The Vietnamese Student Sports Festival in RoK, held in July 2026, attracted nearly 1,000 students from 31 Vietnamese student associations across the country. VNA/VNS Photo

SEOUL – For the first time, Việt Nam ranks top in the number of international students currently studying in the Republic of Korea (RoK).

The number of international students enrolled at higher education institutions in the RoK reached 307,464 this year, up 54,030, or 21.3 per cent, from 2025 and surpassing 300,000 for the first time, according to the 2026 Basic Education Statistics released by the RoK’s Ministry of Education and the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) on Wednesday.

Vietnamese student topped the list with 96,834, accounting for 31.5 per cent of the total. China ranked second with 78,890 students (25.7 per cent), followed by Uzbekistan with 20,876, Nepal with 20,118, and Mongolia with 17,189.

Alongside the rapid growth in international students, the number of students from multicultural and migrant backgrounds at the RoK's primary and secondary schools also continued to rise, reaching 210,838 in 2026, up 8,630, or 4.3 per cent, from the previous year. Meanwhile, the overall number of primary and secondary students fell by 189,007 to 5.36 million.

Statistics show that the number of students from migrant backgrounds continued to increase amid a decline in the RoK's overall student population due to the country's low birth rate. Among this group, students with one or both parents who are foreign nationals accounted for a significant proportion.

Việt Nam becoming the largest source of international students in the RoK for the first time highlights the continued expansion of educational exchanges between the two countries amid a sharp increase in international students in the Notheast Asian country. VNA/VNS