Fulbright U.S. Education Center

According to an article in The Korea Times, university and college tuition in South Korea has doubled over the past ten years.  According to the government statistics agency, the tuition of state-run universities increased 116 percent from 1999 while tuition for private four year universities and two year colleges jumped 81 percent and 90 percent respectively during the period.    Moreover, the consumer price index has increased 36 percent over the past decade, imposing an even heavier financial burden on parents and students seeking higher education.  Tuition for graduate schools also surged by 114 percent for private institutions.

The steep rise began when the government gave autonomy to raise tuition to private universities in 1989 and to state-run universities in 2003.   The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced Thursday that it will receive applicants for the new “study now pay later” program from today through March 31.  The program provides students with long term state education loans.