Signal Korea's free-major admission sends 20 to 30 percent of 2025 freshmen into undeclared tracks

Summary

Korea has pursued greater academic flexibility, and a key reform is the university major-selection system introduced in earnest in 2025. Under it, 20 to 30 percent of first-year students in the 2025 academic year were admitted without a declared major and choose one at the end of their first year. The essay expects the first choices in early 2026 to concentrate on popular departments, causing confusion over teaching infrastructure and academic administration. Those choices are likely to cluster in national strategic technology fields, where the government has already been expanding training through new departments, specialised graduate schools, contract departments, RISE and other programmes. The combination of student preference and concentrated public investment is expected to raise volatility in the supply of technical workers.