"Cancel or Postpone Trip to Korea" ... Only Half of Chinese Students Entering

79,000 People, Including 34,000 Still Staying in China
Only Half of Academies Closed... Seoul Closure Rate Only 34%

Chinese international students who arrived in line with the university semester starting next month are being guided by university officials and moving by bus at Incheon International Airport on the 24th. / Yeongjongdo - Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) surge, Chinese international students at domestic universities are canceling or postponing their entry into Korea.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 27th, among Chinese international students attending domestic universities, 1,309 were originally scheduled to enter Korea on the 25th, but only 838 actually entered. Approximately 36% (471 students) of those scheduled to enter suddenly canceled their trip to Korea.

On the 24th, 965 Chinese international students were scheduled to enter, but only 819 did so. About 15% (146 students) of those scheduled to enter on that day did not enter.

The Ministry of Education explained, "There is a trend of the actual number of entrants decreasing compared to the number of entrants originally surveyed by universities for each date."

As of the 24th, the Ministry of Education reported that 34,613 Chinese international students remain in China. This means that 48.8% of the total Chinese international students (70,983) have not entered Korea even though the semester is about to start.

The number of students who did not go to China during this vacation is 12,333, and those who have already been to China number 24,037.

Among them, 9,423 students who have been back from China for less than two weeks are required to self-quarantine in dormitories or one-room apartments. The Ministry of Education is monitoring together with universities whether these students are refraining from going out.

Meanwhile, although the Ministry of Education recommended nationwide temporary closures, less than half of private academies and tutoring centers have closed.

As of the 26th, out of 86,430 private academies, 42,895 (49.6%) were closed, and out of 40,436 tutoring centers, 18,381 (45.5%) were closed.

In particular, in Seoul, only 5,063 out of 14,974 private academies (33.8%) were closed, showing a lower closure rate than other regions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.