The author is the director of business administration at Dulwich College Seoul
Never before has the opportunity looked so promising for Korea to establish itself as an Asia-Pacific (APAC) regional business hub. Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges to Korea rose more than 25% in the first quarter of this year, as the government’s FDI target for 2024 has been set at $35 billion, which would be up 7% from 2023. In Seoul alone, FDI increased by 37% year-on-year to $14.3 billion in 2023, while the city seeks to raise that to $30 billion by 2030.
Moreover, according to the AMCHAM Business Survey 2024 published by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM), Korea is the second most preferred destination for global multinational companies to locate their regional headquarters in the Asia-Pacific, ahead of Hong Kong and behind Singapore.
Korea has advantages over both Hong Kong and Singapore - a prime example being living costs. Mercer’s “Cost of Living City Ranking 2023” placed Seoul in 16th among APAC cities compared with Hong Kong and Singapore in 1st and 2nd, respectively. Other factors such as geopolitical shifts, cultural popularity, and proximity to the Northeast Asian market are also favoring Korea over some of its regional hub rivals.
However, Korea has some areas of improvement if it is to keep attracting global business interest and sustain it. The key is to enhance Seoul’s appeal to expatriates considering moving here. I recently addressed this issue at the AMCHAM Doing Business In Korea Seminar 2024 in Seoul. With a background in international education investment and in my current capacity as Director of Business Administration at Dulwich College Seoul, I highlighted the role of children’s education in FDI-related decisions such as assessing the viability of recruiting global talent.
While this connection may not be top of mind for policymakers, education is the number one concern for foreign families residing in Seoul, according to the 2023 Seoul Survey of 2,500 foreigners. For expatriate parents and their children, it is absolutely vital that they are able to access an international school that not only meets their language and cultural needs but also offers globally standardized programs such as those of the International Baccalaureate (IB).
It is worth noting that emerging regional contenders like Bangkok, Dubai, and Kuala Lumpur are leveraging the strength of their international school industries. These cities recognize the critical role of education in shaping global business decisions and are actively capitalizing on their educational offerings to enhance their appeal to foreign investors. At the heart of the global talent landscape lies a fundamental truth: top-tier professionals seek the best educational opportunities for their children. My experiences across diverse locations have underscored this reality time and again.
Unfortunately, one of the major issues facing Seoul’s international schools, or foreign schools as they are sometimes technically distinguished in Korea, is that waiting lists have become commonplace across the sector - including at Dulwich College Seoul, an international school catering to 700 students aged 3 to 18 from close to 50 different countries. This is all the more relevant as Korea’s expat population expands - the number of foreign residents in Korea already reached a record-high of 2.26 million as of 2022 and is projected to continue growing.
When year groups experience oversubscription, the supply and demand imbalance naturally creates an unsettling environment for global talent considering relocation to Seoul with their families. This, in turn, negatively influences companies considering whether to position their regional headquarters in Seoul.
Seoul’s ranking in Kearney’s Global Cities Index slipped from 13th in 2022 to 14th last year. The index considers “foreign-born population,” “international student population,” and “number of international schools” as factors in its ranking of global cities based on the level of attractiveness and quality of life for foreign investors.
Given this golden opportunity for Seoul and Korea to become a thriving regional business hub, we as a top foreign school sought by expat families are prepared to do what we can to ensure the momentum can be seized. This includes working towards solutions by partnering with policymakers to make international education a bigger priority. We recommend more open and frequent communication channels with local authorities, consistent regulations at both national and local levels, and collective support from various stakeholders including parents, companies, chambers, embassies, and government officials. Through partnerships and collaboration, we can explore strategies that not only address immediate enrollment challenges but also foster long-term stability and growth within Korea's international school sector.
I am pleased to say that together with several of those stakeholders, we recently took meaningful steps during a policy roundtable on FDI and global education hosted by the British Embassy in Seoul. In addition to Dulwich College Seoul, Dwight School Seoul and Seoul Foreign School were represented in a panel discussion on the critical role of foreign schools in attracting FDI. We also heard from parents at each of the schools who candidly explained the difficulties and delays they faced when trying to place their children at the respective schools. We were able to interact with senior officials from Invest Seoul and Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Honorable National Assembly member Cho Eun-hee of Seoul’s Seocho Gap District, and the Vice Chairs of the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s Education Committee Ko Kwang-min and Park Kang-san. Moreover, various business interests were represented at the event by the British, European, German, and Spanish chambers in Korea.
I am confident that we reached a consensus on the need to work together to ensure the consistent availability of high-quality international schools in Korea. As British Ambassador Colin Crooks put it during the post-roundtable reception, “Education is a critical determinant. It influences investment decisions because it really influences expatriates deciding whether to relocate.”
Seoul and, by extension, Korea stand at a critical juncture with a small window of opportunity to navigate these dynamics to come out stronger with a competitive edge in the global market. The bottom line is that it will be impossible for Korea to truly establish itself as a regional business hub unless expats’ life priorities are met.