Migrant-background students in Seoul will be offered customized career and college admissions counseling from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education starting this summer.
Officials will visit schools with large migrant student populations and use artificial intelligence-based interpretation to support consultations. According to the Seoul education office, the city has seen a steady rise in the number of students with multicultural backgrounds, increasing demand for customized counseling and admissions support.
Seoul had approximately 22,000 migrant-background students as of April 2025, accounting for nearly 3 percent of the city’s student population, the education office said.
As part of the program, the office will hold a college admissions information session for migrant-background students and their parents Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in its auditorium. AI-based simultaneous interpretation will be provided to improve access for attendees who have difficulty using Korean.
The office said it has received applications from interested parents and expects more than 200 students, parents, high school teachers and education officials to attend.
The session will provide information on different college admissions tracks, including social integration admissions, special admissions for children from multicultural families and admissions tracks for foreign nationals.
It will also introduce admissions pathways and successful admission examples by student type, including students who entered Korea midway through their schooling, dual nationals, foreign nationals and naturalized Korean citizens.
For those unable to attend the session, the education office said it plans to send admissions experts to schools with large migrant-background student populations upon request. Students will be given step-by-step support, ranging from career exploration and course selection to student record management and one-on-one counseling.
Parents will also have access to counseling to help them understand Korea’s school system and college admissions process. Teachers will be offered training and consulting to strengthen their ability to guide students with migrant backgrounds.
The education office will also operate a support booth for migrant-background students at the Seoul Career Fair for Education scheduled for July.
At the booth, which will run July 14-15, the office will provide information on multicultural career and job options, as well as career and admissions counseling tailored to the visa status of foreign students.
seungku99@heraldcorp.com