'100% job placement after graduation': Semiconductor high schools draw record interest

The semiconductor industry's boom is reshaping the high school admissions landscape. As Samsung Electronics and SK hynix lead domestic chipmakers to record-breaking performance, middle school students and their parents across the country are turning their attention to semiconductor meister and specialized high schools.

North Chungcheong Semiconductor High School in Eumseong-gun will accept applications for the 2027 academic year from Saturday through Oct. 22, according to Yonhap. The school plans to enroll 96 students.

The school — the country's first meister high school specializing in semiconductor equipment — drew about 1,800 middle school students and parents from across the country to six on-campus information sessions held this year, roughly five times the approximately 370 who attended last year.

The school received a further boost when The New York Times featured it in June as one of the most closely watched high schools in South Korea. It has employment partnerships with more than 120 chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, and has recorded a job placement rate of 95 percent or higher every year.

In Seoul, another semiconductor high school is drawing attention with a vision of "100 percent job placement after graduation." Seoul Semiconductor High School, which will admit its first class next year, has a capacity of 64 students — yet about 1,200 people attended its five admissions information sessions held so far.

The school is led by Principal Ji Woo-jeong, a former Samsung Electronics executive, and has signed MOUs with Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Amkor Technology and Hana Micron, among other semiconductor and electronics companies. Pre-arranged hiring commitments have already reached 217 positions.

Interest is also growing in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, where a large semiconductor cluster anchored by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix is taking shape and a new chip-focused school is set to open.

Yongin Semiconductor High School, the first semiconductor-specialized meister high school in Gyeonggi Province, held an admissions information session in August ahead of its scheduled opening next March — and registrations filled almost as soon as they opened. Even after the session, Yongin Bio High School, which manages the new school's operations, was flooded with phone calls asking about dormitory availability, admission criteria and required documents.

Yongin Semiconductor High School plans to admit its first class as a specialized high school for the 2027 academic year before converting to meister high school status from 2028. "The interest is so intense that I alone receive more than 10 calls a day," an official at Yongin Bio High School said, adding that inquiries have come in not only for general admissions but also for special admission tracks for foreign nationals, veterans and those who passed the high school equivalency exam.

In Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, efforts to train semiconductor specialists are also in full swing. Daegu Semiconductor Meister High School has invested 30.1 billion won ($22.5 million) over the past four years to build semiconductor practice facilities, a career support center and a creative convergence maker lab. The school is running tailored programs — including tracks focused on large corporations, public enterprises and job placement — with a goal of achieving a 100 percent employment rate for its first graduating class in 2027.

Korea Semiconductor Meister High School in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, converted from the former Gyeongju Industrial High School and began enrolling students in its semiconductor convergence program this year. As the intake was reduced from 132 to 64 students for the 2026 academic year, the admissions competition ratio rose to 1.68 to 1. For the 2027 academic year, the school will select 64 students across four semiconductor convergence classes.

In North Jeolla Province, attention is focused on Jeongeup Jeil High School, which is set to be renamed North Jeolla Semiconductor High School next year. About 200 people from across the country are expected to attend an admissions information session Saturday. While the school's annual enrollment fill rate had hovered around 70 percent in recent years, it now expects a competition ratio of around 3 to 1 this year.

Incheon Semiconductor High School was selected by the Ministry of Education in 2024 as one of the country's 10 nationally designated partnership specialized high schools, securing 12 billion won in funding over three years to build practice facilities on par with corporate research labs. The school plans to admit 128 new students — the same as this year — and saw about 130 people attend its first information session in July, roughly double the usual turnout.

In Busan, interest is already building around Busan Electronics Technical High School, which is slated to convert into Busan Semiconductor Meister High School in March 2028. The school's semiconductor department, which admitted its first students last year, recorded the highest competition ratio among specialized high school departments in Busan at 2.7 to 1, and that figure is expected to climb further this year.

South Chungcheong Semiconductor Meister High School in Yesan also drew about 180 students and parents to a recent admissions information session. The school converted from Yesan Electronics Technical High School into a semiconductor meister high school in 2025, operates a single semiconductor convergence department and teaches industry-focused technical skills covering semiconductor manufacturing processes and equipment operation.

Behind the surging interest in semiconductor high schools are the prospect of substantial performance bonuses tied to industry growth, high job placement rates and the appeal of landing a position at a major conglomerate — factors that are expected to make this year's admissions competition fiercer than ever.