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10 Years of Incheon Global Campus: Achievements, Obstacles, and Future Prospects

In 2012, South Korea initiated a global educational hub called Incheon Global Campus (IGC) as part of government-led efforts to globalize higher education. This article explores the developments at the US campuses in Korea over the past decade.

South Korea is globally renowned for its contribution to international student mobility, with roughly 200,000 Korean students enrolled in higher education institutions worldwide in 2020. Notably, the most popular destination was the US, followed by China, Japan, and Canada. However, this student mobility is largely outbound, with the number of Korean students studying abroad significantly outnumbering incoming international students. This has led to a substantial trade deficit in education.

In an attempt to balance this situation, the Korean government, inspired by globalisation and international pressures, encouraged educational exchanges by setting up the IGC, inviting prestigious universities to establish campuses in Korea. This initiative aimed to retain local students seeking foreign education while attracting international students, thereby creating a high-quality learning environment and stimulating economic gains.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2022, the IGC is now home to four foreign educational institutions—three from the US, one from Belgium, and a research center from Stanford University. Enrollment has consistently increased to 3,600 students.

The reasons for foreign universities establishing campuses in Korea vary, but the core motivations include educational and financial considerations. Establishing a presence in Korea allowed these institutions to increase their brand effectiveness, enhance educational and research collaborations, and establish a robust student recruitment pipeline.

Despite the success in enrollment, the IGC has fallen short of diversifying its student population, with 90% of enrollees from Korea. Additionally, the initial ambition of attracting 10,000 students from 10 foreign universities has not been realized. Various stakeholders have questioned the rationale of investing in foreign institutions using Korean taxpayers' money, particularly given the low success in globalizing the learning environment.

With a declining birth rate in Korea and the potential for Korean students to resume studying abroad post-pandemic, the IGC is facing challenges. The government's financial support is also nearing its end. Consequently, the IGC and its institutions must urgently strategize for the future, bearing in mind the country's higher education context and student mobility patterns.

At the national level, a long-term strategic plan for the IGC's development appears lacking, with more attention paid to domestic institutions requiring government support. To ensure the IGC's original intentions are fulfilled, the campus needs to quickly move beyond its 10-year milestone and devise new strategies for the coming decades.

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* Disclaimer

This content is an edited summary of the article published in January 2023 on the PIE Blog. For the original article, please visit https://blog.thepienews.com/2023/01/what-has-happened-at-the-branch-campus-in-korea-for-the-last-10-years.

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