Internationalization of higher education in Korea: policy trends toward the pursuit of the SDGs

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the policy trends for the internationalization of higher education in Korea, and suggest a future direction toward the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a case study of Korea focusing on its internationalization in higher education. In order to analyze the government policy trends and institutional strategies for internationalization, the relevant literature and documents were analyzed.FindingsThe government policy for the internationalization of higher education in Korea has consisted of three stages: first, controlled outbound mobility; second, a major shift and focus on inbound mobility, recently along with intraregional cooperation for both directions of mobility in Asia and third, the beginning of efforts toward the pursuit of the SDGs, which needs to be expanded and systematized further.Originality/valueThis paper shows presents the comprehensive review of internationalization policies in Korean higher education, including the recent programs and changes at both the governmental and institutional levels. There has been a notable lack of discussion on the SDGs in relation to the internationalization of Korean higher education, which is addressed in this paper.

The Relationship Between Internationalization and Environmental Sustainability in Non-Central Latin American Universities

“…The examples of institutions’ tendency to use the SDGs as guidance for actions and strategies, specifically for internationalization, is in line with other research that observe a growing link between internationalization and the SDGs among LA HEIs (Edwards & Ashida, 2021; Jon & Yoo, 2021; Ramaswamy et al, 2021). It is also the case of European institutions that are “more likely to frame their greening 7 activities in the area of learning and teaching as part of the broader concepts of sustainability and the SDGs” (Stöber et al, 2021, p. 7).…”

“…Sustainability and internationalization are interconnected, and this intersection and the role of universities in responding to these aspects has increasingly been studied in different contexts (Edwards & Ashida, 2021; Jon & Yoo, 2021; Ramaswamy et al, 2021. )…”

“…Sustainability and internationalization are interconnected, and this intersection and the role of universities in responding to these aspects has increasingly been studied in different contexts (Edwards & Ashida, 2021;Jon & Yoo, 2021;Ramaswamy et al, 2021. ) Latin American HEIs have been directly embracing the UN's broad proposal of global sustainable development, summarized in the SDGs, highlighting this agenda in institutional discourse.…”

Internationalization as a strategy to enhance higher education quality in Vietnam – reflections from university leaders

“…Many countries, especially non-Western ones, have made internationalization of higher education a national strategic focus because of the promising outcome associated with internationalization. These include the development of domestic human resource and the enhancement of economic, geo-political and educational position of the country (Jon & Yoo, 2021; Garwe & Thondhlana, 2022). Universities can take advantage of the financial supports and favorable policies to implement internationalized activities which help faculty members and students to advance their knowledge and skills toward international norms.…”