Seoul, March 28 (IANS) The number of foreign students studying in South Korea has surpassed 310,000 for the first time, government data showed on Saturday.
According to the Korea Immigration Service, which is run by the justice ministry, the number of foreign students stood at 314,397 as of February, marking the first time the figure has exceeded the 310,000 level, reports Yonhap news agency.
By category, 238,905 students were enrolled in universities and other higher education institutions, while 75,033 were Korean language trainees and 459 were other language trainees.
The number of foreign students has roughly doubled over the past five years, from 153,361 at the end of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to over 300,000 for the first time in August last year.
As of February, the total number of foreign nationals staying in South Korea stood at 2.71 million, up 4.4 percent from a year earlier, while the number of foreign students rose at a faster pace of 15 percent over the same period.
In particular, the number of students entering the country to attend universities increased 22.2 percent on-year to 238,905 from 195,450.
By nationality, Vietnamese students accounted for the largest share at 115,131, followed by Chinese students at 78,529, Uzbek students at 20,609 and Mongolian students at 18,992.
Meanwhile, the number of foreigners visiting South Korea this month increased by more than 30 per cent from a year ago, data showed Friday, indicating a possible influx of global BTS fans ahead of the K-pop band’s comeback concert in Seoul.
According to the Korea Immigration Service, the number of foreigners, excluding crew members, who entered the country from March 1-18, was tallied at 1,099,700, marking an increase of 32.7 percent, or 271,200, from 828,500 in the same period of last year.
—IANS
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