Dozens of South Korean universities may not survive the next decade as demographic decline accelerates - VNExpress
Long time, no post.
In recent news, China has entered its fourth year of population decline. The US (under strict "enforcement") has entered its first. This is a remarkable (and IMHO, a mistaken) policy turnaround for the US which has historically benefited from its ability to absorb and assimilate immigrants.
Here is a new dispatch from Korea about how its universities are planning for a future with fewer young people:
A recent survey of 116 university presidents, conducted at the Korean Council for University Education's general assembly, found that more than 60% expect over 30 four-year universities to close within the next 10 years.
The impact, experts warn, will not be evenly distributed.
Regional universities face the greatest danger, as students increasingly gravitate toward the capital area. Universities in the greater Seoul region alone can admit about 180,000 students, while the country currently sees only around 250,000 births per year.
"If 70% of students go to college and they all flock to the capital region, that's it," said Lee Sang-lim, a demography expert at Seoul National University's Population Policy Research Center. "Regional universities will simply vanish," he said, Korea Times reported.
Emphasis added by me, if only because I've said similar on our Introduction page!
Korea again stands at the vanguard of trends which will be seen in industrial societies worldwide, and within Korea, universities will be the second institution to feel major impacts (after the primary/secondary education system). Major metropolitan areas (and their institutions) will benefit as youth migrate toward better opportunities.