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

International students pose in hanbok, traditional Korean attire, at Yeungnam University in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, May 11. Yonhap

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.

Graphic by Cho Sang-won

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 have climbed over the past decade, from 122nd to 42nd and from 98th to 52nd, respectively.

One of the strongest gains in Korea's universities came in employer reputation, meaning that graduates of those Korean universities are increasingly valued by employers around the world. Gains in the category have more than doubled since 2020, reflecting growing global recognition of Korean graduates and their abilities.

Internationalization, which had long been a weak point for Korean schools, has reversed course. Their international student ratios have more than doubled since 2017 and international research collaboration has strengthened, reflecting government and school efforts to open campuses to students from around the world as the domestic youth population shrinks.

The shift is driven in large part by government programs, including the Study Korea 300K initiative, which reached its 2027 target two years ahead of schedule, attracting 300,000 international students by the end of 2025.

Despite gains in employer reputation and internationalization, academic reputation and research impact still show room for improvement. Although four schools were included in the global top 40 in the Citations per Faculty category, performance has become concentrated in specialist science institutes and has not kept pace with gains elsewhere. Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) came in 15th, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) at 31st, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) at 32nd and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) at 36th.

Graphic by Cho Sang-won

DGIST, GIST and UNIST performed well in measures of research impact, but their positions have slipped compared to earlier rankings and grown more volatile, raising questions about funding and global visibility as China, Singapore and Hong Kong invest heavily, QS noted.

Across Asia, Korea still has ground to make up compared with its regional rivals.

Mainland China recorded the strongest momentum of any major higher education system, with 72 percent of its universities rising in rankings and 13 new entrants, the highest number among any country.

Hong Kong was Asia's most improved higher education system for a second year, with 78 percent of its universities rising and none falling. The University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong rank in the global top 20, and half of its institutions are in the global top 100.

Singapore remains at the very top for the region, with the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University at 10th and 12th globally.

Japan moved the other direction, with 60 percent of its universities falling in the rankings, underlining how uneven momentum is across the region.

The global top 10 universities in order are: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, Stanford University, the University of Oxford, Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, California Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, University College London and the National University of Singapore.