KS's Global Insights into Higher Education

South Korea's international higher education landscape in 2025 is set to be shaped by a combination of policy-driven strategies and evolving global trends. One prominent trend is the national push towards the “Study Korea 300K” project, which aims to attract 300,000 international students by 2027. It emphasizes structured support systems and strategic engagement with high-demand regions such as Southeast Asia and Central Asia. This initiative aligns with policies like the Digital TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) platform and enhanced scholarship programs under the Global Korea Scholarship.  Such measures aim to bolster Korea's appeal by addressing language barriers, providing digital resources for Korean language acquisition, and increasing opportunities for STEM-related academic pursuits. This focus on inclusivity and academic excellence is likely to position Korea as a more competitive destination for higher education in East Asia, attracting a broader range of students ...

The recent intense conflict between students and the administration at Dongduk Women’s University illustrates this complexity. According to media reports , the issue began when the university administration pushed forward plans to transition to a coeducational system without sufficient prior discussion with students. The situation escalated as students attempted to physically block the initiative, leading to additional disputes over property damage and financial compensation. The opposition, rooted in the argument that allowing male access to a university established to promote women’s education and rights was unacceptable, further intensified the conflict. This incident, like many others, invites a variety of perspectives. Understanding it accurately requires insights from sociology, gender studies, political science, and communication studies. However, I believe that perspectives from higher education administration and international education are equally indispensable. One of the ke...

US students are choosing South Korea. This marks a new milestone for the country, which over the past decade has been receiving spotlight as a popular study abroad destination for international students globally.  The data from the Institute of International Education (USA) and Korea’s Ministry of Justice corroborate the shift in mobility patterns. In 2002/03, a small margin of internationally mobile US students was found in Korea, 834 or about 0.4% (739 of 174,629). Since then, inbound numbers have grown eight-fold (to 5,909) in 2022/23, representing a dramatic increase in the shares of total US students found globally. The ratio of US students in Korea to global numbers stood at 2.1% for the 2022/23 academic year while pandemic levels were even higher with US students in Korea representing nearly 7 percent of the global US study abroad population (977 out of 14,549). Notably, Korea is exemplary for having not only the highest rate of growth in recent years, but also fast rebound ...