International enrollment grows more than 10 times faster than overall university population, with Vietnamese making up the largest share International students participating in Hansung University's annual summer program eat Samgyetang, or ginseng chicken soup, in July at the university's campus in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. (Yonhap) The number of international students enrolled in higher education in Korea jumped 21.3 percent from a year earlier, as Vietnamese students overtook Chinese nationals to become the largest group by nationality for the first time, Education Ministry data showed Wednesday.The number reached 307,464 this year, up from 253,434 in 2025 and surpassing 300,000 for the first time.The Education Ministry released the results of its annual education statistics survey Wednesday. Conducted in April, the census covers students from kindergarten through higher education nationwide.Of the roughly 307,000 international students enrolled in higher education, 223,191 were enrolled in degree programs, while 84,272 were taking nondegree courses, such as Korean-language programs.Both figures increased from a year earlier. The number of international students enrolled in degree programs rose 24.6 percent, outpacing the 13.5 percent increase among students in nondegree programs.Chinese nationals accounted for approximately one-third of international students in degree programs, while Vietnamese students made up nearly half of those enrolled in nondegree programs.Vietnamese students also overtook Chinese students to become the largest group by nationality for the first time since the survey began in 2003.Vietnamese nationals accounted for 31.5 percent of the total, followed by Chinese students at 25.7 percent, Uzbek students at 6.8 percent, Nepalese students at 6.5 percent and Mongolian students at 5.6 percent. (Education Ministry) The Education Ministry noted, however, that international enrollment remains heavily concentrated among students from Asia, who accounted for 92.1 percent of the total."The disproportionate concentration of international students from Asian countries has been raised as an issue before," an Education Ministry official said. "But it is meaningful that, although the overall share of Asian students has increased slightly, dependence on the top three countries has declined."The official said that while the number of Vietnamese students increased, the number of Chinese and Uzbek students declined, reducing concentration among the largest nationality groups.The ministry has also continued to encourage universities to diversify the nationalities of their international students through measures including its International Education Quality Assurance System, the official added.The sharp rise in international enrollment stands out against the much slower growth in Korea's overall higher education population.The total number of students enrolled in higher education increased just 1.8 percent over the same period, from approximately 3.02 million in 2025 to 3.07 million this year.The number of higher education institutions, meanwhile, fell by five, from 421 to 416.At the kindergarten through high school level, Korea's student population continued to decline amid the country's persistently low birth rate and rapidly aging population.The number of students enrolled from kindergarten through high school fell from approximately 5.6 million in 2025 to 5.4 million this year, marking the steepest year-on-year decline in the past five years.The demographic downturn was also reflected in the number of schools, with kindergartens bearing the brunt of the decline.The total number of kindergartens, elementary schools, middle schools and high schools nationwide fell by 140 from a year earlier to 20,233. The number of kindergartens alone dropped by 167 to 7,973.The number of migrant-background students, however, continued to move in the opposite direction.Their number increased from 160,058 in 2021 to 210,838 this year. Compared with 2025, the migrant-background student population rose 4.3 percent.Among them, 65.8 percent, or 138,736 students, were born in Korea to parents in international marriages, making up by far the largest group.Students from foreign-national households accounted for 27.8 percent, or 58,562, while 6.4 percent, or 13,540, were children of international marriages who were born abroad and later entered Korea.