The South Korean government has presented a rebrand of an earlier Study Korea 3.0 plan, now called Study Korea 300K project, which is expected to “stimulate the regional economy and enhance the global competitiveness of domestic universities as well as the country's high-tech industries”, as announced by Education Minister Lee Ju-ho. The project aims to attract 300 000 international students by 2027 – 220 000 in degree courses and 80 000 in non-degree courses. The aim is to handle the country’s own declining student population while also securing high-tech talent.

As of June 2023, there are around 207 000 international students in South Korea, according to the Ministry of Justice, meaning that the project is aiming for a roughly 30% increase of incoming international students. Korean overseas missions are also expected to assist the project in raising the nation’s share of global study abroad market from 2% to 3%.

Several other incentives are also foreseen, such as easing of the visa rules, recognising more language tests in the applications for student visas, lowering the minimum bank balance required by students, allowing more working hours within students on visas and shortening the residency qualification periods for long-term workers. Further to this, the STEM graduates will have a fast-track option in applying for permanent residency status.

Additional measures include the expansion of programmes in which over 50% of the course is taught in English, and the development of K-MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) in English for graduate international students.

More information is available on University World News.