39 Korean Universities Earn IEQAS 'Excellent' Status — Which Ones Draw the Most Vietnamese Students?

For Vietnamese students and parents preparing to study in Korea, choosing a university means weighing two things at once: safety (has the government vetted this school?) and popularity (do many Vietnamese seniors already attend?). This article answers that question by combining two sets of government data. The first is the list of 39 universities awarded the top "Excellent" grade under the International Education Quality Assurance System (IEQAS), jointly operated by Korea's Ministry of Education and Ministry of Justice. The second is the number of Vietnamese students at each school, drawn from the Ministry of Justice's immigration data on international students (data.go.kr/data/3069982, second half of 2025, as of December 31, 2025, KOGL Type 1). For context, the total number of Vietnamese students in Korea as of the second half of 2025 reached 108,099.

First, it is important to be precise about what IEQAS "Excellent" actually means. IEQAS is a certification system run jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice, and "Excellent" is the highest grade, awarded to schools certified as especially capable at recruiting and managing international students. Universities with this certification generally enjoy a degree of trust in areas such as visa screening. There is, however, an important limit to keep in mind. IEQAS certifies a school's "international-education capability" — it is not a system that guarantees the educational quality of any individual department or a graduate's employment. In other words, an "Excellent" grade is a signal that says "this school is well prepared to admit and support international students," not a promise that "this major will land you a good job."

So among the 39 IEQAS "Excellent" universities, which ones host the most Vietnamese students? All 39 have Vietnamese students enrolled, and the top 12 by headcount are as follows.

1. Keimyung University (계명대학교) — 1,931 students 2. Dongguk University (동국대학교) — 1,222 students 3. Chung-Ang University (중앙대학교) — 965 students 4. Ajou University (아주대학교) — 965 students 5. Sun Moon University (선문대학교) — 931 students 6. Kyungpook National University (경북대학교) — 746 students 7. Sejong University (세종대학교) — 580 students 8. Konkuk University (건국대학교) — 556 students 9. Kyung Hee University (경희대학교) — 548 students 10. Sungkyunkwan University (성균관대학교) — 492 students 11. Hansung University (한성대학교) — 482 students 12. Joongbu University (중부대학교) — 439 students

The leader on this list, Keimyung University with 1,931 students, is overwhelming — more than 700 ahead of second-place Dongguk University at 1,222. Third-place Chung-Ang University and fourth-place Ajou University are tied at 965, and together with fifth-place Sun Moon University at 931, they form a top tier in the 900s. The schools are also spread fairly evenly across the country: Keimyung and Kyungpook National in the Daegu–Gyeongbuk region; Chung-Ang, Ajou, Sejong, Konkuk, Kyung Hee, Sungkyunkwan, and Hansung in the greater Seoul area; and Sun Moon and Joongbu in the Chungcheong region. That distribution shows that options satisfying both conditions — "Excellent" certification plus a large body of Vietnamese seniors — can be found nationwide.

The most striking point emerges when the two data sets are overlaid. The top 10 schools nationwide by Vietnamese enrollment are Seojeong College, Keimyung University, Gachon University, Daeshin University, Hannam University, Daejeon Institute of Science and Technology, Gangneung Yeongdong University, Daegu Haany University, Dongguk University, and Namseoul University — and of those 10, only two, Keimyung University and Dongguk University, hold IEQAS "Excellent" certification. In other words, "the schools with the most Vietnamese students" and "the schools certified IEQAS Excellent" are substantially different groups. The size of a Vietnamese community does not automatically align with government certification.

The implication for choosing a school is clear. Pick a university based on popularity alone — "lots of seniors here" — and you may forgo the safety net of the government's international-capability certification. Choose on certification alone, and a small Vietnamese community may make it harder to get help adjusting. That is why both indicators should be read together. The top 12 above are precisely the schools that satisfy both at once: government certification (safety) and a large body of Vietnamese seniors (popularity). Keimyung University and Dongguk University are especially rare cases — among the overall top 10 for Vietnamese enrollment while also holding IEQAS "Excellent" certification, meeting both conditions.

Finally, a note on the limits of interpretation. The Vietnamese student figures cited here are based on enrollment in the second half of 2025 per the Ministry of Justice, not on newly issued visas. The IEQAS grades are the result of certification reviews by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice. This article, therefore, is best read not as a ranking of "which school is best," but as a data-driven guide that narrows the field to which schools represent a balanced choice when safety (government certification) and popularity (community size) are considered together.