Some 204,000 foreigners visited Korea for educational purposes in the first half of the year, up 50.6 percent from the same period last year, setting a new record high.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, the number of foreign students was steadily rising, reaching 191,000 in the second half of 2019. But the pandemic caused a sharp decline, with numbers dropping to 88,000 in the first half of 2020 and plummeting further to 30,000 in the second half of that year. The numbers have been recovering now that the pandemic has ended.
Chinese students took the largest portion, with 112,000 or mor than half, followed by Vietnamese with 33,000, Japanese with 6,900, Mongolians with 6,700, and Uzbeks with 5,000.
The rise in foreign students is largely attributed to the global popularity of K-pop and Korean soaps, which has sparked interest in learning the Korean language and culture.
Another reason may be increased job opportunities in Korea, driven by the Korean government’s initiatives to recruit more foreign workers to address labor shortages in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and rural areas.
"It is not easy to bring skilled foreign workers to Korea, so it would be better to help foreign students who speak Korean find jobs here after completing their studies," said a researcher at the Korea Small Business Institute.
