Are foreign students a means of making money for universities?...More than half lack Korean language skills

Low Korean proficiency of international students

It was found that among international students currently studying at Korean universities, less than half of them have the minimum Korean language skills for studying. Of course, more than 50% of international students are studying really hard in Korea, but their lack of Korean language skills is raising concerns among domestic education officials

According to the language proficiency satisfaction rate of foreign students at domestic higher education institutions (universities, junior colleges, and general graduate schools) announced by the Ministry of Education, the proportion of all foreign students who passed the language proficiency requirement did not exceed 50%. It falls short of the Korean Proficiency Test level 4 or higher required by the school (Korean Proficiency Test level 3 or higher for junior colleges) or TOEFL score of 530 or higher. There has been no significant change in the language proficiency rate of international students at domestic 4-year universities over the past three years, from 47.3% in 2021 to 47.4% this year.

The language proficiency rate for international graduate students increased slightly from 44.2% in 2021 to 48.2% in 2023, but it still did not exceed 50%. However, in junior colleges, the percentage of students meeting language proficiency fell from 28.3% in 2021 to 22.4% in 2023.

What are the Korean standards for international students?

Currently, the Ministry of Education recommends that applicants select applicants with a level of TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) level 3 or higher and a TOEFL score of 530 or higher in Korean or English when entering domestic universities and graduate schools. When they graduate, 4-year universities and graduate schools must obtain TOPIK level 4 or higher, and junior colleges have no graduation standards at all.

According to the TOPIK evaluation criteria, level 3 of the Test of Proficiency in Korean is said to be capable of expressing Korean at the paragraph level without causing any disruption in daily life. Topic level 4 is also said to be able to understand technical terminology used in university major classes.

However, if you talk to foreigners who obtained TOPIK level 3 or 4, you can quickly see that their Korean language skills are not excellent. For this reason, it is said that it is difficult for local universities where foreign students' Korean language skills are lower to conduct classes.

Are international students a means of making money for Korean universities?

Last August, the Ministry of Education announced that it would attract 300,000 foreign students by 2027 and become one of the world's top 10 study abroad powers. Considering that the number of international students as of 2022 is approximately 166,000, this means that the number of international students will increase significantly to more than double the current number in just 5 years.

In particular, the policy is to ease evaluation factors such as the Korean Language Proficiency Test, which are obstacles to admission during the attraction stage of international students. For this reason, there are concerns that the government's policy of blindly expanding the number of international students in a short period of time may lead to a decline in the quality of domestic university education, as the proportion of international students in Korea who are prepared to study is still low. National Assembly member Seo Dong-yong said, “I understand the situation where local universities, which are having difficulty recruiting students and experiencing financial difficulties, are finding a breakthrough with foreign students.

He pointed out, “Indiscriminately attracting foreign students who do not even have language skills can reduce the quality of classes and the reliability of domestic higher education, which can even destroy the international credibility of Korean degrees.”

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