"Ultimately, we need to see a 'lock-in' effect that keeps students in the region. More graduates of regional universities should find jobs and settle nearby, and the young population and jobs in strategic industries should grow as well."
That is how the president of one flagship national university described the goal of the government's "10 Seoul Nationals" initiative. The idea is to draw strong students to regional universities, train them as the talent local industries need, and then keep them there. That is also why the government is pouring large sums of money into flagship national universities outside the capital.
The Ministry of Education recently selected Pusan National University, Chonnam National University and Chungnam National University as the first schools for intensive support. Each will receive about 70 billion won this year, with investment continuing through 2030. The plan calls for new colleges and research institutes, along with joint education and research programs with companies and research institutions. By the end of the year, the ministry also plans to draw up shared performance indicators involving the universities, local governments and the private sector.
The problem is that it takes time for changes at a university to translate into student choices and employment. Chonnam National University's College of Advanced Convergence and Chungnam National University's NEXUS College of Science and Technology are scheduled to open in 2028. By 2030, it will be possible to assess whether the colleges were established, whether faculty were hired and what industry-academia partnerships produced. But it will be too early to know where their graduates found jobs and whether they stayed in the region.
Shifting student preferences also takes time. In a survey of 660 test-takers and parents by Jongro Academy, 63.9% said they would not consider enrolling at a national university outside the Seoul metropolitan area even if tuition were fully covered. That is why better teaching and research conditions cannot be assumed to change enrollment decisions right away.
The effects of the policy therefore need to be tracked even after the five-year plan ends. During the plan period, the focus should be on whether the projects are carried out — new colleges, faculty hires, industry partnerships. After that, the measures should include application and enrollment rates, the academic records of incoming students, where graduates find work and how many settle in the region. How many graduates local companies hire could also serve as a key indicator.
In the end, whether real change has occurred in where students enroll, where they work and whether they stay must be checked continuously even after the five-year plan is over. Only by properly assessing long-term results and confirming what the policy achieved can shortcomings be addressed and the direction of the spending corrected. That is what will keep the "10 Seoul Nationals" initiative from becoming a program that simply hands money to universities, and turn it into a policy that keeps talent in the regions while growing industries and jobs.
