Gimcheon High School in North Gyeongsang Province will admit a record 16 foreign students next year amid a drive to balance Korea's chronic low birthrate with immigration.
The high school said Monday that it will select 16 foreign students (eight from China, seven from Vietnam and one from Cambodia) for the new semester starting next March. They will account for around seven percent of the school's total student body of 240.
Administrators at the private high school, which recruits 40 percent of its students from the province and the rest from all over the country, began discussions last year on inviting foreign students. Although the school does not face an immediate shortage of new students, it took action as Korea suffers from a low birthrate.
But Principal Na Young-ho admitted, "We've fallen short of our new student recruitment targets in the North Gyeongsang region recently." The province is one of the regions hit hardest by the population drain.
The school plans to offer scholarships to foreign students and help them gain admission to universities in Korea so they can settle in the country permanently. Students from China, which is more affluent, will pay full tuition, but those from Vietnam and Cambodia will be given full scholarships including dormitory fees.
It costs around W15 million to educate one student for a year, including food and Korean-language lessons, and the school's foundation will foot the bill (US$1=W1,343). The foreign students will attend intensive Korean lessons in their first semester to help them adapt. They will be sent to host families in Korea during vacation where they can learn the language and culture.
Kim Sang-geun of the school foundation said, "Foreign students who come to our country to study in high school will be able to absorb the language and culture quickly, which will facilitate their chances of settling down here."
The regional Office of Education forged ties last month with Thailand's Ministry of Education and Hanoi Department of Education and Training in Vietnam to recruit foreign students to study at vocational high schools in the province. Currently eight vocational high schools in the province are selecting 56 foreign students who will receive full scholarships.
The Busan Office of Education wants to establish a K-pop high school by 2028 and fill some of its student body with foreigners, while South Jeolla Province Office of Education is thinking of opening a vocational high school exclusively for foreigners.
