More South Korean students appear to be opting for medical studies over science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses, further threatening the country’s position as a science superpower.
The number of applicants to Korea’s science and technology institutes – which include the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, one of the country’s top-ranked universities – fell 28 per cent for the 2025 academic year, according to data analysis by a private tutoring company.
At the same time, the number of applications to the country’s medical schools rose 29 per cent, Jongno Academy found.
The shift follows a decision to increase the number of places at Korea’s 39 medical schools, which are expected to admit 4,610 students this year, an increase of 1,497 from last year. The policy was introduced by the government in a bid to combat the shortage of doctors in the country but, when first discussed, invoked a long series of protests and strikes from the heavily unionised medical sector.
Medical school places are coveted in South Korea, with a career as a doctor seen as both lucrative and stable.
“Traditionally, getting into medical school has always been a top choice for the highest-achieving students,” said Chang Kim, assistant professor at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and vice-president of the Korean Association of Human Resource Development.
“In a society that increasingly values job security, the option of medical school has become an even more attractive ‘safe bet’. It’s a guaranteed path.”
Given the competition for these places, typically only the best students make it – often leaving those who did not to turn to STEM studies instead.
While the expansion of medical school places could be a key factor exacerbating disinterest in STEM studies, it is far from the only one, with unclear career pathways and perceived instability further deterring students.
Between 2015 and 2020, the employment rate among male STEM graduates fell from 70.2 per cent to 64.7 per cent, and for women, from 64.1 per cent to 58.1 per cent.
Similarly, while still relatively high, R&D spending has fallen in South Korea, impacting PhD students and early career academics whose stipends have also been reduced. At the same time, there are widespread reports of poor working conditions and long hours in research environments.
“The perception – whether entirely accurate or not – that research opportunities and working conditions in some STEM fields are less than ideal makes these traditionally demanding academic routes seem less appealing,” said Kim.
“We also have to consider the wider societal preference for career stability, which often influences parents to guide their children toward professions like medicine or law, perceived as offering greater security.”
The trend is adding to concerns about the future of South Korea’s research ecosystem, given the demographic decline the country is facing. In recent years the government has introduced a number of policies to attract international scientists in an attempt to counteract the impact of its ageing population, but the country faces stiff competition, including from neighbours China and Japan.
“If our brightest minds are consistently turning away from STEM fields, we’re inevitably going to see a decline in the quality of our research talent pool,” said Kim. “And frankly, that’s very likely to translate into a weakening of South Korea’s overall competitiveness in science and technology.”
