The number of high school students with migrant backgrounds in South Korea has grown 2.7-fold over the past five years, surpassing 30,000 for the first time last year.
The figure reached 33,622 as of April 2025, up 21.5 percent from 27,673 a year earlier. In 2020, the number stood at 12,478, according to Education Ministry statistics released Wednesday.
The increase suggests that the country’s multicultural student population is entering a more mature stage, with more students with migrant backgrounds advancing into higher grade levels.
The category includes students who themselves, or whose parents, hold or previously held foreign nationality.
Although students with migrant backgrounds still account for a small share of the country’s approximately 1.3 million high school students, their numbers have been rising sharply in recent years. The number rose 30.6 percent between 2023 and 2024, followed by another 21.5 percent increase in 2025.
The growth has significantly outpaced that of other school levels. The number of elementary school students with migrant backgrounds fell 0.7 percent on-year to 116,601 last year, while the number of middle school students rose 6.8 percent to 51,172.
Analysts attributed the trend partly to the first generation of children with migrant backgrounds in Korea reaching adolescence, as well as the continued arrival of foreign families with school-age children and students who entered Korea midway through their education.
The shift marks a change from the past, when students with migrant backgrounds were concentrated largely in elementary schools, toward a growing share in middle and high schools.
As more students with migrant backgrounds reach high school age and prepare for higher education, employment or entry into society, demand is growing for programs that help them adapt to school life and overcome barriers, particularly those related to language.
The dropout rate among high school students with migrant backgrounds exceeded 2 percent for the first time in the 2023 academic year, reaching 2.22 percent, according to the Education Ministry. School maladjustment was the most commonly cited reason.
While expanding academic support programs, particularly Korean-language education, the government is also facing calls to strengthen career and vocational guidance for students with migrant backgrounds.
forestjs@heraldcorp.com
