Vietnamese students outnumber Chinese for first time as foreign enrollment tops 300,000

Foreign students pose for commemorative photos at a graduation ceremony held Thursday at Dong-A University's Bumin Campus in Seo-gu, Busan. [Yonhap]

The number of foreign students enrolled at South Korean universities and other higher education institutions has surpassed 300,000 for the first time, with Vietnamese students overtaking Chinese students as the largest group after growing nearly 30 percent in a single year.

According to the 2026 Basic Education Statistics released Wednesday by the Ministry of Education and the Korean Educational Development Institute, foreign student enrollment at domestic higher education institutions stood at 307,464 as of April 1 this year — an increase of 54,030, or 21.3 percent, from a year earlier. The figure has doubled in six years, up from 153,695 in 2020.

By country of origin, Vietnamese students were the largest group at 96,834, accounting for 31.5 percent of all foreign students. They were followed by China at 78,890 (25.7 percent), Uzbekistan at 20,876 (6.8 percent), Nepal at 20,118 (6.5 percent) and Mongolia at 17,189 (5.6 percent).

This is the first time Vietnamese students have outnumbered their Chinese counterparts. Last year, Chinese students numbered 76,541, edging out the 75,144 Vietnamese students. This year, however, Vietnamese enrollment surged by 21,690, or 28.9 percent, while Chinese enrollment grew by only 2,349, or 3.1 percent, reversing the rankings. Vietnamese students accounted for 40.1 percent of the total increase in foreign enrollment this year.

Nepalese students also jumped sharply, rising 57.4 percent from 12,784 to 20,118, while Uzbek enrollment grew 32.2 percent. Despite those gains, the combined share of the top three source countries — Vietnam, China and Uzbekistan — edged down to 64.0 percent from 66.1 percent last year.

In this regard, a Ministry of Education official said the overconcentration of students from Asian countries "has been a persistently raised concern," adding that the ministry is urging universities to diversify the nationalities of their international students through indicators in the international education capacity certification program.

The statistics are based on enrolled students rather than those actually residing in South Korea. The ministry said Chinese students at Honam University who are under investigation by the Ministry of Justice over allegations of falsified academic credentials are currently on leave of absence and were therefore included in the foreign student count. The figure of 307,464 does not represent the number of foreign students currently in the country and attending classes.

Vietnamese students make up the largest share of foreign students at South Korean higher education institutions, numbering 96,834. [Ministry of Education/Created with ChatGPT]

Kindergarten-to-high-school enrollment falls by nearly 190,000; 208 kindergartens shut

In contrast to the rapid growth in foreign student enrollment, the number of kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school students fell by nearly 190,000 in a year due to the country's low birth rate. Total enrollment across those levels dropped 189,007, or 3.4 percent, to 5,362,281 — a steeper decline than the roughly 130,000-student drop recorded the previous year.

Kindergarten enrollment fell by 12,259 to 469,304, while elementary school enrollment declined by 126,118 to about 2.22 million. Middle school enrollment stood at about 1.34 million, down 31,606, and high school enrollment came to about 1.28 million, down 20,074.

Particularly notable was the reversal in middle school enrollment, which had grown by 37,506 students last year but declined this year. The drop in high school enrollment also widened sharply, from 4,859 last year to 20,074 this year — more than a fourfold increase. The enrollment decline driven by the low birth rate, which had been concentrated in elementary schools, now appears to be spreading to middle and high schools.

Student numbers fell in all 17 metropolitan and provincial regions. North Jeolla Province and South Gyeongsang Province recorded the steepest declines at 4.5 percent each, while Incheon saw the smallest drop at 2.1 percent. At the school level, elementary enrollment fell 7.1 percent in North Jeolla Province and 7.0 percent in South Gyeongsang Province. High school enrollment rose only in Sejong, where it increased 1.9 percent.

The total number of kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools nationwide fell by 140 to 20,233. While 41 new kindergartens opened, 208 closed, reducing the total to 7,973.

Kindergarten closures by region were most concentrated in Gyeonggi Province at 55, followed by South Gyeongsang Province at 29, North Gyeongsang Province at 22, Daegu at 20 and Seoul at 18. A ministry official said kindergartens appear to have been "the first to take a direct hit from the decline in births," adding that closures were particularly concentrated among private kindergartens.

High schools, by contrast, saw a net increase of 11, with 12 new schools opening and one — Mupung High School in Muju, North Jeolla Province — closing. Of the 12 new high schools, nine opened in Gyeonggi Province, with one each in Seoul, Incheon and South Gyeongsang Province.

Chairs for a teacher and students sit in a classroom at a private kindergarten in Seoul. This photo is unrelated to the article. [Newsis]

Teacher numbers edge down; students from migrant backgrounds up by 8,630

Despite the overall enrollment decline, teacher numbers remained relatively stable, partly due to hiring driven by the high school credit system and other policy needs. While student enrollment fell 3.4 percent, the number of kindergarten-through-high-school teachers declined by only 594, or 0.1 percent, to 505,545. Elementary school teachers fell by 1,599, while middle school teachers rose by 196 and high school teachers by 217.

Average class sizes were 15.6 students in kindergarten, 18.6 in elementary school, 24.5 in middle school and 23.1 in high school. Kindergarten class size was unchanged from last year, while elementary, middle and high school classes shrank by 0.7, 0.4 and 0.3 students, respectively.

Even as overall enrollment declined, the number of students from migrant backgrounds rose 4.3 percent, or 8,630, to 210,838. Their share of total enrollment also increased, from 4.0 percent to 4.3 percent. High school students from migrant backgrounds grew particularly fast at 12.0 percent, while students from foreign-national households rose 10.8 percent.

The number of higher education institutions fell by five, from 421 to 416, reflecting mergers and consolidations among universities. The freshman enrollment rate at higher education institutions rose 1.4 percentage points to 88.2 percent, while the overall student enrollment rate climbed 3.1 percentage points to 107.3 percent.

brunch@heraldcorp.com