China has the lead with 59.2% or 62,318 nationals.Following close behind Vietnam, there were 5,262 Mongolians, making up 5%; 2,739 Japanese, or 2.6%; 1,581 Uzbekistanis, or 1.5%; and 1,512 Indonesians, or 1.4%.
By visa status, 73.2% of foreign students are staying in the RoK on a study-abroad visa. The rest are on a visa to study Korean or foreign languages, the ministry said.The number of foreign students in the RoK saw a strong surge in 2015, hitting 96,357. The situation was attributed to the RoK Government’s recent policies to attract international students and positive effects of the country’s cultural influence, Hanllyu.
