A surprising shift in early admissions

Shin Sung-sik

The author is a welfare specialist reporter at the JoongAng Ilbo.

The recently completed early admissions process for the 2027 academic year points to two possibilities: a shift toward the regional doctor program and a change in attitudes toward science and engineering.

“An 11.08-to-1 ratio is quite remarkable,” said Lim Sung-ho, the head of Jongro Academy and an admissions expert of 30 years.

He had not expected such competition for the regional doctor track. The program requires recipients to work in designated regions for 10 years after they receive their medical licenses and covers their tuition, entrance fees and dormitory costs. He expected the mandatory service requirement to deter prospects.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol brought trouble upon himself by insisting on expanding medical school admissions by 2,000. His longtime friend Chung Ho-young, the former head of Kyungpook National University Hospital, tried to dissuade him, but Yoon angrily told him not to say such things. Things might have turned out differently had Yoon reduced the increase to fewer than 1,000 and proposed measures to strengthen regional health care.

The Yoon administration rejected the regional doctor system, a form of targeted expansion. The program emerged as an alternative after the turmoil over the 2,000-seat increase, making this admissions cycle its first test. Opposition from the Korean Medical Association added to public attention.

What is happening on the ground? Yoon Jeong-wan, the principal of Yeongsan High School in Naju, said that many students began thinking, “Why not give it a try?” after the program was introduced.

“There is a tailwind,” he said.

The head of a local admissions academy said that interest had risen sharply. Some applicants may feel a sense of mission about improving regional medicine, he said, but the medical license itself remains the main attraction.

Japan faced regional doctor shortages two decades ago and expanded its regional quota system. Taiwan introduced a publicly funded doctor program in 1975, which requires three to 10 years of regional service. During my 2024 visit, Yang Han-chuan, the honorary chairman of the Taiwan Medical Association and an architect of Taiwan’s national health insurance, called the program successful.

“The distribution of doctors cannot be left to the market,” he said. “The government must intervene.”

In Korea, the concentration of patients and medical personnel in the Seoul metropolitan area accelerated after national health insurance was integrated in 2000. Regional gaps widened, but policymakers did little. Korea had useful models in Taiwan and Japan but failed to adapt them quickly.

Japan’s results are respectable. According to a senior health ministry official, 97 to 98 percent of doctors admitted through regional programs remain in their regions during the nine-year mandatory period, and about half stay afterward.

This year’s admissions also suggest changing attitudes toward science and engineering. Applications to eight Seoul medical schools fell 1.6 percent from last year, the lowest level in a decade. Meanwhile, competition for semiconductor contract departments reached a record 28.5 to 1.

The trend extends to high schools. With two new science high schools opening, applicant numbers reached an 11-year high. Gifted schools also drew the most applicants in six years. Students at such schools face strong restrictions on applying to medical school.

Lim said that the exodus from science and engineering could be stopping and may even turn into greater preference for those fields. Could this be a butterfly effect from controversy over bonuses at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix?

Principal Yoon said that if 10 incoming students once aimed for medical school, the number is now closer to five, with the rest choosing engineering. When I asked whether that was desirable, he replied, “I have some hopes.” His school is working with other high schools to hold a basic science academic festival and encourage the momentum.

The regional doctor program has cleared its first hurdle. But duplicate admissions, regular admissions and subsequent movements among successful applicants remain.

The government must explain in detail how regional doctors will be valued and supported. The medical school frenzy and concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area have dominated Korean society for two decades. They cannot be dismantled overnight. Small openings must first appear, allowing change to seep through gradually.