Despite the rising international curiosity in Korean schooling, no Korean universities made it into Asia’s top 10 within the newest QS rankings — a stark reminder that establishing a presence within the worldwide educational enviornment stays one of many nation’s biggest challenges.
Analysts say Korean universities should enhance the variety of high quality college members and supply applications tailor-made for worldwide college students, whereas the federal government wants to chop monetary rules that stop schools from strengthening their international competitiveness.
According to the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2026 launched on Nov. 4, the top 10 spots have been dominated by establishments from Hong Kong, China and Singapore, with 5 from Hong Kong, three from mainland China and two from Singapore. The University of Hong Kong claimed the top spot.
Meanwhile, Korean universities noticed their general standings fall, with none putting within the top 10 for the primary time in 4 years.
Yonsei University, which ranked ninth final 12 months as the one Korean establishment within the top 10, dropped to eleventh place this 12 months. Korea University moved up one place to twelfth, adopted by Sungkyunkwan University at sixteenth, Seoul National University at seventeenth and Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) at 18th.
The key problem for Korean universities lies not in attracting worldwide college students, however within the restricted variety of college who can work comfortably in English, in accordance with a QS official.
“Korea has fewer faculty members capable of operating in English compared to places like Hong Kong or Singapore, which makes it harder to build cross-border research partnerships,” Ben Sowter, senior vp of QS, informed The Korea Times.
This language barrier additionally hampers efforts by universities to advertise Korea as an interesting vacation spot for international examine and analysis.
Korean universities have historically centered their worldwide collaborations on U.S. establishments. While their analysis output stays robust, an absence of range in international partnerships has been cited as a key weak spot.
Korean universities carried out significantly poorly in analysis indicators. Only 5 establishments — Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (twenty first), Sejong University (twenty third), POSTECH (eightieth), Korea University (98th) and Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (one centesimal) — ranked within the top 100 for citations per paper, a key measure of analysis productiveness.
In distinction, China had 48 universities ranked inside the top 100 for a similar indicator, highlighting the widening analysis hole between the 2 international locations.
Korean universities say extreme authorities rules are hindering their skill to draw top researchers and strengthen international competitiveness.
Since 2009, a government-imposed tuition freeze has squeezed college funds, leaving many establishments grappling with finances shortfalls for 16 years.
Tight budgets have additionally made it tough to supply aggressive pay to main worldwide students, fueling a “brain drain” as even professors from top establishments like Seoul National University depart for higher alternatives abroad.
In distinction, Hong Kong’s speedy climb within the newest rankings is extensively credited to robust authorities backing and deregulation. To entice world-class students, the federal government launched the Top Talent Pass Scheme in 2023, providing graduates from the world’s top 100 universities the correct to use for everlasting residency after seven years.
The program has already introduced in round 100,000 college students, researchers and professors inside simply two years, in accordance with the Hong Kong authorities.
Hong Kong has additionally capitalized on international shifts, together with the latest U.S. restrictions on international scholar admissions at Harvard University, seizing the chance to step up recruitment and entice roughly 300 new worldwide college students.
To strengthen their international presence, Korean universities should increase their worldwide visibility by tailoring applications and outreach to international college students and lecturers, in accordance with consultants.
Sowter emphasised that the second is now, as declining curiosity in Western examine locations creates a uncommon alternative for Korea to rise.
“Global interest in Korean culture is at an all-time high, while demand for traditional study destinations is waning,” he mentioned. “With the U.K., Australia, Canada and the U.S. tightening their international engagement policies, countries like Korea have a real opportunity to position themselves as high-potential alternatives for global students and researchers.”