Seoul Applicants Face Higher Bar for Medical School as Half of 2027 Freshmen Reserved for Local Students

27 Regional Medical Schools to Admit 70% of New Students from Local Areas
Only About Half of All Seats Open to National Applicants

Recent analysis suggests that the threshold for Seoul-based students to enter medical schools will become even higher, as all medical schools across the country plan to select half of their 2027 incoming class from local students.

A medical school in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

According to Jongro Academy on August 9, out of the total 3,508 new students to be admitted to 39 medical schools nationwide in 2027, 1,734, or 49.4%, will be selected through admissions programs specifically for students from non-metropolitan regions. This is the highest proportion in history.

This trend is due to a decision by 27 regional medical schools outside the greater Seoul area, which have committed to filling 1,734 out of their total of 2,490 seats—or 69.6%—with local talent.

In contrast, the number of seats recruited at the national level, for which Seoul and greater Seoul area students can apply without restrictions, stands at just 1,752, accounting for only 49.9% of the total. For Seoul-based applicants, this means they must compete for just over half of all available slots in medical schools nationwide.

This significant disparity in admission opportunities between metropolitan and regional students is attributed not only to the ongoing expansion of local talent admissions but also to the introduction this year of a special program for training regional physicians.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.