Entrance competition at South Korea's Meister high schools has intensified amid a semiconductor industry boom and a tight job market for young adults. The schools offer curricula tailored to demand in promising industries and report employment rates above 70%.
A total of 303 students applied for 64 places at Seoul Semiconductor High School, which opens in March next year, producing a competition ratio of 4.7 to 1, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said on the 23rd.
The school is Seoul's first semiconductor-focused Meister high school and is equipped with a hands-on curriculum and advanced teaching facilities. It is recruiting 64 students in total — 32 for its semiconductor equipment program and 32 for its semiconductor manufacturing program — and has signed memorandums of understanding with major semiconductor and advanced industry companies including Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Amkor Technology and Hana Micron.
Competition has also risen at semiconductor Meister schools elsewhere. Daegu Semiconductor Meister High School drew 248 applicants for 96 places in its 2027 entering class, a ratio of 2.58 to 1, sharply higher than 1.85 to 1 a year earlier. Korea Semiconductor Meister High School in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, posted a ratio of 1.72 to 1, up slightly from 1.67 to 1.
Applications to Seoul's four existing Meister high schools also increased. Mirim Meister High School, Seoul Robotics High School, Sudo Electrical Engineering High School and Seoul Urban Science and Technology High School together received 1,301 applications, up 50.8% from 863 a year earlier.
"The semiconductor upturn and the large performance bonuses paid by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix appear to have lifted interest in semiconductor high schools," said Lim Sung-ho, head of Jongro Academy.