After COVID-19, the university dropout rate in Korea has been steadily increasing. According to Higher Education in Korea, 97,000 students dropped out of university last year. Yeungnam University’s dropout rates increased to 2.07% in 2019, 2.33% in 2020, and 2.38% in 2021.
Why is the university dropout rate increasing? First, many students are applying for medical school. In 2022, among students enrolled in natural sciences at Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University, 1,421 students dropped out and did not register. Admissions specialists speculate that many of the unregistered students went to medical school. The natural sciences dropout rate increase seems to be a choice to pursue a clearer future. Getting a job after graduation is difficult, and stability is not guaranteed even with a job.
With the increasing number of students who want to attend universities in the capital, many are again preparing for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) after enrolling. They attend university for a semester. Then, in the second semester, they take a leave of absence and retake the CSAT to attend a university in the capital. If they get a higher score on the CSAT, they will drop out.
There must be many reasons why university students drop out. Each student’s choice should be respected. However, the preference for medical schools and universities in Seoul brings issues to consider. It is not a desirable phenomenon to concentrate on one side. Due to the preference for medical schools hitting a high, there may be a lack of excellent talent in natural science and engineering. Moreover, there will be a problem of disproportionate national development. The problem of so many students wanting to go to the universities in the capital is that it can cause a crisis in local universities and even the problem of local extinction.
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