This file photo shows the entrance of Seoul National University, one of the country’s most prestigious universities. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Among the freshmen at Seoul National University (SNU), one of South Korea’s most prestigious universities, two out of three came from the greater Seoul area, including affluent districts of Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa in southern Seoul, data showed Tuesday.
According to data that Rep. Kang Min-jung of the Democratic Party received from SNU, the number of freshmen at the university this year stood at 3,396, of which 64.6 percent came from the capital area.
This figure is 16 percentage points higher than the share of students from the greater Seoul region among high school graduates across the country.
Among the university’s freshmen, the share of those from the greater Seoul area inched up by 0.9 percentage points compared to 63.7 percent in 2020, the same as the growth in the share of students from the greater Seoul area among high school graduates nationwide.
Of special note, three wealthy districts accounted for 11.9 percent of this year’s SNU freshmen, almost four times higher than the share of students from these districts among all high school graduates, which stood at 3.1 percent.
The share of those from three Gangnam areas among this year’s SNU freshmen rose by 0.7 percentage points compared to 11.2 percent in 2020.
During the same period, however, the share of those from this area among total high school graduates declined by 0.1 percentage points.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
