Korea's international students up 17.6% in a year to 274,000, half of foreign resident growth; 50.8% now outside Seoul metropolitan area, topping it; Chungbuk, Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam grow fast

The number of international students living in Korea reached 274,329, up 41,092 (17.6%) from a year earlier. In the “2025 Status of Foreign Residents in Local Governments” released by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on October 28, the total number of foreign residents rose by 79,341 over the same period, and 51.8% of that increase was international students. Of the added international students, 59.2% (24,307) came from outside Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi. As a result, international students outside the Seoul metropolitan area numbered 139,385 (50.8%), surpassing the Seoul metropolitan area (134,944, 49.2%).

Up 68,000 in two years

International students are the fastest-growing type of foreign resident. Their number rose from 206,329 in 2023 to 233,237 in 2024 (up 13.0%) and 274,329 in 2025 (up 17.6%), an increase of 68,000 over two years. The share of international students among foreign residents also climbed from 8.4% to 9.0% and then 10.3%. Over the same one-year period, foreign workers rose 2.3% and marriage migrants 1.1%, while ethnic Koreans with foreign nationality fell 1.1%.

The total foreign resident population rose for a fourth consecutive year to 2,662,967, or 5.1% of the total population of 51,817,499. Foreign residents increased in all 17 provinces and metropolitan cities. The statistics are based on Population and Housing Census data from the National Data Office (Statistics Korea) and count people who had lived in Korea for more than 90 days as of November 1, 2025.

International students and growth rates by province/metropolitan city

Seoul still has the most international students (80,187), accounting for 29.2% of the national total. Gyeonggi (46,313) follows, and Gyeongbuk (21,333) overtook Busan (21,067) over the past year to rank third.

Growth led by Chungbuk, Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam and Gangwon

Chungbuk posted the highest growth rate, rising 36.6% from 7,705 to 10,522. It was followed by Gyeongbuk (29.0%), Gyeongnam (26.7%), Gangwon (26.0%), Daegu (23.8%) and Gyeonggi (20.3%). In absolute terms, Seoul (7,926) and Gyeonggi (7,812) added similar numbers, followed by Gyeongbuk (4,792), Busan (3,289) and Chungbuk (2,817). Of the 17 provinces and metropolitan cities, Jeju (1,524→1,517) is the only one where the number of international students fell.

International students in the Seoul metropolitan area numbered 118,159 in 2024, or 50.7% of the total. A year later the figure rose to 134,944, but the share fell to 49.2%. Seoul's growth rate (11.0%) was below the national average (17.6%), while growth rates in Chungbuk, Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam and Gangwon exceeded 25%.

Regions where international students make up a large share of foreign residents

Daejeon has the highest share of international students among its foreign residents, at 32.6%. Of Daejeon's 43,663 foreign residents, 14,227 are international students. Busan (23.3%), Seoul (17.7%), Gwangju (17.6%), Daegu (16.9%), Gangwon (15.6%), Gyeongbuk (15.3%), Jeonbuk (14.4%) and Sejong (13.1%) are also above the national average (10.3%). By contrast, the share of international students is below 6% in Gyeonggi and Jeonnam (5.4%), Incheon (4.8%), Gyeongnam (4.2%), Jeju (3.9%) and Ulsan (3.8%).

The distribution by nationality and degree program is available in the article mapping international students based on 2025 education statistics, and trends in the foreign population from the Population and Housing Census in the article on the 2025 Population and Housing Census.