More than 200,000 overseas students flock to Korea in first half of 2024
Published: 12 Aug. 2024, 13:15
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- LEE JIAN
- lee.jian@joongang.co.kr
![Students from overseas experience the traditional way of washing hair at The National Folk Museum of Korea in Jongno District, central Seoul, on June 5, 2024. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/08/12/6fa6308d-57b9-4b2e-b77a-cd8c404a2f85.jpg)
Students from overseas experience the traditional way of washing hair at The National Folk Museum of Korea in Jongno District, central Seoul, on June 5, 2024. [YONHAP]
The number of overseas students coming to Korea surpassed 200,000 in the first half of this year, setting a record for a six-month period, according to data from the Korea Tourism Organization on Monday.
Up by 50.6 percent compared to the same period last year, the number of foreigners who visited Korea to attend school or learn Korean reached 204,000.
Chinese students made up the largest portion, accounting for 55.2 percent of the total. They were followed by students from Vietnam (33,000), Japan (6,900), Mongolia (6,700) and Uzbekistan (5,000). Additionally, more than 3,000 students came from France (3,500) and the United States (3,100). More than 1,000 students also came from countries including Taiwan (2,600), Myanmar (2,300), Germany (2,000), Indonesia (1,900), Russia (1,500) and Hong Kong (1,200).
The number of overseas students coming to Korea had been steadily climbing until the onset of Covid-19, reaching 191,000 in the second half of 2019 before dropping as low as 30,000 during the same period the following year.
It began recovering in 2022, with 55,000 and 97,000 students in the first and second halves of that year, and 136,000 and 178,000 in the first and second halves of 2023.
BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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