Story thread · 3 reports / 2 sources

Competition for regional national universities hits 5-year high amid free tuition push

koreatimes.co.kr · 12dShare

Regional flagship national universities are drawing increasing interest as the government prepares to expand support for balanced regional development. The competition rate for regular admissions, based on Korea's College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), reached 5.68 to 1 for admission in 2026 at nine regional flagship national universities, the highest in five years, according to an analysis released Thursday by Jongro Academy, a private university admissions prep institution. The nine schools are Kangwon National University, Gyeongsang National University, Kyungpook National University, Pusan National University, Chonnam National University, Jeonbuk National University, Jeju National University, Chungnam National University and Chungbuk National University. Their competition rate for regular admissions was 4.67 to 1 for admission in 2022, 4.69 to 1 in 2023, 4.58 to 1 in 2024 and 4.88 to 1 in 2025. The competition rate for early admissions, based primarily on high school academic perfo

First report: Pusan, Chonnam, Chungnam national universities selected for '10 SNUs' initiative — koreatimes.co.kr, 14d