South Korea is emerging as the preferred destination for international students who seek academic excellence and new cultural experiences. According to a statistical report by the Ministry of Justice, Korea was home to 207,126 international students on student visas in June 2023, and the Education Ministry has introduced a five-year plan to raise the foreign student ratio by two percent. With this influx of foreign students into higher education in Korea, international students need help to adapt to Korean society. Indeed, the contrast between academic expectations and the reality of studying abroad means that it has become important to consider the rights of international students and the means by which they have been recruited. 

During the recruiting process for international students, institutions will often overlook the rights and well-being of these students in favor of only increasing their numbers. A clear example is the recent incident at Hanshin University, in which 22 international students from Uzbekistan who had enrolled in the school’s Korean language institute were forced to leave the country. The Hankyoreh reports how on November 27 of last year, the students were tricked into going to the immigration office to receive alien registration cards, only to be repatriated against their will and without proper explanation. Only after an investigation by the police and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea began did the institution justify the harsh decision based on the student’s failure to meet the requirements to stay in the country. The controversy born of the Hanshin University case demonstrates that despite governmental efforts, not all local institutions are prepared to foster and integrate international students into Korean society, indifferently using foreign students as financial tools to maintain educational institutions.

Globalizing Korean Education – The Appeal of Foreign Students

From K-pop and K-dramas to high-end technological hubs, Korea is one of the few countries that has managed to become an economic powerhouse in such a short amount of time and thus has attracted the attention of international communities around the globe. In the academic world, it is only during the last decade that Korea started to figure as one of the new host countries for international students. Although principally pressured by the government, universities in Seoul made great efforts to elevate the profile of higher education in Korea. For instance, various institutions introduced stricter application processes to focus on the academic abilities of foreign students, meaning to recruit “excellent” students who majored in engineering or had a scholarship. In particular, the Korean government’s policies regarding overseas students emphasize language proficiency, requiring at least a Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) level 4 or above to apply for higher education, which would prove to be advantageous for graduate students who later on seek to find a job in Korea. However, this focus on quality management rather than quantity only lasted a short time before there was a shift back to attracting as many international students as possible.

The official reason that Korea has sought to recruit so many international students is the talent shortage in cutting-edge technology and manufacturing fields. As reported by Universities News Network (UNN), Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-Ho announced the “Study Korea 300K Project” in August 2023 to improve the educational competitiveness of Korean universities and international collaboration. This plan includes various measures to attract foreign students, such as the relaxation of visa issuance requirements, an increase in Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) slots, and an increase in the budget for the postgraduate Brain Korea (BK) project, but the reality for international students in Korea is generally not considered. This is a concern because Korea is generally a culturally homogeneous nation with no history of cultural diversity, thus the mass recruitment of international students can lead to conflict between expectations and reality for the students, while Korean institutions may not recognize the needs of these students. In addition, as reported by The Korea Herald in 2021, visas and job opportunities after graduation are limited for international students in Korea; of the 1,611 foreign graduates from Korean universities, the Ministry of Labor reported that only 257 were hired by a company in Korea, while another 193 left Korea. The situation for the remaining 60 percent of graduates remains unknown to the authorities — so where exactly did these graduates end up?

International students who fail to secure a job in their field often end up becoming undocumented immigrants. As detailed by The Korea Times, the number of international students overstaying their visas has risen annually — either because they could not find employment or because they chose to remain in Korea illegally. This represents a significant problem for universities hosting foreign students, as they risk sanctions that prohibit them from accepting international students for at least a year if their percentage of undocumented immigrants exceeds a certain threshold. Coupled with the declining birth rate, the Korean educational system must promptly address this issue by striking a balance between attracting international talent and supporting the success of the foreign student community. It is also important to acknowledge the underlying reasons why international students come to developed countries to finish their studies. As stated by the multimedia news producer, Professor Frank Smith (Division of International Studies, Yonsei University), students are not solely motivated by higher education programs abroad; they often consider emigrating to those countries after finishing their degree. If countries like South Korea — that are relatively new to the recruitment of foreign students — cannot adjust their educational systems to assist or moderate the influx of international students who wish to stay in the country, illegal immigration will persist. 

Foreign Student Recruitment and Neglect 

Hanshin University’s treatment of international students who allegedly did not meet the required conditions for their visas is a reflection of the immense pressure universities face concerning potentially undocumented foreign students. Despite this, universities often resort to indiscriminately recruiting a large number of international students to improve the school’s financial situation. According to The Hankyoreh, analysts ascribed the twofold increase in international students to universities “making up for their financial difficulties” by enrolling international students, who pay higher tuition fees than domestic students. In Korea, university tuition fees for undergraduate students have remained flat since 2008 — with Korean students frequently receiving reductions in their tuition fees under Type II National Scholarships — thus the income from international students is essential for many universities’ finances.

Because government funding for higher education is relatively low in Korea, the International Education Quality Assurance System (IEQAS) administered by the Ministry of  Education is vital to maintain its economic standing. In this system, the illegal immigration rate is a major criteria for the assessment of individual educational institutions. Although the standards vary depending on the size of the university, if the illegal immigration rate exceeds 10 percent, the university will be prevented from accepting more international students. The Korea Times reported that provincial universities were not happy with the one-year bans on the recruitment of new international students. With provincial colleges being on the brink of collapse due to the fall in the domestic student population and the frozen tuition fees, restrictions on foreign student recruitment are a major concern for many universities in Korea.

Given the growth in the number of young foreign nationals’ immigrating to Korea, it is clear that Korea is becoming a popular place for overseas students to make a future for themselves. In particular, many international students claim that they came to Korea with high hopes of working in the entertainment industry. However, despite the idealized image students hold of Korea, the opinions of foreign students on Korean educational policies and the broken promises of Korean universities have generally been ignored by the citizens and the government as a whole. A major source of frustration derives from the financial difficulties they are put through that have not been keeping up with reality. JoongAng Ilbo reported on an issue of Vietnamese students unable to get an instant refund from an art school in Jeonju. In 2022, for the approval of D-4-1 language trainee visas, the Ministry of Justice required students for the initial payment of a semester’s worth of tuition fee — 4.47 million South Korean Won (KRW). However, out of the 31 students with their visas denied or given up by their own will, 10 students had to wait up to six months until August 1, 2022 to get a refund. 

“In my view, it is clearly related to financial difficulties of some Korean universities, in particular the smaller and less well-known ones,” stated Professor Robert Rudolf (Division of International Studies), who is the Deputy Vice President for International Affairs at Korea University, in an interview with The Granite Tower (GT). Considering that an average worker in Vietnam would have to save up to a year’s income for a semester’s tuition in Korea, he claimed that this excuse would have sounded unreasonable to the Vietnamese students, noting that the financial burden faced by international students has not been sufficiently considered. Professor Rudolf added that the higher education market needs to consolidate in the future to become more efficient; in particular, even though it may hurt for some, some universities will need to go out of business. He argued that the current system is inefficient because many programs are running in parallel across too many universities, thus only a small number of students are registered in each program. “The abolishment of some colleges will lead to an overall higher quality and lower cost per university student educated in Korea,” he declared.

Paving the Way at KU

Students at Korea University (KU) also face a similar struggle to gain an education that caters to their needs. KU was ranked 79th in the 2024 QS World University Rankings, which are curated by the global higher education company Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). In the hope of improving its ranking while also being aware that other universities have the same goal, KU has sought to increase its number of international students. This would increase the school’s global reputation because university rankings consider factors such as diversity and the inclusivity of the student body. For this reason, in August 2023, in an interview with The Korea Times, KU’s President Kim Dong-One announced his intention to increase the foreign-student ratio by 30 percent.

As such, a pivotal question arises: How do international students feel about the KU environment? The programs that are currently most popular among KU international students are the free Korean language courses offered every summer and winter break, mentoring programs like Korea University International Student Assistance (KUISA), the High Achievers Scholarship for outstanding academic performance, and other types of financial support. These programs may be highly beneficial in theory, yet there could be room for improvement. To understand the reality more clearly, GT interviewed international students from different departments at KU to discuss their experience as foreign students in Korea. When asked if they consider KU an attractive institution for foreign students and about institutional areas for improvement, the most immediate concerns were related to a lack of university effort to support students and the lack of suitable courses, especially those delivered in English, which were either lacking in number or in quality compared with Korean versions of those courses.

Mariana Sotelo (’21, International Studies) claimed that while she does not expect to have many English classes available given that it is not this country’s primary language, if the university chooses to include them in the curriculum, she expects them to be of good quality. “However,” she continued, “I have more than once encountered professors who are not sufficiently fluent in the language, and as a result, I struggled to grasp the contents of the class.” She claims that this puts international students at a clear disadvantage, even when many of them need a high GPA to maintain their scholarships. In addition, she claimed that moving to Korea encompasses more than academics, but the university does not always provide enough help to navigate these other areas. “I needed more help in figuring out how to create a bank account or buying a sim card. I would have loved it if I could get substantive help on a daily basis in my freshmen year,” Sotelo mentioned.

Furthermore, students have commented on the way courses are delivered in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. It is common to see courses listed as being English-mediated but actually being conducted in Korean. “I am always told not to trust the syllabus. You never know if the English lectures are actually going to be taught in English,” Nomin Urjinbayar (21’, Biomedical Engineering) explained. This represents a critical problem for many international students because they cannot confirm the basic details of their major courses. “It affects the lectures we are able to take during the course registration period,” she laments, “Any preparations I may have done for the upcoming semester are often frustrated by these unexpected changes in the modality of the class.” It does not help that, even though admission standards are supposedly strict, many students are still not fluent in Korean. Many international students end up coming to Korea and dropping out due to their inability to communicate or grasp academic concepts in Korean. The struggle goes both ways; universities lack English proficiency, and international students lack Korean fluency, thus they are unable to work together.

In addition to the financial injection that the tuition fees from international students provide, the institution’s global ranking can rise by attracting students from different countries, which in turn raises its global reputation among prospective students, encouraging even more students to apply. Thus, it is important for universities, including KU, to ensure the successful performance of international students. 

Recognizing the Challenge Ahead 

Canada is a nation Korea may want to learn from with regard to international students. With internationalization as its main goal for high-level education, the Canadian government has introduced various measures designed to assist overseas students, particularly related to ensuring that students are financially prepared to live in the country. In Canada, the cost-of-living requirements for study permit applicants have not changed since the 2000s, thus the Canadian government recently decided to double the threshold based on the annual low-income cut-off (LICO). Though policies such as these have led to the successful recruitment and management of international students in other advanced economies, it does not necessarily provide the full picture. Professor Smith addresses the difference in the reasoning behind first world countries attracting foreign students. “There are other socio economic and cultural reasons for those countries to be very attractive to students,” he asserts. “South Korea is more of an exchange-student destination rather than a permanent stop.” The fact that Canada, as an English-speaking country, has more international students is the result of its multicultural society based on its rich heritage of immigration. In contrast, Korea’s long history as an isolated and culturally homogenous society may impose a limit on its attractiveness to foreign students.

With the intense focus on short-term financial benefits, many universities have made the decision to recruit as many international students as possible. Professor Smith argues that Korea does not really have a limitation to recruiting international students but, as with many strong economies, the important issue is the reason for doing so; “Is it to serve domestic students and provide a more multicultural atmosphere and bring in people with different perspectives and skills? Is it to serve the global community, to educate people from around the world who later can go back to their home countries and make significant contributions? Or is it a cash cow?” Korean institutions are not the only ones aiming to attract foreign students to stabilize their finances. The tuition for a domestic Canadian student is approximately 7000 Canadian dollars (CAD) a year, while a foreign student has to pay around 30,000 CAD a year. However, the Canadian government is also looking at capping the number of international students in response to the country’s housing affordability crisis. Hence, although the systems designed for foreign students at Korean universities have flaws, other countries are also working to balance the impacts of the admission of international students to local institutions.

Even though stopping indiscriminate recruitment would go some way to alleviating some of the issues surrounding international students in Korea, the government and local universities should also focus on managing those students who want to settle in the country. In this respect, strengthening the role of the Global Services Center, which is in charge of dealing with international students’ affairs and supporting their academic departments, is crucial to the implementation of an effective support system for existing and prospective overseas students. This support system needs to include health and wellness services, including access to mental health resources, not just academic counseling. In addition, establishing a regular feedback channel can help improve the communication between international students and their institute, particularly related to the students’ needs, such as intensive Korean courses in their first year or more internships and job opportunities, which would help establish a respectful community where everyone can voice their opinions.

The Hanshin University controversy highlighted the contradictions inherent in the decision by Korean universities to recruit large numbers of international students. In this globalized era, South Korea’s competitiveness on the international stage will depend not only on its ability to bring in talent from around the world but on its ability to retain them. By understanding the hardships faced by international students, local institutions and the government will be able to actively stand on the side of its student body and meet internationalization head-on. Even though there may remain unexpected challenges for both higher education institutions and international students, Korea needs to commit to learning valuable lessons, even if they arise through trial and error.