Freshmen from Seoul Account for 5.8% of Regional Flagship National University Admissions, Down from Five Years Ago

Jongno Academy analyzes University Information data
Gangwon National University leads at 16.2%

The proportion of students from Seoul among freshmen at the nation’s nine regional flagship national universities has remained in the 5% range for the fifth consecutive year.

According to an analysis by Jongno Academy of data from University Information, 2,410 (5.8%) of the 41,457 students admitted to the nation’s nine regional flagship national universities for the 2026 academic year were from Seoul. This was an increase of 130 students (5.7%) from 2,280 in the 2025 academic year.

A view of Gyeongsang National University

Gangwon National University had the highest proportion of freshmen from Seoul, at 16.2%, followed by Jeju National University at 6.6%, Chungbuk National University at 5.6%, Jeonbuk National University at 5.0%, Chonnam National University at 3.4%, Chungnam National University at 3.3%, Gyeongsang National University at 3.3%, Kyungpook National University at 2.7%, and Pusan National University at 2.6%.

This year, the proportion of freshmen from Seoul at the nine universities was 1.6 percentage points lower than five years ago. The figure fell from 7.4% in 2021 to 5.8% in 2022, then remained in the high 5% range, at 5.8% in 2023, 5.9% in 2024, and 5.8% in 2025.

Compared with five years ago, Gyeongsang National University saw the largest increase in the number of freshmen from Seoul. The number nearly doubled, rising from 80 in 2021 to 152 this year. Over the same period, the number increased from 125 to 156 at Jeju National University and from 145 to 165 at Chonnam National University. By contrast, the number of freshmen from Seoul fell at the other six universities compared with five years ago. Gangwon National University had the smallest decline, at 0.5%, followed by Pusan National University at 7.6%, Jeonbuk National University at 25.6%, Kyungpook National University at 28.4%, Chungbuk National University at 30.4%, and Chungnam National University at 43.6%.

Amid these trends, attention is focused on whether the government's “Create 10 Seoul National Universities” policy will change the decisions of students from Seoul about attending universities outside the capital. Jongno Academy projected that the proportion of students from Seoul at regional flagship national universities could rise somewhat for the 2027 academic year, driven by measures including free tuition at regional national universities and the so-called “Create 10 Seoul National Universities” policy.

The government has decided to cover the full tuition fees, regardless of income level, for freshmen entering 30 regional national universities in the 2027 academic year, except those enrolled in medical, dental, pharmacy, and veterinary programs. The support will begin with first-year students in the 2027 academic year and is planned to expand to all year levels by 2030.

Lim Seong-ho, head of Jongno Academy, said, “Among students accepted by both universities in the Seoul area and regional flagship national universities, the proportion choosing universities in the Seoul area remains high.” He added, “If policy changes for regional flagship national universities continue, some universities will begin to see changes.”

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