English

International students

2025: international students enrolled at higher education institutions in Korea numbered 253,434, of whom those in degree programmes number 179,190 are in degree programs and non-degree programs account for 74,244 people. 1999 3,418 to 74.1 times. By province, Seoul holds 82,911 persons and Gyeonggi 49,040. By field of study, humanities and social sciences hold 76,770, the largest group. In the MOJ yearbook's study (D2) and general training (D4) visa counts, Vietnam holds 116,005, and China 78,645, in that order.

Source: Korean Educational Development Institute, Education Statistics Service, international students at higher education institutions; Ministry of Justice, Korea Immigration Service Statistics (nationality).

Note: Field of study and university are 2025 enrolment counts. Nationality is from MOJ yearbook counts of registered foreigners with study (D2) and general training (D4) status, which differ from the enrolment total; the two cannot be added together or substituted for each other.

Table 1.Program composition by province, 2025Unit: persons

Year 2025

Rank	Province	Degree program	Non-degree	Total
1	Seoul	57,194	25,717	82,911
2	Gyeonggi	35,047	13,993	49,040
3	Busan	13,086	5,544	18,630
4	Gyeongbuk	12,566	3,543	16,109
5	Chungnam	9,692	4,179	13,871
6	Daejeon	9,035	4,443	13,478
7	Chungbuk	8,559	1,978	10,537
8	Jeonbuk	6,293	2,357	8,650
9	Gangwon	6,240	1,325	7,565
10	Daegu	4,331	3,126	7,457
11	Gwangju	4,056	2,584	6,640
12	Incheon	3,849	1,591	5,440
13	Jeonnam	3,959	1,167	5,126
14	Gyeongnam	2,476	1,686	4,162
15	Ulsan	874	459	1,333
16	Jeju	924	392	1,316
17	Sejong	1,009	160	1,169

Source: KEDI Education Statistics Service.

Note: only the split between degree and non-degree programs is available by year, so the detailed courses such as bachelor's and master's are broken out for the latest year alone.

Figure 1.International students, 1999–2025Unit: 10,000 persons

Source: KEDI Education Statistics Service.

View as table

Year	Total	Degree program	Non-degree
1999	3,418	3,418	0
2000	3,980	3,980	0
2001	4,690	4,690	0
2002	5,776	5,776	0
2003	7,962	7,962	0
2004	16,832	11,121	5,711
2005	22,526	15,577	6,949
2006	32,557	22,624	9,933
2007	49,270	32,056	17,214
2008	63,952	40,585	23,367
2009	75,850	50,591	25,259
2010	83,842	60,000	23,842
2011	89,537	63,653	25,884
2012	86,878	60,589	26,289
2013	85,923	56,715	29,208
2014	84,891	53,636	31,255
2015	91,332	55,739	35,593
2016	104,262	63,104	41,158
2017	123,858	72,032	51,826
2018	142,205	86,036	56,169
2019	160,165	100,215	59,950
2020	153,695	113,003	40,692
2021	152,281	120,018	32,263
2022	166,892	124,803	42,089
2023	181,842	129,240	52,602
2024	208,962	145,778	63,184
2025	253,434	179,190	74,244

Table 2.Field of study, 2025Unit: persons

Year 2025

Field of study		Persons
Humanities and social sciences		76,770
Engineering		23,656
Arts and physical education		11,162
Natural sciences		8,504
Medicine and pharmacy		40

Source: KEDI Education Statistics Service.

Note: Fields of study in this table combine undergraduate and graduate enrollment.

Figure 2.International students by nationality, 2020–2025Unit: 10,000 persons

Source: Ministry of Justice, Korea Immigration Service Statistics (study and language training statuses).

Note: The eight nationalities with the most students in the last year are shown.

View as table

Year	Vietnam	China	Uzbekistan	Mongolia	Nepal	Myanmar	Bangladesh	Japan
2020	57,945	51,120	9,077	8,240	2,796	1,043	1,160	2,193
2021	63,491	48,270	9,504	8,837	2,772	1,504	1,278	3,876
2022	71,038	59,354	11,555	11,431	2,746	2,893	1,569	5,105
2023	80,343	70,532	12,530	13,802	4,543	5,064	2,058	4,544
2024	96,957	74,919	15,352	16,655	9,229	7,525	2,977	4,203
2025	116,005	78,645	20,185	18,957	16,608	10,129	4,381	4,157

Table 3.20 universities with the most international students, 2025Unit: persons

Year 2025

Rank	University	Total	Degree program	Non-degree
1	Seojeong University	5,092	4,242	850
2	Gachon University	4,996	3,616	1,380
3	Yonsei University	4,740	2,183	2,557
4	Korea University	4,471	2,929	1,542
5	Chung-Ang University	4,257	2,233	2,024
6	Hanyang University	3,988	2,112	1,876
7	Sungkyunkwan University	3,911	2,270	1,641
8	Kyung Hee University	3,535	2,486	1,049
9	Keimyung University	3,044	1,406	1,638
10	Hankuk University of Foreign Studies	2,949	2,173	776
11	Sejong University	2,844	1,630	1,214
12	Dongguk University	2,691	1,180	1,511
13	Hanyang University (ERICA campus)	2,503	2,096	407
14	Soongsil University	2,479	1,752	727
15	Ajou University	2,411	937	1,474
16	Woosong University	2,302	2,008	294
17	Konkuk University	2,228	1,415	813
18	Sun Moon University	2,200	1,167	1,033
19	Myongji University (Humanities campus)	2,127	1,204	923
20	Ewha Womans University	2,089	1,344	745

Source: KEDI Education Statistics Service.

Note: Main campuses and branch campuses are listed under separate school names.

Table 4.Top 20 nationalities, 2025Unit: persons, %

Year 2025

Rank	Nationality	International students	Share
1	Vietnam	116,005	37.6
2	China	78,645	25.5
3	Uzbekistan	20,185	6.5
4	Mongolia	18,957	6.1
5	Nepal	16,608	5.4
6	Myanmar	10,129	3.3
7	Bangladesh	4,381	1.4
8	Japan	4,157	1.3
9	Russia	2,669	0.9
10	Kyrgyzstan	2,616	0.8
11	Indonesia	2,576	0.8
12	Pakistan	2,308	0.7
13	India	2,166	0.7
14	United States	2,115	0.7
15	France	2,025	0.7
16	Kazakhstan	1,808	0.6
17	Sri Lanka	1,598	0.5
18	Taiwan	1,535	0.5
19	Germany	1,295	0.4
20	Malaysia	1,224	0.4

Source: Ministry of Justice, Korea Immigration Service Statistics (study and language training statuses).

Note: This table counts statuses of stay instead of school enrollments, so the total differs from Table 1.