Korean university leads global university power rankings in Korea

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Korea University tops the K-universities Global Excellence Ranking 2026 released by The Korea Times. (Source: Korea University)

According to the ranking results, Korea University leads with 144.86 points, followed by Seoul National University (141.48 points) and Yonsei University (140.33 points). The remaining positions in the Top 10 belong to Sungkyunkwan University, Hanyang University, Sogang University, Seoul National University, Ewha Womans University, Kyung Hee University and Dongguk University.

The Korea Times also selected the Top 30 schools based on their total scores, recognizing them as “excellent global universities.” In addition to the leading schools in Seoul, there are also many large universities such as Kyungpook National University, Pusan National University, Jeonbuk National University, and schools with strong international orientation such as Woosong University and Handong Global University.

By category, Korea University topped the education category; Sejong University led in research; while Seoul National University scored highest in student support and graduate outcomes.

The Korea Times said that the highlight of the K-universities Global Excellence Rankings 2026 is that 63.2% of the evaluation index focuses on globalization, much higher than major rankings such as QS (15%), THE (7.5%) and JoongAng (22.5%). The ranking includes 22 detailed indexes in 4 groups: Education (60 points), research (50 points), student support (40 points) and post-graduation results (40 points); at the same time, special attention is paid to factors such as admission, student exchange, nationality diversity, scholarships and dormitories.

The rankings also evaluated 54 four-year universities based on the number of international students, campus size, and regional representation. Data sources included: Official university statistics (as of June 2025), research data from Naver Scholytics, and archives and public records from The Korea Times on graduate impact.

The rankings are based on categories such as education, research, student support and graduate outcomes. (Source: The Korea Times)

As the number of domestic students declines, attracting international students is becoming a survival strategy for Korean universities. Currently, Korea has more than 208,000 international students, and the government aims to increase this number to 300,000 by 2027 under the Study Korea 300K Project.

Founded in 1950 as South Korea's first English-language daily newspaper, The Korea Times launched the rankings to improve the global competitiveness of Korean universities. The newspaper also announced plans to expand the scope of its evaluation in the future, adding qualitative criteria such as surveys of international faculty and students.

In addition, The Korea Times will work with the Korean Ministry of Education and other organizations to expand the public disclosure of data on indicators currently not included in the official statistics system, such as the proportion of courses taught in English, international students' tuition costs, and post-graduation employment outcomes.

The results of this assessment are expected to provide valuable information for international students preparing to enter Korean universities in the 2026 academic year.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dai-hoc-han-quoc-dan-dau-bang-xep-hang-nang-luc-toan-cau-cac-truong-dai-hoc-xu-kim-chi-328756.html