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South Korean university admissions for 2027

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2026-10-05 03:03 UTC → 2026-10-15 06:50 UTC · added ~~removed~~

South Korean universities are progressing through the 2027 academic year admissions cycle, with a continued focus on early recruitment and regional development. Chungnam State University has commenced its first round of early admissions across 14 departments, including the ‘Advanced Technology Convergence Department’, which provides guaranteed employment through partnerships with over 60 local enterprises. ~~The university is also restructuring its Fire Safety Management Department and renaming its Smart Farm Department to the Smart Bio-Agriculture Department.~~ Gyeongin National University of Education (GINUE) is selecting approximately 70% of its total intake using flexible methods like non-face-to-face recorded interviews. Recent data shows significant competition in several institutions. Soongsil University reported a record high competition rate of 23.69 to 1, with 41,059 applicants for 1,740 positions. Ewha Womans University plans to fill 64% of its total quota through rolling admissions, while Sungshin Women’s University and Sookmyung Women’s University also reported high average rates. A major trend for the 2027 cycle is the surge in essay-based admissions. An analysis by Jinhaksa reveals that essay-based applicants accounted for 54.1% of the total 1,132,402 applications at 44 major universities, despite representing only 22.5% of the recruitment quota. ~~The average competition rate for these tracks rose to 48.14:1.~~ Experts suggest students are using essay exams as a ‘reversal card’ to compensate for lower ~~GPAs, a trend driven by an increase in ‘N-su’ (repeat exam takers) and the fact that this is the final year of the current admissions system.~~ GPAs. Competition ~~was particularly intense in medical and pharmacy departments, with Kyung Hee University’s Oriental Medicine (Humanities) program reaching 622.20:1. In addition to general universities,~~ has reached record levels at South Korea’s four major science and technology ~~institutes—KAIST,~~ institutes (KAIST, UNIST, DGIST, and ~~GIST—have seen record application numbers.~~ GIST). Total applicants reached 33,349, a 36.5% increase from the previous year, marking the first time applications have exceeded 30,000. This surge is attributed to heightened interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor-related departments, as well as the fact that these institutes are exempt from the standard six-application limit for early admissions. Regarding application volume, the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) reported that applicants for the 2027 early admissions process applied to an average of 4.96 universities, up from 4.89 the previous year. ~~DGIST recorded~~ During the ~~highest growth at 48.9%.~~ screening of 2,614,903 applications from 527,717 applicants, the KCUE identified 428 individuals who violated the maximum limit of six applications. The council has instructed universities to take corrective measures, such as canceling admissions for those in violation.

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