

Canada has also unveiled a series of measures to reduce international student enrollment and stabilize its housing shortage, among other things. The government introduced a two-year cap (in effect for 2024 and 2025) on the number of new study permits issued to international students.