Foreign students in Korea top 500,000 for first time amid K-content boom

The number of foreign students who came to South Korea for study or training purposes surpassed 500,000 for the first time last year. Analysts say the global popularity of K-content has fueled growing interest in learning Korean and pursuing study or training programs in the country.

According to Chosun Ilbo on Thursday, 505,410 of the 18,936,562 foreign visitors to South Korea last year — 2.7 percent — entered the country for study or training purposes. It was the first time the number of such visitors had topped 500,000.

The number of visitors coming to South Korea for study or training rose from 80,084 in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to 152,195 in 2022. It then more than doubled to 313,980 in 2023, climbed to 435,129 in 2024, and surpassed the 500,000 mark last year. Compared with 2021, the figure grew 6.3-fold over four years.

The proportion of visitors in their 20s and 30s was also high. Visitors in their 20s numbered 4,720,515 last year, accounting for 24.9 percent of the total, while those in their 30s numbered 4,050,916, or 21.4 percent. Combined, visitors in their 20s and 30s made up 46.3 percent of all foreign visitors to South Korea.