South Korea - The Korea Times

Chungnam National University selected for National Research Lab project to lead theranostics research

Chungnam National University has been selected to participate in a large-scale government-led research and development project along with three other universities. The university said Monday that it will carry out the National Research Lab (NRL) 2.0 project funded by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and ICT. The three other participants are Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University and Changwon National University. NRL 2.0 is a key national research and development (R&D) initiative aimed at securing world-class fundamental technologies and strengthening the country’s competitiveness in strategic technologies. Under the project, the selected universities are tasked to establish globally competitive research institutes with participation from government-funded research institutes, corporations and hospitals. The government has selected the four universities among more than 30 universities vying to participate in the project through a rigorous evaluation process. The four universities will each receive 10 billion won in annual research funding for a 10-year pe

2h agoBy Park Yoon-bae

Chungnam National University selected for National Research Lab project to lead theranostics research

Are joint faculty appointments fostering innovation or merely boosting prestige?

LONDON — Joint appointments of internationally renowned scholars are emerging as a key strategy for Korean universities seeking greater global competitiveness. However, international university ranking organizations warn that the model risks becoming counterproductive if it prioritizes prestige over meaningful research collaboration, while also acknowledging that distinguishing genuine partnerships from nominal appointments remains a challenge. As international research networks become increasingly central to higher education, universities around the world are turning to joint appointments, which refer to a faculty member has a secondary appointment in one or more institutions besides his or her primary one. The trend is also reflected in global rankings, with QS and Times Higher Education (THE) placing growing emphasis on international research collaboration and cross-border academic engagement. QS emphasized that international collaboration lies at the heart of its philosophy, arguing that universities can achieve greater global impact by bringing together leading researchers from di

2d agoBy Jung Da-hyun

Are joint faculty appointments fostering innovation or merely boosting prestige?

Only 1 private kindergarten runs special class despite surging need

Only one private kindergarten in Korea operates a special class for students with disabilities, despite the growing number of children requiring such support. According to data released by the Kindergarten Information Service on Sunday, there are 7,449 kindergartens in the country. Of this number, 4,567 are public institutions, only 28 percent of which offer special education classes, with conditions significantly worse in the private sector. Private institutions account for 38.7 percent of all kindergartens. However, only one — located in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province — offers a special education class. While the availability of special classes in kindergartens remains limited, the number of children requiring such support has steadily increased each year. The figure rose from 95,420 in 2020 to 98,154 in 2021, surpassing 100,000 for the first time in 2022 at 103,695. It continued to climb to 109,703 in 2023, 115,610 in 2024 and 120,735 in 2025. Special education recipients are children identified as needing specialized support due to physical, emotional or developmental disabilities, or d

Mar 29, 2026By Jung Da-hyun

Only 1 private kindergarten runs special class despite surging need

Korean language classes fill up as students from migrant backgrounds increase

Schools with high concentrations of students from migrant backgrounds have increased 2.6-fold in Korea over the past five years, while improvements in the educational environment for them have lagged behind. According to data submitted by the Ministry of Education to the office of Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Sunday, the number of schools with high concentrations of students coming from migrant backgrounds rose from 47 in 2020 to 123 in 2025. Schools are designated as having a "high concentration" if they have more than 100 enrolled students from migrant backgrounds, accounting for 30 percent or more of the overall student body. By region, Gyeonggi Province has the largest number of high migrant population schools, at 52. It was followed by Seoul with 18 schools, South Chungcheong Province with 10, Daegu with eight and Incheon with seven. Daejeon, Ulsan and North Jeolla Province had the lowest numbers, with just one such school each. The increase comes despite Korea’s steadily declining school-age population. The number of students from migrant backgrounds

Mar 15, 2026By Jung Da-hyun

Korean language classes fill up as students from migrant backgrounds increase

Visa rejections for overseas students expose cracks in Korea's rural rescue plan

A string of visa denials preventing about 45 overseas students from enrolling at a vocational high school in South Jeolla Province has cast a harsh light on structural weaknesses in Korea’s system for admitting international students to secondary schools. As the government increasingly casts the retention of international students as a remedy for demographic and economic stagnation outside major cities, calls are mounting for more coordinated policies linking immigration and education authorities. Jeonnam Mirae International High School in Gangjin, South Jeolla Province, is set to open on March 9 with only six students, after the Ministry of Justice denied visas for incoming international students, barring them from entering the country. The school had drawn attention as the nation’s first alternative vocational high school designed for integrated students from migrant backgrounds and overseas recruits. According to the Jeollanamdo Office of Education, the school was expecting 45 overseas students from four countries — 13 from Vietnam, 15 from Mongolia, nine from Kazakhstan and eig

Mar 2, 2026By Jung Da-hyun

Visa rejections for overseas students expose cracks in Korea's rural rescue plan

3 in 10 Korean elementary students discuss grades with parents almost daily: survey

Nearly 3 in 10 elementary school students in Korea say they speak with their parents about schoolwork and grades almost every day, underscoring concerns that family conversations are increasingly centered on academic performance, while discussions about career paths and personal interests remain comparatively limited. According to the Career Education Survey in Primary and Secondary Schools released Wednesday by the Ministry of Education, 30.5 percent of elementary school students said they talk with their parents about studying and grades “almost every day.” The survey, conducted over four weeks beginning May 16, 2025, polled 22,911 students nationwide. Another 25.9 percent said they have such conversations two to three times a week, while 20 percent said they do so about once a week. The figure of elementary school students who discuss academic performance with their parents on a near-daily basis has increased notably over the previous five years. Compared with the 2020 survey, the proportion responding “almost every day” increased by 4.8 percentage points from 25.7 percent to 3

Feb 18, 2026By Jung Da-hyun

3 in 10 Korean elementary students discuss grades with parents almost daily: survey

Korea’s classroom phone ban faces 1st test as schools disagree over rules

A nationwide ban on students’ cellphone use in classrooms, mandated by law, will take effect in March with the start of the new school year, but varying enforcement rules across schools are already raising concerns about confusion. According to education officials Sunday, the Ministry of Education issued an administrative notice outlining proposed revisions to national guidelines governing student life and conduct in schools. The revision would allow school principals and teachers to issue warnings to students and restrict the use of smart devices, including cellphones, during class. Under the proposed changes, the use of such devices would be permitted only in limited circumstances, such as to assist students with disabilities or special educational needs, for educational purposes or in emergency situations. The revised bill would also allow schools, under their own rules, to collect and store students’ smart devices — effectively permitting administrators to ban not only their use but also their possession during the school day. The details on banning cellphone use during class we

Feb 1, 2026By Jung Da-hyun

Korea’s classroom phone ban faces 1st test as schools disagree over rules

Private education spending surges over 60% despite shrinking student population

Even as Korea’s student population has shrunk because of the country’s low birthrate, spending on after-school tutoring and test preparation academies has risen by more than 60 percent over the past decade. The increase has been driven largely by a surge in private tutoring among elementary school students, as demand shifts to increasingly younger ages. According to data released Sunday by the Korea Statistical Information Service (KOSIS), household spending on private tutoring academies reached 29.19 trillion won ($20.18 billion), marking a 60.1 percent increase from 2014. After declining through 2015, when spending fell to 17.83 trillion won, expenditures on after-school tutoring and test preparation centers began rising again in 2016 and surpassed 20 trillion won in 2019. Spending dipped temporarily to 19.35 trillion won in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, but has increased for four consecutive years since 2021. While the number of students is declining, overall spending on private tutoring has continued to rise, influenced by a range of social and economic factors. KOSIS attribut

Jan 4, 2026By Jung Da-hyun

Private education spending surges over 60% despite shrinking student population

Education minister casts classrooms as answer to AI upheaval, balanced national development

With classrooms emptying in provincial towns and employers warning of widening skills shortages, Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin said at a briefing Monday that Korea’s education system had become a frontline response to the country’s deeper national and regional structural problems. These include demographic decline and the hollowing out of areas beyond the capital. While the ministry identified priorities like fostering democratic citizenship and bolstering regional universities, it made no reference to policies concerning international students. At a briefing marking his first 100 days in office, Choi said Korea as a whole — and its regions in particular — was entering a period of profound change and crisis. “The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the type of talent society demands, while the crisis of regional depopulation is calling for a fundamentally new role for education policy,” he said. “Even amid these changes, what must not be forgotten is the core of education. Above all, it is essential to provide education that enables students to

Dec 23, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Education minister casts classrooms as answer to AI upheaval, balanced national development

SNU’s foreign faculty face barriers in Korea’s insider-dominated academia

Even at Seoul National University (SNU) — widely regarded as Korea’s top postsecondary institution — foreign professors say that globalization rarely reaches the faculty ranks, despite the university’s broader push toward internationalization. While international student recruitment is accelerating, efforts to attract, integrate and support foreign faculty lag far behind, with many pointing to entrenched “closed circles” as a major barrier. “The Korean system is very network-driven, and if you are not part of the SNU alumni circle, you tend to be excluded,” said Martin Steinegger, a professor from Germany in the university’s department of biological sciences. For foreign faculty who have never studied or worked in Korea, that barrier can be steep. “You start with no network, and that makes it extremely difficult to even get your footing — because who you know is crucial for research success, grants, collaborations and everything,” he added. Sascha Trippe, a German professor in SNU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, echoed that the overwhelming majority of SNU

Dec 3, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Education