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

The COVID-19 pandemic has held sway over the globe for over two years now, yet the fervor of countless experts involved in internationalization at local Korean universities remains undeterred. In January, approximately 230 faculty and staff members from various local universities converged at the 22nd regular general meeting of the Korean Association of International Educators in Jeju. The gathering served as a platform for them to engage in fervent dialogues on innovation and development in international exchange, as well as the management of foreign student recruitment. This could be attributed not only to their concerted efforts toward internationalizing domestic universities, but potentially also to their experience working in American universities operating within Korea. The idea of 'internationalization' has entrenched itself as a top policy priority in our universities for over two decades. Despite apprehensions over rapid quantitative growth and the manifestation of uni