Applications to universities outside Seoul rose from a year earlier in South Korea's early admissions round for the 2027 academic year. Analysts attribute the increase to the burden of tuition and housing costs that comes with attending a university in Seoul, along with expectations for government policies to build up regional national universities.
Applicants to the nine flagship national universities rose 5.2% from a year earlier in this year's early admissions round, according to admissions consultancies including Jongro Academy on the 13th. Applicants to regional national universities outside that flagship group increased by 17,308 over the year, a rise of 12.6%.
Applications were especially strong at Pusan National University, Chungnam National University and Chonnam National University, the three schools selected for concentrated support under the government's "10 Seoul National Universities" initiative. They drew a combined 99,883 applicants, up 11.6% from last year. The government plans to provide each of the universities an additional 70 billion won a year for the next five years.
Applicants to 65 private universities outside Seoul also rose 0.5%. "Expectations have grown around the plan to create 10 Seoul National Universities and to make national university tuition free, and that appears to have translated into an actual increase in applications to flagship national universities," said Woo Yeon-cheol, head of the admissions strategy research institute at Jinhaksa.
