Seoul gov't aims to attract 1,000 foreign students for tech, science degrees

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announces five-year plans to attract foreign talent to the city and support foreign residents during a briefing at Seoul City Hall, Monday. Yonhap

The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) aims to attract approximately 1,000 foreign students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in science, technology and engineering to universities in the capital by 2028, as part of broader efforts to enhance the city's global competitiveness.

The city government will also strive to create a more inclusive living environment, facilitating the seamless settlement of these foreign nationals in the city and enabling them to continue their work.

The plan is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's project aimed at attracting foreign talent, and workers and it will invest 250.6 billion won ($184.6 million) into the initiative over the next five years.

“Seoul will become a global city that grows together with foreign residents,” Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said during a media briefing, Monday.

The project was announced amid a rising foreign population in Seoul, where the number of non-Korean residents stands at about 440,000, accounting for 4.7 percent of the capital’s population. The city government also emphasized that the global competition to attract exceptional individuals has been escalating alongside technological advancements and improvements in industrial structure.

As part of its goal to bring in 1,000 foreign students seeking advanced degrees, the city will select 10 Seoul-based universities that specialize in teaching cutting-edge technologies, and provide each with up to 1.5 billion won in financial assistance annually for a three-year period.

Starting in July in Indonesia’s Jakarta, the Seoul city government will organize an education fair twice a year in various foreign cities, aiming to provide information about studying in Seoul.

The city government will also establish a scholarship program designed to grant outstanding students from developing countries an annual award of 20 million won per person.

Students from India dance during an international festival at Korea University in Seoul in this May 11, 2023 photo. Some 1,500 foreign students attended the festival, seeking to foster cultural exchanges. Korea Times file

To help retain these international students, the city will actively encourage 100 global tech firms to relocate to the city. Additionally, it will establish a startup support hub by 2030 to accommodate over 100 foreign businesses aiming to expand into the broader Asian market.

As another key portion of the project, the mayor said he will engage more actively with the central government to explore the introduction of foreign workers into industries experiencing labor shortages, such as caregiving, child care, dining and hotel services.

As part of these efforts, he noted, a pilot project will be launched in September to allow 100 Philippine caregivers to work in households in Seoul, providing child care and assisting with related household chores.

Oh noted that Seoul will focus its efforts to create a more inclusive and equitable multicultural society to facilitate the settlement of foreign nationals more effectively.

The city will open its second foreign resident support center in the northeastern part of the capital in May next year and introduce multilingual translation services, powered by artificial intelligence, at family centers in its 25 districts.

It also plans to ensure that foreign residents receive equal welfare benefits as locals for pregnancy, childbirth and childcare.

Oh said that starting this month, the city will introduce new support measures for educational expenses, providing assistance ranging from 400,000 won to 600,000 won for children from multicultural families attending elementary, middle and high schools.

“The city’s competitiveness comes from dynamics, and the dynamics are made by creative individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds,” Oh said.

“Seoul should become a more inclusive city by attracting foreign talent and businesses more actively, and utilizing their ideas and capabilities as well as capital assets, in a bid to jump to the ranks of the top five global cities.”