Korea risks future as universities lose talent

Twenty years ago, whenever my high school classmates—then fresh into their careers—gathered, they often rated each other's jobs. Like soldiers comparing assignments for ease and comfort, we would joke about which occupation we would choose if given another life. The clear favorite was “university professor.” Even without considering the social respect and influence the position commands, benefits such as a teacher’s pension, retirement at 65, and long academic breaks made the job highly desirable. But that perception has changed.

A growing number of professors at top Korean universities are now leaving for positions overseas. Between 2021 and May of this year, 56 faculty members from Seoul National University (SNU) relocated to foreign institutions. Of those, 41 went to the United States, and 15 relocated to Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and China. Once limited mainly to science and engineering fields, this outflow now spans nearly all academic disciplines. The departing professors include 28 in the humanities and social sciences, 12 in the natural sciences, 12 in engineering, three in the arts and physical education, and one in medicine.

Korean Ph.D. holders began making inroads into foreign universities in the early 2000s. As they published more in top journals, their academic performance gained global recognition. Their English proficiency also improved, enabling them to present at international conferences. Meanwhile, foreign universities began evaluating faculty based on publication records and offered them generous salaries, research grants, and housing subsidies, much like sports teams recruiting star players. In contrast, Korean universities have long faced an oversupply of Ph.D. graduates and thus remained passive in hiring. They also lacked systems for counteroffers or performance bonuses. Years of tuition freezes have further tightened financial constraints.

Are students still aspiring to become professors? Among 1,453 graduate students newly enrolled at SNU in the first half of this year, only 386, or 26.6 percent, completed their undergraduate degrees at the same university. This percentage continues to drop. Even expanding the scope to Korea’s top-tier universities, commonly referred to as the “SKY” (Seoul National, Korea, and Yonsei) universities, does not change the trend. As fewer students pursue graduate studies abroad, the fact that top students are also avoiding domestic graduate programs suggests that interest in becoming a professor is fading. Academia is no longer a dream job. Large corporations, startups, and law schools offer more opportunities and better rewards.

If current professors are leaving and fewer students hope to follow in their footsteps, the future of Korean higher education appears bleak. Meanwhile, foreign universities are competing fiercely to recruit top faculty. Even institutions like the University of Tokyo, which has long been criticized for being slow to adapt, and regional schools in China, such as Wuhan University, are making bold offers that include high salaries and generous research funds. In the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025–2026 global university rankings, 18 Asian universities, including Tsinghua University and the National University of Singapore, made the top 100. Once included in that group, Seoul National University has now fallen to 133rd.

If dramatically improving faculty compensation is not immediately feasible, Korea must still pursue long-term solutions such as expanding government support and normalizing tuition policies. Universities, for their part, must strengthen their own financial foundations. Harvard University, for example, operates a $53.2 billion endowment that covers 37 percent of its budget. If our universities collapse, so does our future.