It is no secret that Korea is currently in the middle of very important social changes. Labor shortages across various manual industries, the declining birth rate, the aging population, among other things, have certainly jeopardized the future of the country. In order to prevent the possibility of social collapse, the Korean government has started promoting several initiatives and laws to attract both foreign workers and students to move to the country and slowly start to solve these issues. Launching this summer, these are some of the strategies that the Korean Government, along with Flagship Universities are going to follow from now on:

Study Korea 300K Project

The Ministry of Education is aiming to double the number of international students completing undergraduate and graduate degrees in Korea by 2027. So, in four years, the current body of students is going to increase from 160,000 students to at most 300,000 students. In order to achieve this, the number of scholarships for candidates seeking a major in the field of STEM will double for universities outside of the Seoul area, as this will also revitalize the economies of said regions.

To encourage students to apply to these universities, the amount of English-language classes offered to them will need to expand in each university. Moreover, the amount of Korean teachers sent abroad will also expand, in order to increase the number of Korean learners too.

Some measures have started taking place. For example, on November 18th the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) will be carried out online, so the amount of test-takers from all around the world is expected to grow exponentially.

Flagship Universities Cooperation Strategy

The 10 National Universities of Korea (known as ‘Flagship Universities’) have announced this last August an alliance to foster talents in STEM and promote the cooperation between the different regions of the country.

In order to do so, the schools will set up a research center that will develop knowledge on quantum mechanics and various types of batteries. Also, collaboration will take place in the form of networking between faculties, and opportunities for students to attend any other school for a semester and get easier access to credit exchange.

Labor Policies

After the measures of the Ministry of Education were announced, the Ministry of Justice changed its policies towards the work hours that international students are allowed to work each week. Since July 3rd, students with a D-2 visa can work 25 hours per week, compared to the original 20. Furthermore, if students have at least TOPIK level 4, they will be allowed to work 30 hours per week.

Students will also be allowed to intern in local startups, overcoming the limit of only having the opportunity to work as researchers or in part-time jobs.