That is the opinion of the leader of the international education agency under the Korean Ministry of Education, in the context of the steady increase in the number of Vietnamese studying in Korea and this country is currently the most attractive destination for Vietnamese students.
Representative of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), the number 2 university in Korea and ranked 53rd in the world according to QS 2025, advises Vietnamese learners
About 56,000 Vietnamese people study in Korea
Speaking at a seminar on studying in Korea held on November 17 by the Korean Language Center, Mr. Han Sangshin, Director of the National Institute for International Education of Korea (NIIED), shared that the institute has supported 820 Vietnamese students to come to this country through the Korean Government Scholarship Program (GKS). In addition, universities, businesses and other organizations also sponsor many types of scholarships for international students.
"Currently, there are about 56,000 Vietnamese students studying in Korea. This number ranks second in the number of international students in Korea by country and is expected to continue to increase. Vietnam will soon become the country with the largest number of international students in Korea," Mr. Han commented, adding that the Korean Ministry of Education is actively supporting international students in many aspects, from admission to finding jobs after graduation.
"There are also more than 4,000 Korean businesses operating in Vietnam," Mr. Han noted about job opportunities.
Ms. Jung Ga Yeon, Deputy Consul General of the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, shared details that there are 56,003 Vietnamese students studying in Korea in 2024, accounting for 27% of the total number of international students in Korea and an increase of 12,642 people compared to the previous year. This number makes Korea the most chosen study abroad destination in Vietnam.
According to Ms. Jung, the Korean wave (Hallyu), a top-notch safety environment, and an economy in the world's top 10 are some of the common reasons attracting international students to Korea.
At the same time, Ms. Jung also pledged that government agencies and universities in this country are introducing many policies to help Vietnamese students study and settle safely in a better environment. "High quality education is also guaranteed by the Korean Ministry of Education because the evaluation and management of universities is carried out annually," Deputy Consul General Jung Ga Yeon noted.
Speaking more about the reasons why more and more Vietnamese people are studying in Korea, Mr. Tran Thien Van, CEO of Zila Education (HCMC), said that one of the factors is that students are increasingly moving to new markets that are culturally and geographically close to Vietnam, such as Korea, instead of focusing only on traditional markets as before. Reasonable study abroad costs are also what motivates students to choose the land of kimchi.
"In addition, there are more and more job opportunities from Korean enterprises investing in Vietnam. Not only large enterprises but also small enterprises in this country consider Vietnam a potential market. This creates many job opportunities for international students after they return home," Mr. Van analyzed, adding that more and more Vietnamese people are entering the regular program instead of mostly just studying Korean language courses as before.
Representatives of Chungcheongbuk Provincial Office of Education (Ministry of Education of Korea) answer questions from learners
Localities have their own support plans.
Not only are there support plans from the government level, but at the local level, cities in Korea are also developing plans to attract international students. For example, Busan City currently has the Busan International Student Support Center (BISSC), which not only provides information but also supports community activities; visa, legal, psychological consultation...; builds an international student network; organizes job fairs... for international students.
"The above services are completely free," Ms. Oh Seonji, Deputy Head of Global Citizen Support, Department of Public Diplomacy and International Exchange, Busan Global Exchange Foundation (BGCF), shared with Thanh Nien .
Ms. Oh informed that BISSC is the first model to systematically support international students at the local level in Korea, receiving funding from the city budget and is currently the only model to date. Ms. Oh said that the center also operates two special programs, including an activity that allows international students to participate in internships at organizations and companies for two months during the holidays and is only applicable to students who have not yet graduated.
"The other activity is the Busan City-specific scholarship for international students, up to 2 million won/year (36 million VND). This is a fairly competitive scholarship, requiring students to go through many rounds of review, with the mandatory requirement of achieving a Korean language certificate (TOPIK) level 4 or higher. This year, we awarded scholarships to 18 out of about 120 applicants," said Ms. Oh, who is also the administrator of this scholarship program.
According to the parties, the trend of studying abroad in Korea will increasingly flourish in Vietnam due to the demand for human resources as well as the enhanced cooperation between Vietnam and Korea.
Ms. Oh added that to ensure that there are as many opportunities as possible, international students can only participate in one of the two special programs mentioned above at the same time, and each program can only be participated in once. "To optimize opportunities and quickly adapt to the learning and living environment, the top priority for you is to learn and master Korean," Ms. Oh advised.
Kim Gun Yeong, a senior researcher at the Daegu City Technological Park (DGTP), said the locality is also planning to build an international student support center next year, which is the first step in a long-term plan to attract talent. On the other hand, because Daegu is a sister city to Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Bac Ninh, the locality also hopes to create conditions for Vietnamese people to come and study.
In addition, the population in Daegu is decreasing, so more human resources are needed. The city has a lower standard of living than other localities. The university offers many majors... are also reasons that attract Vietnamese students to study here, according to Mr. Kim.
300,000 people study in Korea
Previously in 2023, the Korean Ministry of Education announced a project to attract 300,000 people to study in Korea (Study Korea 300K Project), double the number in 2022. The highlights of the project are improving student visa procedures; attracting talents in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics); attracting international students to areas outside major urban areas to develop the local economy...
The Study Korea 300K Project is the next step of the Study Korea Project, which was launched by the Korean government in 2004 with the ambition of making the country an educational hub in Asia. In 2015, Korea set a goal of attracting 200,000 international students by 2023, and successfully reached the milestone in February 2023.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/viet-nam-se-la-quoc-gia-co-dong-nguoi-du-hoc-han-quoc-nhat-185241117214712933.htm
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