On April 17, 2025, a number of students congregated at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, as Vietnam became the leading source of international students in science and natural sciences courses in the nation, accounting for 25.1% of foreign students in these courses. This is according to South Korea's first official survey carried out by the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology on international students pursuing science and engineering courses.

In 2024, South Korea had a total of 29,187 international students in these fields, consisting of 20,186 undergraduates and 9,001 postgraduate students. China was at number two with 24.5%, while Uzbekistan was at number three with 9.7%.

The number of Korean students pursuing science and engineering education overseas is also considerable, standing at 29,770, including 20,438 undergraduates and 9,332 postgraduates. The United States is still the favorite destination for these students, drawing 44.9%, followed by Japan at 13.9% and Canada at 11.8%.

In a bid to boost its science and technology human resources, the South Korean government has unveiled a huge hike in its investment budget for 2025. The overall budget will be raised to 9.28 trillion won (about US$6.47 billion), up from 1.45 trillion won more than in 2024. Significantly, the scholarship fund for outstanding students in science and engineering will be raised from 50.7 billion won to 57.3 billion won.