Seoul, Oct. 29 -- Vietnam has unseated China as the Republic of Korea (RoK)'s largest source of international students for the first time, according to the 2026 Basic Education Statistics Report released by the Korean Ministry of Education and the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) on October 29.

As of April 1, the RoK hosted 307,464 international students at higher education establishments, the first time the tally has topped 300,000.

Vietnam supplied 96,834 students, or 31.5% of the total. China followed with 78,890, or 25.7%, then Uzbekistan, Nepal and Mongolia.

Students pursuing degree courses totalled 223,191, or 72.6%. Asian students accounted for 92.1%, with 61.3% in social sciences and humanities and 18% in enginee...