The number of international students in South Korea rose 21.3 per cent from a year earlier to a record 307,464, surpassing 300,000 for the first time, according to data released on August 26 by the Ministry of Education and the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI).
Vietnam ranked first with 96,834 students, accounting for 31.5 per cent of the total, followed by China with 78,890, or 25.7 per cent.
Uzbekistan ranked third with 20,876 students, followed by Nepal with 20,118 and Mongolia with 17,189.
The number of students with migrant backgrounds at South Korean primary and secondary schools also rose 4.3 per cent to 210,838, while the country's overall student population fell by 189,007 to 5.36 million amid a low birth rate.
