"13% of Medical School Freshmen Are from Gangnam"… Some Medical Schools Exceed 35%

National Assembly Education Committee Member Kim Moon-su's Announcement
Among 3,145 Freshmen in the 2024 Academic Year, 418 Students

This year, 13% of the freshmen admitted to medical schools are from the so-called 'Gangnam 3 Districts'?Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa?known as Seoul's representative school districts.

On the 13th, Kim Moon-soo, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Democratic Party, received data from the Ministry of Education on the 'Proportion of Freshmen from the Gangnam 3 Districts for the 2020?2024 Academic Years.' According to the data, among 3,145 freshmen in 39 medical schools nationwide (excluding the Graduate School of Medicine at CHA University), 418 students, or 13.29%, were from the Gangnam 3 Districts.

A view of a medical school in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The proportion of medical school freshmen from the Gangnam 3 Districts was ▲14.46% in 2021 ▲13.35% in 2022 ▲12.91% in 2023, before rising again this year. Among the 39 medical schools this year, the school with the highest proportion of students from the Gangnam 3 Districts had 34.74%, meaning one out of every three freshmen. Of the 95 freshmen at this school, 33 were identified as coming from the Gangnam 3 Districts.

Similar results were found when looking at all departments of the so-called 'SKY universities'?Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University. Among 12,062 freshmen at these universities, 1,519 students, or 12.59%, were from the Gangnam 3 Districts. At Seoul National University, 13.11% (481 out of 3,670 freshmen) were from the Gangnam 3 Districts. Specifically, in Seoul National University's medical school, 33 out of 138 students were from the Gangnam 3 Districts, raising the proportion to 23.91%.

Assemblyman Kim pointed out, "South Korea is a society where university and major rankings overlap and operate," and emphasized, "A national-level analysis is needed regarding the concentration in medical schools, regions, and social classes."

Meanwhile, among 40 medical schools, 39 universities operating undergraduate programs plan to admit 4,610 medical freshmen for the 2025 academic year. This number is nearly 1,500 more than the 2024 academic year, following the government's expansion policy. Including the Graduate School of Medicine at CHA University, which has an admission quota of 80 students within the quota and 5 outside the quota, the total number of students to be admitted by 40 medical schools nationwide next year will be 4,695.