
Korea ranks 10th in OECD for int'l student growth
The number of international students enrolled in South Korean universities has significantly increased, placing South Korea 10th among OECD member countries in terms of growth in foreign student numbers, according to a recent report by the Science Ministry and the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning. OECD data shows total international student enrollment in member countries rose from 3 million in 2014 to over 4.6 million in 2022.
The organization explained that this surge was partly attributed to the country's 'Study Korea 300K Project,' which aims to attract 300,000 foreign students and turn South Korea into a global education hub. The project kicked off in 2023.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the number of international students hosted by OECD countries rose by 18 percent between 2018 and 2022, according to the report.
This figure, however, was lower than the rise of over 30 percent seen between 2014 and 2018.
But the organization explained that the universities' ability to adapt to new challenges, diverse policies implemented during and after the pandemic to support international students, like flexible visa regulations and extended work opportunities, led to a rise in global student mobility in general.
Only five countries -- Australia, Denmark, Italy, New Zealand and the United States -- saw a fall in the number of international students they hosted between 2018 and 2022 due to the migration, health restrictions and more restrictive student visa policies applied during the COVID-19, according to the OECD.
Meanwhile, the number of Korean nationals studying abroad has decreased.
In 2018, there were 96,603 Korean students who studied overseas.
But the number fell to 82,384 in 2022, causing South Korea to be moved from fifth to eighth place on another OECD list of the countries with the highest number of students studying abroad.
The organization revealed that China and India remained the two biggest sources of overseas students, together accounting for around 30 percent of the total number of foreign students enrolled in OECD countries in both 2018 and 2022.
sj_lee@heraldcorp.com
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Korea Herald
7 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Silicon Valley's first Korean-founded unicorn Moloco sets sights on web, connected TV ad expansion
Moloco, an AI advertising solution provider, announced its strategic vision to expand beyond mobile app advertising into web and connected TV domains during a press conference in Seoul on Thursday. Founded by a Korean entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, Moloco is the first unicorn of its kind. The company develops AI-powered advertising technologies that help apps, e-commerce platforms and OTT services boost their ad revenue. Its solutions are designed to improve user engagement with ads, enabling both advertisers and platforms to maximize profits. 'We aim to create a world where a greater variety of platforms and sellers can grow together through our AI engine, fostering broader diversity and sustainable growth,' said Ahn Ikk-jin, CEO and co-founder of Moloco. According to Ahn, more than 2,000 platforms globally have adopted Moloco's AI engine, which now supports over 180,000 advertisers. Its clients include major global and Korean companies such as LG Electronics, Tving, KT, Coupang Eats and Krafton. Moloco generates approximately $40 billion in gross merchandise volume annually, comparable to Korea's leading portal and e-commerce giants, Naver and Coupang. Explaining how the company's machine learning solution rapidly identifies optimal ad placements for advertisers on mobile apps, Moloco CTO Jeon Dong-hwan outlined plans to expand its capabilities into web and CTV channels. 'Our real-time bidding system, powered by machine learning, currently analyzes over 6 million ad opportunities per second. By simultaneously evaluating campaign contribution and expected cost, we've achieved maximum cost-effectiveness,' said Jeon. 'We're increasing our investment in CTV, in partnership with Tving, and aim to build a unified platform that can optimize campaigns across web, app, and CTV channels.' Moloco, which reached unicorn status with a valuation exceeding 1 trillion won in 2021, is also eyeing an eventual public listing on the Nasdaq. 'Going public, in a sense, means becoming part of society,' said Ahn. He emphasized that the initial public offering is not being pursued as a fundraising or exit strategy, highlighting that the company has remained profitable for over four years, even with more than half its workforce dedicated to research and development. 'Our vision is to become a scaling engine for the internet economy. If we do pursue an IPO, it will serve as a milestone in positioning Moloco as a true enterprise player in the global commerce media industry.'


Korea Herald
8 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Seoul shares extend winning streak to 7th day; won sharply up
South Korean stocks closed higher Thursday, extending their winning streak to a seventh session, driven by big gains in the defense and energy sectors The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 12.99 points, or 0.45 percent, to end at 2,920.03. Foreigners briefly turned to net sellers in the middle of the day to lock in profits but ended up purchasing a net 405.7 billion won ($299 million) worth of local shares. Retail investors and institutions unloaded 175.1 billion won and 239.7 billion won, respectively. Trade volume was heavy at 695.5 million shares worth 17 trillion won, with winners outnumbering losers 518 to 374. "The KOSPI maintained its upward momentum thanks to gains in the defense and nuclear power sectors despite uncertainties that led to the mixed performance of global stock markets," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said. Lee said fresh geopolitical tensions helped boost the defense and shipbuilding sectors, while the nuclear power plant shares benefited from expectations for more export deals. Overnight, Wall Street closed lower amid heightened security risks in the Middle East as seen in the United States' plan to partially evacuate its embassy in Iraq. In Seoul, defense giant Hanwha Aerospace jumped 5.3 percent to 953,000 won, and Hyundai Rotem soared 5.15 percent to 179,700 won. Hanwha's shipbuilding affiliate Hanwha Ocean also surged 5.79 percent to 84,000 won. Nuclear power plant constructor Doosan Enerbility shot up 6.85 percent to 54,600 won, while KEPCO Engineering and KEPCO Plant Service, both subsidiaries of South Korea's state-run Korea Electric Power, skyrocketed 25.63 percent and 13.93 percent to 89,700 won and 50,300 won, respectively. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution also escalated 3.93 percent to 304,000 won, and major shipping firm HMM went up 2.22 percent to 23,000 won. In contrast, top-cap tech giant Samsung Electronics went down 0.67 percent to 59,500 won, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix lost 1.88 percent to 235,500 won. The local currency was quoted at 1,358.7 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., sharply up by 16.3 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)


Korea Herald
8 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae-myung calls for broader bilateral ties in Vietnam infrastructure
President Lee Jae-myung called for expanded cooperation with Vietnam during phone talks with Vietnam's President Luong Cuong Thursday morning, highlighting South Korean firms' bid to participate in infrastructure construction projects, including high-speed railways and nuclear power plants. Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters Thursday that the bilateral economic ties could expand and deepen to bolster "strategic cooperations in the field of high-speed railways and nuclear power plants," as the two countries had raised their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership — the highest in Vietnam's diplomatic hierarchy. According to Kang, Cuong described South Korea as a "trusted, crucial partner" in Vietnam's economic development and advancement during the phone talks. Lee asked that Cuong give keen attention to South Korean businesses operating in Vietnam, and support their "smooth activities" in the Southeast Asian country, Kang said, adding Cuong made "a positive response" to Lee's request. Kang did not elaborate further on which infrastructure projects, or which South Korean company she was referring to. The remarks came as Vietnam was working to build the North-South high-speed railway spanning more than 1,500 kilometers and connecting its capital in the northern region, Hanoi, with Ho Chi Minh City in the southern region. The 1,713 trillion-dong ($66 billion) project gained parliamentary approval in November and aims for construction to be completed by 2030. While a South Korean consortium could be considered one of the potential contenders in the blockbuster project, Vietnamese companies such as VinSpeed and Thaco have also reportedly expressed bids for the project. The focus is also on whether South Korean firms will be able to participate in the planned Ninh Thuan nuclear power project to build two units, which won the Vietnamese parliament's approval for the project restart in December. The project in the southeastern region of Vietnam, about 1,100 kilometers away from Hanoi, had been paused for eight years. If the construction is completed as planned by 2030, these would be Vietnam's first nuclear power units. Meanwhile, President Lee was invited to visit Vietnam by his Vietnamese counterpart. Lee expressed anticipation for his visit to the country to discuss ways to develop bilateral ties, according to the presidential office. The last South Korean leader to visit Vietnam was Lee's disgraced predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, in 2023. Kang also said the two leaders discussed more active high-level exchange ahead of South Korea's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' meeting in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, in November. This year marks the third anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. The partnership was elevated in December 2022 under the Yoon administration. According to Lee's office, the phone call between the two leaders took place Thursday morning for around 25 minutes from 9:30 a.m. Cuong is a former army general who was elected the president of Vietnam by its parliament. He was the fifth leader whom Lee had talked to via phone. Since being sworn in, Lee spoke to US President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Czech Republic's Prime Minister Petr Fiala.