Applications to South Korea's four science institutes top 30,000 for first time
Version 2: Expanded coverage from additional outlets added per-institute competition rates, the size of new AI majors and detailed semiconductor department figures, along with Jongno Academy's comment that applications rose even as medical school quotas were expanded.
In short
Early-admission applications to South Korea's four science and technology institutes — KAIST, GIST, UNIST and DGIST — totalled 33,349 for the 2027 academic year, the first time the figure has passed 30,000, according to an analysis by the private admissions consultancy Jongno Academy. The total is up 8,926, or 36.5%, from 24,423 a year earlier and about 2.5 times the 13,315 recorded for 2022. The average competition rate rose to 16.13 to 1 from 14.14 to 1, with outlets linking the increase to newly created AI majors and semiconductor contract departments.
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Early-admission applications to South Korea's four science and technology institutes reached 33,349 for the 2027 academic year, the first time the total has passed 30,000, according to an analysis by the private admissions consultancy Jongno Academy reported by multiple outlets on 5 October. The four institutes are the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST). [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
The 2027 total was up 8,926 applicants, or 36.5%, from 24,423 a year earlier, and up 20,034, or 150.5%, from 13,315 in the 2022 academic year, the reports said; Dong-A Ilbo described the figure as about 2.5 times the 2022 level. Dong-A Ilbo also noted that the four-institute system dates to the 2016 academic year, when 11,870 applicants applied, with the number rising to 15,443 in 2023, 21,029 in 2025 and 24,423 in 2026. [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
By institute, DGIST recorded the largest increase at 48.9%, followed by UNIST at 41.6%, GIST at 36.2% and KAIST at 20.1%, according to several reports. The average competition rate across the four rose to 16.13 to 1 from 14.14 to 1, as recruitment places grew to 2,067 from 1,727, an increase of 340 places or 19.7%. CBS NoCut News reported per-institute competition rates of 28.6 to 1 at DGIST, 19.84 to 1 at UNIST, 14.40 to 1 at GIST and 9.70 to 1 at KAIST. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 11 ]
The coverage attributed the increase to new artificial intelligence majors and to demand for semiconductor programmes. CBS NoCut News and Hankook Ilbo reported that the four institutes are recruiting 340 students to new AI-related majors — 100 each at DGIST, UNIST and GIST and 40 at KAIST — and Hankook Ilbo added that government and companies have increased investment in training talent for advanced industries. Yonhap, Asia Economy, Hankook Ilbo and Maeil Business also noted that the science institutes, unlike other universities, are not bound by the six-application limit in early admissions. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 11 ]
Within semiconductor departments, CBS NoCut News reported that applicants to GIST rose to 289 from 160, or 80.6%, with the competition rate rising to 11.56 to 1 from 6.40 to 1, and DGIST applicants rose to 411 from 267, or 53.9%, with the rate rising to 15.22 to 1 from 9.89 to 1. At KAIST, applicants for the semiconductor systems programme fell to 185 from 420, a drop of 56.0%, which the outlet said followed a cut in the programme's quota to 40 from 100; its competition rate nevertheless rose to 4.63 to 1 from 4.20 to 1. UNIST has 35 semiconductor places and does not disclose its competition rate annually, the outlet said, adding that the four institutes' semiconductor departments are all Samsung Electronics contract departments. [ 4 , 10 ]
Jongno Academy head Lim Seong-ho said the rise was notable because it came as medical school quotas were expanded, and that students who apply to both a science institute and a medical school may choose medicine if admitted to both. He said their choices would be a significant variable for cut-off scores at science and engineering departments at other universities and at regional medical schools. Dong-A Ilbo said the increase came despite the expanded medical school intake and was read as reflecting higher interest in science and engineering among top students amid a semiconductor industry boom. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
Why it matters
Applications to the four science institutes' early admissions are an early indicator of demand for science and engineering study in South Korea, and the coverage links the rise to new AI majors and to semiconductor contract departments run with Samsung Electronics. Jongno Academy said the increase came even as medical school places were expanded, and that students admitted to both a science institute and a medical school may choose medicine, which it said could affect cut-off scores at other science and engineering departments and at regional medical schools. The documents give no outcome for those choices, so the effect beyond the reported competition rates is not established.
Key facts
- Early-admission applications to KAIST, GIST, UNIST and DGIST for the 2027 academic year totalled 33,349, the first time above 30,000. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
- The total was up 8,926 applicants, or 36.5%, from 24,423 the previous year. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
- It was up 20,034 applicants, or 150.5%, from 13,315 in the 2022 academic year, a figure Dong-A Ilbo described as about 2.5 times the 2022 level. [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 11 ]
- By institute, DGIST rose 48.9%, UNIST 41.6%, GIST 36.2% and KAIST 20.1% year on year. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 11 ]
- The average competition rate across the four institutes rose to 16.13 to 1 from 14.14 to 1. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
- Recruitment places at the four institutes rose to 2,067 from 1,727, an increase of 340, or 19.7%. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 11 ]
- The four institutes are not subject to the six-application limit that applies to early admissions elsewhere. [ 5 , 6 , 10 , 11 ]
- The figures come from an analysis of application data by the private admissions consultancy Jongno Academy. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Applications to the four science and technology institutes' early admissions for the 2027 academic year reached 33,349, the first time the total has passed 30,000. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
- The total rose 8,926 applicants, or 36.5%, from 24,423 a year earlier. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
- The 2027 total is about 2.5 times the 13,315 applicants recorded for the 2022 academic year. [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 11 ]
- The figures come from an analysis compiled by the private admissions consultancy Jongno Academy. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
- By institute, DGIST rose 48.9%, UNIST 41.6%, GIST 36.2% and KAIST 20.1% year on year. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 11 ]
- The average competition rate across the four institutes rose to 16.13 to 1 from 14.14 to 1 a year earlier. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
- Recruitment places at the four institutes rose to 2,067 from 1,727, an increase of 340 places, or 19.7%. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 11 ]
- The four institutes are not subject to the six-application limit that applies to early admissions at other universities. [ 5 , 6 , 10 , 11 ]
Still unclear
- How many applicants each of the four institutes received in total. The reports give percentage changes and average competition rates, but applicant counts appear only in CBS NoCut News and only for semiconductor departments.
- Why applications rose. The AI-major and semiconductor-preference explanation comes from Jongno Academy's analysis, cited by several outlets, rather than from an official admissions body.
- Whether the rise is connected to expanded medical school quotas. Dong-A Ilbo and the Korea Economic Daily frame the surge against increased medical school places, but no document establishes a causal link, and the Korea Economic Daily's article field contained only unrelated items.
- UNIST's competition rate for its semiconductor department. CBS NoCut News reports UNIST has 35 semiconductor places but does not disclose its competition rate each year.
- How applicants admitted to both a science institute and a medical school will choose. Jongno Academy's Lim Seong-ho says students may apply to both and can choose medicine if admitted to both, and calls the choice a variable, but the documents give no outcome.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Newsis publishes the Jongno Academy analysis, reporting 33,349 early-admission applicants for 2027 across the four science institutes and calling it a record high. [ 1 ]
- The Korea Economic Daily reports that early-admission applications to the science institutes passed 30,000 for the first time, framing it against increased medical school quotas. [ 2 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo reports the same total with per-institute increases and an average competition rate of 16.13 to 1. [ 3 ]
- CBS NoCut News adds AI quota figures, semiconductor department applicant counts and per-institute competition rates. [ 4 ]
- Yonhap reports the totals, the rise in recruitment places to 2,067 and comments from Jongno Academy head Lim Seong-ho. [ 5 ]
- Asia Economy carries the same figures and quotes Lim Seong-ho. [ 6 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo publishes a second report adding the historical series of applicant numbers since the 2016 academic year. [ 7 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports the first breach of 30,000 and attributes it to new AI majors and semiconductor contract departments. [ 8 , 9 ]
- Hankook Ilbo reports the total with AI and semiconductor detail and quotes Lim Seong-ho on overlapping admissions. [ 10 ]
- Maeil Business reports the record total, the rise in recruitment places and Lim Seong-ho's comments. [ 11 ]