KS's Global Insights into Higher Education

On March 19, 2012, Dr. Nancy Zimpher, a high-profile figure from the State University of New York and the Chancellor of the largest public higher education system in the United States, stood side by side with Mr. Young Gil Song, then Mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City Government. Mr. Song later rose to become the leader of the ruling party and a five-term lawmaker, amassing significant political power. They celebrated the inauguration of the first U.S. campus in South Korea, formally approved by the Ministry of Education. Dr. Zimpher proudly announced the establishment of SUNY's 65th campus, "SUNY Korea," in East Asia – in addition to the 64 campuses in New York State. Initially, this campus offered only a few graduate programs from Stony Brook University. Dr. Myung Oh, a proud alumnus of Stony Brook University, played a pivotal role in bringing his Ph.D. alma mater to the Incheon Free Economic Zone. Having led several government organizations, he became Deputy Prime Mini...

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 ai...

South Korea's role in the global research and literature about international branch campuses (IBCs) has been largely overlooked, despite the country's substantial contributions to student mobility. Initially, Japan was the preferred market for IBCs in East Asia, but now China has taken the lead. Incheon Global Campus (IGC) was launched in South Korea in 2012, with its founding member being the State University of New York, Korea (SUNY Korea). The IGC was part of a national plan for globalising higher education which focused on two elements: Korean students studying abroad and the addition of international components to Korean higher education. SUNY Korea was the first American university approved by the Korean government and by 2023, the IGC hosted four IBCs and a research institute from Stanford University, educating almost 4,000 students from 35 different countries. However, Korea's higher education landscape faces significant challenges due to a declining college-age pop...