East Asia Ramps Up Internationalisation as Western Study Destinations Face Policy Shifts
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As traditional study destinations such as the UK, US, Canada and Australia tighten immigration and student visa policies, East Asian countries including South Korea and Hong Kong, which are part of the “Asian Tigers”, are aggressively expanding internationalisation efforts to attract global talent and drive economic growth.
Speaking at the International Higher Education Forum 2025 in Birmingham, James Tang, Secretary-General of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee, emphasised the region’s different economic realities. “We don’t have an employment problem; we need more people and talent,” he stated, underlining the importance of innovation-driven growth.
While Western countries face criticism over increasingly restrictive student immigration policies, East Asia offers a contrasting landscape. Affordable tuition, lower living costs, eased residency pathways, and growing investment in international education are drawing students who may once have looked exclusively westward.
Hong Kong, for instance, is rebranding itself with the “Study in Hong Kong” initiative, aiming to diversify its student base beyond Mainland China. International enrolments rose from 12,349 in 2019/20 to 13,376 in 2021/22, with efforts now targeting countries like India, Nigeria and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, South Korea is advancing its “300K” project, aiming to attract 300,000 international students by 2027. With enrolment hitting 236,000 in mid-2024, the country is actively addressing demographic challenges such as ageing populations and low birth rates.
“We need to highlight that internationalisation impacts both foreign and domestic students positively,” said Professor Jun Hyun Hong from Chung-Ang University. He stressed the importance of aligning government, universities and industry in this effort.
Regional programmes such as Campus Asia and the Korea–ASEAN AIMS initiative are also strengthening trilateral and multilateral academic ties across Asia. As global education dynamics shift, countries like South Korea and Hong Kong are positioning themselves not as alternatives to the West but as leaders with their own models.
Source: THE PIE NEWS
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