Shifting Patterns of the Government’s Policies for the Internationalization of Korean Higher Education

The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of changing patterns since the mid-1990s in the Korean government’s policies for internationalizing its higher education system. The study examines the driving forces behind the government’s internationalization policies for Korean higher education, how the internationalization process affected Korean higher education, the ways in which the government and higher education institutions responded, and the issues and challenges now arising from the internationalization of the Korean higher education system. The results indicate internationalization is already an integral part of mainstream higher education policies and programs in Korea and is increasingly perceived as a key tool for improving the quality of higher education. The study suggests that for Korea to more effectively cope with internationalization in the future, it must address the following key challenges: (a) establishing an effective quality assurance mechanism for cross-border educational activities; (b) redressing the government’s previous, overriding emphasis on the quantitative aspects of internationalization, at the expense of quality; and (c) maintaining a balance between the conflicting demands of competition and cooperation with other countries.