KAFSA calls for shift from recruitment to belonging in university internationalization

Jin Chang-hyun, chair of Korean Association of Foreign Students Administrators and chief of international affairs at Kyonggi University

Having reached its goal of attracting 300,000 international students two years ahead of schedule, a university international affairs leader emphasized that Korea must now shift its focus from enrollment targets to helping international students build lasting lives in the country.

“The focus should no longer be on how many international students Korea attracts, but on how the country can build an inclusive society with them,” said Jin Chang-hyun, chair of the Korean Association of Foreign Students Administrators (KAFSA) and chief of international affairs at Kyonggi University.

For years, universities equated internationalization with rising enrollment. But with the number of international students now exceeding 300,000, Jin said that the recruitment-driven model has run its course.

“Internationalization is no longer optional. It is a matter of survival for universities,” he said. “But using international students simply to fill empty seats risks higher dropout rates, visa overstays and an exodus of graduates soon after completing their studies.”

In response, KAFSA's 2026 vision calls for a shift "from recruitment to belonging," redefining internationalization around three priorities: reciprocity, settlement and resilience.

Jin argued that many of the issues surrounding international students arise not from recruitment itself, but from the lack of sustained support after they arrive.

Rather than treating universities as subjects of regulation, he said, the government should work with them as partners in helping international students study, settle and contribute to Korean society.

While welcoming recent improvements to the Ministry of Education's International Education Quality Assurance System, Jin said universities still need clearer and more consistent evaluation criteria, particularly for measuring illegal stay rates.

He also called for stronger coordination among universities, local governments and industry to create a sustainable internationalization model.

"Universities educate talent, local governments help them settle and companies provide employment," he said. "Only when those three actors work together can internationalization become truly sustainable."

He also urged the government to align its Regional Innovation System & Education (RISE) initiative with internationalization efforts, while expanding region-specific visa programs to give local governments greater authority to recommend overseas talent for long-term settlement.

Jin also urged Korean universities to move beyond competition and pursue deeper collaboration.

"Closing the gap between universities isn't about making weaker institutions imitate stronger ones," he said. "It's about creating partnerships where institutions with different strengths generate synergy together."

As part of that effort, KAFSA plans to establish working groups across its member universities and present unified policy recommendations on issues including visa conversion, quality assurance, English-medium instruction and graduate outcome tracking.

It is also exploring joint English-language degree programs that would enable universities to share faculty and resources, helping regional and mid-sized institutions overcome staffing constraints through collaboration.

“When international students leave Korea with positive experiences and successful careers, it enhances not only the reputation of individual universities, but the global standing of Korean higher education,” Jin said.