Seven out of 10 four-year general and education universities in Korea raised tuition this year, with the average annual tuition per student rising 2.1% year-on-year to 7.27 million won ($5,100).
The Ministry of Education and the Korean Council for University Education released the analysis of the "April 2026 University Information Disclosure" on the 29th. The analysis covered 192 four-year general and education universities and 125 junior colleges.
The survey found that 130 four-year general and education universities, or 67.7%, raised tuition, while the remaining 62 froze their rates. Last year, 70.5% of four-year general and education universities had raised tuition.
The average annual tuition borne by a single student was 7,270,300 won, an increase of 147,100 won from the previous year. By type of institution, private universities charged 8,231,500 won and national and public universities charged 4.25 million won. By location, universities in the Seoul metropolitan area charged 8.27 million won, while those outside the capital region charged 6,619,600 won.
The gap in tuition hikes by institution type was stark. Average tuition per student at 154 private universities rose 2.8%, while tuition at 38 national and public universities increased by an average of 0.3%. Among 41 national and public general, education, and junior colleges, only three — Korea National University of Education, Cheongju National University of Education, and Chuncheon National University of Education — raised tuition.
By field of study, medicine had the highest tuition at 10,325,900 won, followed by arts and physical education (8,338,100 won), engineering (7,677,400 won), natural sciences (7,323,300 won), and humanities and social sciences (6,433,700 won).
