Internationalization, Deregulation and the Expansion of Higher Education in Korea: An Historical Overview

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of internationalization policies in Korean higher education since 1993. Deregulation was a key strategy of Korean governments, but this strategy has led to an increasing oversupply of enrolment capacity. In response, the current government is implementing a system of reregulation to reduce the number of institutions and control admission quotas. Although cross-national comparisons put Korea’s schooling system among the world’s highest performing, deep structural and cultural challenges exist in higher education. The article recommends that future policy development and implementation should focus on three broad areas- 1) strengthening quality assurance; 2) increasing engagement with international bodies and networks; and 3) enforcing regulatory compliance.