Korea’s K-12 enrollment hits record low as immigrant-background students hit record high

South Korea has seen a record number of students with immigrant backgrounds, according to government data released on Wednesday. As of April 1, there were 210,838 such students, representing a 4.3 percent increase from the previous year. The students, from multicultural or foreign-nationality families, made up 4.3 percent of all elementary, middle, and high school enrollees in the country.

Vietnam emerged as the leading country of origin for these students, accounting for 30.9 percent of the total, followed by China at 26.7 percent and the Philippines at 8.1 percent. The data, compiled by the education ministry and the Korean Educational Development Institute, also revealed a shift in the international student population attending higher education institutions, including universities and graduate schools.

This year, 307,464 international students were enrolled, a 21.3 percent rise compared to the previous year.

For the first time, Vietnamese students overtook Chinese students to become the largest group among international students, constituting 31.5 percent of the total, with 96,834 students. Chinese students numbered 78,890, accounting for 25.7 percent.