Half of All University Students Now Attend Schools in the Seoul Metropolitan Area... Accelerating Regional Exodus

Jeonnam Down 22%, Jeju Down 20%... Gyeonggi Up 7%

Graduates are moving after finishing a photo shoot at a degree conferment ceremony at a university in Seoul (photo is for article illustration and not directly related). Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Despite the prolonged decline in the school-age population, the total number of university students in the Seoul metropolitan area has increased, while the number of university students in non-metropolitan regions continues to decrease.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Education to Assemblywoman Jin Sunmi of the National Assembly's Education Committee on October 9, the number of students enrolled in higher education institutions in the Seoul metropolitan area reached approximately 1,173,000, an increase of 0.9% (10,000 students) compared to 2016. Incheon saw a 14.5% increase (from 56,000 to 65,000 students, up by 9,000), and Gyeonggi Province experienced a 7.5% increase (from 349,000 to 376,000 students, up by 26,000).

While Seoul’s student population decreased by 3.2% (24,000 students) from 755,000 in 2016 to 731,000 this year, the growth in Incheon and Gyeonggi more than offset this decline, resulting in a slight overall increase in the metropolitan area. In contrast, the number of students enrolled at universities in non-metropolitan regions dropped sharply by 13.9% (190,000 students), from 1,372,000 in 2016 to 1,181,000 this year.

Looking at each region, not a single non-metropolitan province saw an increase in university students. Jeonnam recorded the largest decrease, with a 22.3% drop compared to 2016, followed by Jeju (down 20.7%), Gyeongnam (down 17.9%), and Gangwon (down 17.4%).

Busan, the country’s second-largest city, also saw a 16.5% decrease in university students, marking the fifth-largest decline among all provinces and cities nationwide. As of this year, students enrolled at universities in the Seoul metropolitan area accounted for 49.8% of the total university student population (2,354,000 students). Although the number of universities in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi (116 institutions) is about half that of non-metropolitan universities (216 institutions), the number of students is nearly equal.

In 2016, students in the metropolitan area made up 45.9% of the total, but as the number of students in the metropolitan area continues to rise while those in non-metropolitan regions fall, it has become a foregone conclusion that the metropolitan area will surpass the rest of the country.

As more university students concentrate in the metropolitan area, concerns are growing that the talent shortage in non-metropolitan regions will worsen, widening the economic gap with the metropolitan area and potentially accelerating the risk of regional decline. The phenomenon of local talent leaving their hometowns to attend universities in the metropolitan area and subsequently finding employment and settling there-commonly referred to as a “brain drain”-is intensifying, raising fears that the socioeconomic gap between metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions will further widen.

Assemblywoman Jin Sunmi stated, “The outflow of local talent is an early warning sign of a national crisis, as it signals the disappearance of future growth engines for regional economies. Now that the government has announced measures to foster local universities, it is essential to go beyond simply expanding support and implement practical measures, such as attracting outstanding faculty and businesses.”