Number of S. Koreans Studying in China Dwindles 78 pct from 6 years Ago

The number of South Koreans studying in China has been on the decline since 2018 after topping the 70,000 mark for the first time in 2017, the data showed. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)

SEOUL, Dec. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of South Koreans studying in China shrank 78 percent this year from six years earlier, data showed Monday, amid China’s stringent COVID-19 border shutdown and the slowing growth of the world’s second-largest economy.

The number of South Koreans who were studying in Chinese colleges, graduate schools and foreign language institutes came to 15,857 as of April 1, down 6.5 percent from the previous year, according to data from Seoul’s education ministry.

The tally marked a 78.3 percent fall from 2017, when the number of such South Koreans reached a record 73,240.

The number of South Koreans studying in China has been on the decline since 2018 after topping the 70,000 mark for the first time in 2017, the data showed.

This year, the proportion of South Koreans students in China accounted for 12.9 percent of the total South Koreans studying overseas, down 0.7 percentage point from a year ago. This also marked the lowest since 2004, when the proportion of South Koreans students in China was 12.6 percent.

The steady fall appears to be attributable to China’s economic slowdown and the impact of its strong quarantine measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, experts said. They added the worsening public sentiment toward China also made South Korean students reluctant to choose China as a country for overseas studying.

(Yonhap)