KUALA LUMPUR - The number of foreign students in South Korea has exceeded 310,000 for the first time, according to government data.

Figures from the Korea Immigration Service showed 314,397 foreign students were in the country as of February, as reported by The Korea Times.

The milestone marks a significant expansion in international education in South Korea.

Of the total, 238,905 students were enrolled in universities and other higher education institutions.

A further 75,033 were Korean language trainees  while another 459 were enrolled in other language training programmes.

The number of foreign students has nearly doubled over the past five years.

It rose from 153,361 at the end of 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The figure first surpassed 300,000 in August last year.

As of February, South Korea’s total foreign resident population stood at 2.71 million, representing a 4.4 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.

Foreign student numbers grew at a faster pace of 15 per cent over the same period.

The number of students entering the country for university studies rose sharply, increasing by 22.2 per cent year-on-year to 238,905 from 195,450.

Vietnamese students accounted for the largest share of foreign students with 115,131 students..

Chinese students followed with 78,529, students from Uzbekistan totalled 20,609, while Mongolian students numbered 18,992.