The employment rate of international students increased by 11.7 percentage points (p), while their advancement-to-further-education rate rose by 1.9 percentage points. In contrast, the employment rate of domestic graduates from higher education institutions declined slightly from 70.3% to 69.5%, revealing a diverging trend between domestic and international graduates.
According to the “2024 Graduate Employment Statistics Survey of Higher Education Institutions” released by the Ministry of Education on the 30th, the most notable change is the sharp rise in the employment rate of international students.
Employment and further education rates of international students. [Photo by Kim Arang]
In 2024, the number of international graduates reached 36,271. Among them, 4,993 were employed, resulting in an employment rate of 33.4%. This represents an increase of 11.7 percentage points and 1,386 individuals compared to 21.7% (3,607 persons) in 2023.
The advancement-to-further-education rate of international students also increased from 13.7% to 15.6%, up 1.9 percentage points, indicating a clearer trend of international graduates continuing their career paths in Korea through employment or further study after graduation.
Changes in the statistical methodology must also be considered when interpreting the sharp rise in employment rates. Based on revisions to the Enforcement Decree of the Higher Education Act on February 20, 2024, the Ministry of Education was permitted to utilize Alien Registration Numbers in education statistics. This enabled the linkage of public data from 13 institutions, including immigration and visa data from the Ministry of Justice, and employment, income, and insurance data from the National Tax Service, National Health Insurance Service, and Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, allowing systematic tracking of international students’ post-graduation paths.
Previously, surveys relied heavily on email and telephone responses, resulting in high non-response and “unknown” rates. The Ministry explained that the new approach secures a level of objectivity comparable to that for domestic graduates by using administrative data such as employment-based health insurance enrollment, income records, and visa status.
In employment statistics, international graduates are calculated separately from domestic graduates. Their employment rate is derived independently by separately defining the number of graduates, employment-eligible individuals, and employed persons.
For domestic graduates, employment-eligible individuals are defined by excluding those who advance to further education, enlist in the military, are unable to work, are international students, or are otherwise excluded. For international graduates, employment-eligible individuals are defined by excluding those who advance to further education, those unable to work (including those whose stay has ended), and those otherwise excluded.
The post-graduation “whereabouts” of international students have also become clearer. As of 2024, 15,576 international graduates, or 42.9%, had ended their stay in Korea by the survey reference date (December 31, 2024), up 7.3 percentage points from 35.6% the previous year.
At the same time, the proportions of domestic employment (13.8%) and domestic further education (15.6%) both increased, while the previously large “other/unknown” category declined from 39.7% to 27.7%.
These changes show that international graduates’ post-graduation paths—returning to their home country, domestic employment, domestic further education, or stay termination—are now classified far more clearly through administrative data.
Job seekers look at recruitment postings at the “Foreign Employment and Recruitment Fair” held at SETEC, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on November 20, 2025. [Seoul = NewsPim] Reporter Ryu Gichan
Indicators related to employment quality, such as job retention, also support this trend.
As of December 2024, among 3,997 international student graduates employed and enrolled in employment-based health insurance, 2,955 maintained their employment status even after 11 months, resulting in a job retention rate of 73.9%, up from 72.8% the previous year.
This suggests that the proportion of stable, quality jobs sustained over a certain period is gradually increasing for international graduates as well.
The Ministry of Education further explained that analysis of income brackets—based on linked health insurance and tax data in increments of KRW 1 million—showed that the proportion of international employees earning KRW 2 million or more per month increased slightly from 87.2% in 2023 to 88.1% in 2024.
While the proportion of high-income earners receiving KRW 3 million or more remained nearly unchanged at around 32–33%, the share of those earning between KRW 2 million and KRW 3 million increased from 53.9% to 55.8%, highlighting a growing trend of employment providing at least a stable, mid-level income.
