Seoul, June 2 -- Admission to a prestigious university is no longer seen as the only path to success for some students in South Korea, as semiconductor-focused high schools gain popularity on the expectation that they can lead directly to jobs at major chipmakers.

According to a news report by The Korea Herald, heightened expectations for positions at conglomerates like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fuel this trend, especially as earnings surge amid the global artificial intelligence chip boom.

The shift in student and parent preferences directly impacts application numbers across the country. Korea Semiconductor Meister High School in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, recorded a competition ratio of 1.67-to-1 for its freshman adm...