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Top Korean universities hold firm as new contenders gain ground

Korea University retained the top spot in The Korea Times University Rankings 2027 for the second consecutive year, as the country’s leading universities largely held their ground while Sejong University emerged as the biggest mover in the top 10. First launched last year, The Korea Times University Rankings aim to look beyond the number of international students to assess how well universities are building the broader ecosystem needed for globalization. This year’s results suggest that while Korean universities have made progress in attracting and managing international students, many still lag in areas such as international faculty, financial support and post-graduation outcomes. The disparity was evident across the four evaluation areas. Universities performed strongest in education, while scores were lower in student support and lowest in graduate outcomes, underscoring the challenge of building an environment that supports international students not only upon arrival but throughout their studies and beyond graduation. Korea University topped the rankings with 149.52 points out o

Sep 18, 2026By Jung Da-hyun
Top Korean universities hold firm as new contenders gain ground
University Rankings

Korea Times top 30 universities in education, research, student support and outstanding graduates

As competition for international students intensifies worldwide, The Korea Times has expanded and refined its University Rankings 2027, evaluating 60 universities across four categories: education, research, student support and graduate outcomes. The rankings aim to assess how well Korean universities are building sustainable environments for international students and scholars, shifting the focus beyond enrollment numbers toward the quality and depth of internationalization. This year’s evaluation features 19 indicators worth a total of 200 points, with 65 percent of the score directly tied to globalization. The following tables present the top 30 universities overall, along with the top 30 in each category.

Sep 18, 2026By Jung Da-hyun
Korea Times top 30 universities in education, research, student support and outstanding graduates
University Rankings

Regional, smaller universities challenge hierarchy as globalization paths diverge

Some universities outside Seoul and the capital region demonstrated strong international competitiveness in specific areas in The Korea Times University Rankings 2027, despite the dominance of the country’s top-tier schools in the overall standings. This indicates that universities are strengthening their international capabilities in different ways across areas such as student recruitment, educational environments, international research, student support and graduate outcomes. Korea University, Seoul National University and Yonsei University — the country’s three leading institutions collectively known as “SKY” — held the top three spots in the overall top 30. However, regional and smaller universities including Handong Global University, Incheon National University, Woosong University and Kyungsung University performed strongly in categories such as education, student support and graduate outcomes. Handong Global University, based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, stood out by ranking second in student support behind only Seoul National University, despite placing 23rd

Sep 18, 2026By Park Yoon-bae
Regional, smaller universities challenge hierarchy as globalization paths diverge
University Rankings

Regional universities excel in student support category

Seoul-based universities dominate the top 30 of The Korea Times University Rankings 2027. Their dominance is, however, less evident in the student support category, where regional universities are investing more in helping international students find jobs and settle after graduation. Among the 60 universities evaluated nationwide, 18 of the 24 universities in Seoul made the top 30, reaffirming the capital’s long-standing dominance in internationalization. Five of nine schools in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon are included in the list, while four of 13 universities in metropolitan cities outside the capital region made the cut. Only three of the 14 universities in provincial areas made the top 30, showing that they still lag well behind major universities in Seoul and other metropolitan areas. Those figures indicate that internationalization capabilities remain concentrated in the capital region. The education, research and graduate outcomes categories showed a consistent regional pattern, with Seoul scoring highest, followed by Gyeonggi and Incheon, metropolitan cities outside the capita

Sep 18, 2026By Park Yoon-bae
Regional universities excel in student support category
University Rankings

Universities need to do more to support international students

Internationalization is no longer an option for Korean universities but a necessity for their survival, as the nation’s higher education system faces an unprecedented structural transformation. Yet The Korea Times University Rankings 2027 reveal a stark reality: Korean universities still have a long way to go to achieve full-fledged internationalization. Universities have met the basic requirements for internationalization. But investment in faculty recruitment and student support has failed to keep pace with the increasing number of international students, while graduate outcomes remain weak. The Korea Times launched the university rankings last year to assess the level of internationalization among domestic universities. This year’s rankings covered 60 universities using 19 indicators in four categories: education, research, student support and graduate outcomes. Universities were assessed on a 200-point scale, with 70 points allocated to education, 50 points to research, 40 points to student support and 40 points to graduate outcomes. The education category saw the strongest overall

Sep 18, 2026By Park Yoon-bae
Universities need to do more to support international students
University Rankings

New metrics reshuffle top 30 university rankings, expose globalization gaps

The top 30 of The Korea Times University Rankings 2027 remained largely stable — 28 of last year's 30 universities held their places — but beneath that continuity, a revised methodology reshaped individual positions and exposed widening gaps in the quality and depth of internationalization at Korean universities. Seoul-based private universities dominated the top 30, though seven universities outside the capital region also made the cut. They included regional flagship national universities — Pusan, Kyungpook, Jeonbuk and Chungnam — as well as private institutions known for their internationalization efforts, such as Woosong, Handong Global and Yeungnam universities. Yeungnam University and Kookmin University were the only newcomers, climbing three and four spots from 32nd and 34th last year to 29th and 30th, respectively. Yeungnam's rise was driven largely by its strong performance in international research. The private university in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, ranked ninth among the 60 institutions in the research category with 30.95 points, placing first in the shar

Sep 18, 2026By Jung Da-hyun
New metrics reshuffle top 30 university rankings, expose globalization gaps
University Rankings

Korean universities rise in QS rankings as internationalization, graduates' reputation improve

Korea's universities have climbed in world rankings, backed by improvement in internationalization and graduates' reputation with employers. But they still lag behind Asia's top performers due to weak academic reputation and research impact, a global ranking agency said. Korea saw 43 universities place in the QS World University Rankings 2027, with four in the global top 100 and seven in the top 200. Their improvement was reflected in rising numbers, with 53 percent of the universities reaching higher rankings than the previous assessment and only 18 percent falling. This marks the third-best net improvement in Asia behind Hong Kong and mainland China, where 78 percent and 72 percent of schools showed rises in the rankings. Among Korean schools, Seoul National University (SNU) topped the national rankings, placing 38th globally, followed by Yonsei University at 42nd and Korea University at 52nd. The dominance of the three universities, known in Korea as “SKY,” remained intact but the gap is narrowing. While SNU held steady in the global top 50, Yonsei University and Korea University h

Jun 18, 2026By Park Ung
Korean universities rise in QS rankings as internationalization, graduates' reputation improve
University Rankings

Evaluation criteria revised to better assess universities' internationalization

The Korea Times has revised the evaluation criteria for its University Rankings 2027 to provide a more comprehensive and rigorous assessment of the internationalization of Korean universities. This year’s evaluation expanded its coverage from 54 universities last year to 60, while increasing the total score from 190 points across 18 indicators to 200 points across 19 indicators. Notably, The Korea Times introduced a new indicator measuring the proportion of full-time international faculty. It also changed the calculation method for the academic retention rate of international students, focusing the measure on degree-seeking students, and refined the evaluation period for research performance. The new international faculty indicator, worth 10 points, is designed to strengthen the assessment of internationalization in the education and research environment, marking the biggest change in this year’s rankings. Accordingly, the education category’s score increased from 60 points to 70 points. The category now consists of seven indicators, including the ratio of degree-seeking internationa

Sep 18, 2026By Park Yoon-bae
Evaluation criteria revised to better assess universities' internationalization
University Rankings

Korea Times University Rankings focus on universities' internationalization capabilities

The Korea Times University Rankings 2027 focus on universities’ internationalization capabilities rather than their overall institutional strength. Unlike comprehensive rankings such as QS and Times Higher Education (THE), which place greater emphasis on reputation and research, The Korea Times rankings evaluate the diverse resources and achievements of universities from an internationalization perspective. Through the assessment, The Korea Times aims to help international students considering studying in Korea make informed choices and promote healthy competition among universities to strengthen their internationalization capabilities. Differences in evaluation method The Korea Times excluded the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) from its University Rankings, although both rank among Korea’s top universities in global rankings. The exclusion was based on a comprehensive consideration of the number of international students, institutional size and regional balance among Korean universities. In the QS

Sep 18, 2026By Park Yoon-bae
Korea Times University Rankings focus on universities' internationalization capabilities
University Rankings

New indicators sharpen focus on quality over quantity in university globalization

Academics and industry observers said revision to The Korea Times University Rankings 2027 represent a meaningful step forward, with updated indicators that offer a more comprehensive measure of university internationalization. This year’s revisions placed greater emphasis on faculty diversity, student success and sustained research collaboration. Shin Jang-sup, a professor of economics at the National University of Singapore, said the overall framework has improved from last year, highlighting the addition of an indicator measuring the proportion of international full-time faculty, as well as changes to the international student retention indicator. “Including the international student retention rate is a very desirable change,” Shin said. “It strengthens the rankings’ focus on evaluating universities from the perspective of international students.” Seo Myeong-seok, managing director of the Korea Advancing Schools Foundation, also emphasized that the revisions have strengthened the overall framework. He pointed to the introduction of the international full-time faculty ratio,

Sep 18, 2026By Jung Da-hyun
New indicators sharpen focus on quality over quantity in university globalization
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