Share of Seoul-born freshmen at SKY universities is twice the national average

According to The Financial News, students from Seoul account for more than twice the national university average among new freshmen at Seoul National University (SNU), Yonsei University, and Korea University, the so-called SKY universities (SKY). The figures once again confirm that access to top-tier universities is heavily concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Data on 2025 freshman enrollment published on the University Information Disclosure System on the 23rd show that, of 13,475 new students at SNU, Yonsei University, and Korea University, 4,337 were from Seoul, representing 32.2% of the total. This is exactly double the 16.0% share of Seoul-born freshmen at four-year universities nationwide.
By university, the concentration of students from Seoul is even more pronounced. Seoul National University (SNU) had the highest proportion, with 1,381 of its 3,775 freshmen, or 36.6%, coming from high schools in Seoul. At Korea University, 1,598 out of 5,175 freshmen, or 30.9%, were from Seoul, while Yonsei University recorded 1,358 out of 4,525 freshmen, or 30.0%. Notably, the share at Korea University rose from 29.1% last year to 30.88% this year, an increase of 1.78 percentage points, surpassing the 30% mark for the first time.
In contrast, the share of students from non-metropolitan and underserved regions fell well below the national average. At the three universities, students from small and mid-sized cities accounted for 31.9%, and those from rural towns and townships made up 11.3%. Nationwide, the corresponding averages for four-year universities are 41.3% for small and mid-sized cities and 13.3% for rural areas, meaning the SKY figures are lower by 9.4 and 2.0 percentage points, respectively. This underscores that barriers to entry into top universities remain high for regional talent.
Gaps by type of high school were also stark. While 73.42% of freshmen at universities nationwide come from general high schools, only 58.3% of freshmen at the three SKY universities did so. The difference was largely filled by students from autonomous private high schools, who accounted for 12.1%, and from foreign language and international high schools, who made up 10.1%—the so-called special-purpose and autonomous schools. In addition, 2.2% of freshmen came from science high schools and 0.7% from science-gifted high schools.

monarch@fnnews.com Kim Man-gi Reporter