"Regional Areas Unpopular: 1 in 6 Students Left... Medical School 'Domino Migration'"

Jongno Academy Analyzes 2022-2024 Statistics
Dropout Rate at 17.9%... Pharmacy Schools Reach 22.4%

In the past three years, a total of 1,525 students have left medical, dental, Korean medicine, and pharmacy colleges located in regional areas.

According to Jongno Academy on March 20, between 2022 and 2024, 1,525 students dropped out or left from 63 regional medical, dental, Korean medicine, and pharmacy schools. This figure includes not only those who withdrew or were expelled but also students who left for readmission to other universities, took time off to study for another entrance exam, or for similar reasons.

A view of a medical college located in Seoul.

The trend by year shows a clear increase. The number of students who dropped out was 359 in 2022, rose to 435 in 2023, and jumped to 731 in 2024. This accounts for 17.9% of the total number of new students accepted (4,092), meaning that more than one out of every six new students left their school.

By field, pharmacy colleges saw the most pronounced dropout rate. Among 21 regional pharmacy colleges, 231 students dropped out, representing a dropout rate of 22.4% compared to the number of students admitted. In 2024, 309 students left the 27 regional medical schools, which is 14.8% of the 2,088 incoming students. The region with the highest dropout rate was Jeju, where 30.0% (12 students) left compared to the number of admissions. This was followed by Gangwon at 18.1% (51 students), Honam at 15.7% (77 students), Chungcheong at 13.9% (61 students), Daegu/Gyeongbuk at 13.2% (48 students), and Busan/Ulsan/Gyeongnam at 12.7% (60 students).

At the six regional dental colleges, 67 students—17.6% of the 380 admitted—left. Chungcheong had the highest dropout rate relative to admissions at 23.9% (17 students), followed by Daegu/Gyeongbuk at 19.4% (12 students), Honam at 16.1% (33 students), and Gangwon at 11.9% (5 students). Among nine regional Korean medicine colleges, 124 students dropped out, corresponding to 20.8% of the number of students admitted.

The increase in students leaving regional medical, dental, Korean medicine, and pharmacy colleges is attributed to the expansion of medical school quotas and a strengthened preference for top-tier medical schools in the Seoul metropolitan area. There is a chain movement where students in regional medical schools transfer to metropolitan medical schools, and students in dental, Korean medicine, and pharmacy colleges move to either medical schools or higher-ranked medical-related disciplines.

Lim Seongho, CEO of Jongno Academy, stated, "It appears that students are transferring from regional medical colleges to top-tier medical colleges in metropolitan areas, and from pharmacy, dental, and Korean medicine colleges to medical or other top-tier medical fields. The expansion of medical school quotas and the preference for medical schools are exerting a wide-ranging influence not only on medical schools but also on dental, Korean medicine, and pharmacy colleges." He added, "From the 2027 academic year, as the regional doctor system and expansion of medical school quotas are implemented, this trend may accelerate further. There is a chain movement of students resulting from multiple acceptances to medical schools at the time of university entry, as well as continued transfers within the medical-related fields after entering college."

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