Data released by South Korea's Ministry of Justice on the 19th shows that in 2025, South Korea issued nearly 118,000 student visa documents, with 28% granted to Chinese nationals—the highest proportion.
The highest number of applicants for South Korean student visas were Chinese nationals, followed by those from Vietnam, Nepal, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia. In 2021, South Korea issued around 64,000 student visa documents to foreign nationals; over four years, this number increased by 83%. During the same period, the number of visas granted to Chinese students rose by 40%, while the number for Nepali students surged 27-fold.