More Provincial Universities Have Trouble Finding Students

Two dozen Korean university departments had no applications from new students this year as the young population shrinks and their reputations wobble. All are in the provinces.

Private crammer Jongro Academy came across the bleak figures when it compiled the number of applicants to some 208 universities nationwide for the upcoming academic year.

It found that 26 academic departments at 14 universities had no applicants at all -- 16 in the humanities and 10 in natural sciences.

The number of orphaned departments shot up from just three in 2020 to 23 last year. Ten of them are in North Gyeongsang Province, four in South Gyeongsang Province, four in South Jeolla Province, two in Busan, two in North Chungcheong Province, and one each in Gangwon and North Jeolla provinces.

The problem gets worse if the dearth of applicants is compared to the universities' quotas. Last year, the 23 departments with no new applicants hoped to admit 258 students, and this year the number rose to 445 students for the 26 departments.