Seoul: The high school dropout rate among students with multicultural backgrounds has surpassed 2 percent, primarily due to challenges in adjusting to the educational environment, as revealed by government data on Sunday. A total of 477 high school students from multicultural backgrounds discontinued their education during the 2023 academic year, accounting for 2.22 percent of the 21,527 students with similar backgrounds.

According to Yonhap News Agency, these statistics were obtained from the education ministry by Rep. Kang Kyung-sook of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party. The dropout rate has been on a steady rise over recent years, climbing from 1.36 percent in 2020 to 1.93 percent in 2021, and 1.99 percent in 2022. These rates consistently surpass the overall high school dropout rate, which was recorded at 1.06 percent in 2020, 1.52 percent in 2021, 1.87 percent in 2022, and 2 percent in 2023.

The primary reason attributed to the dropout rate among multicultural students is adjustment difficulties, with language barriers being identified as a significant contributing factor. A related survey indicated that while 71.6 percent of multicultural students aspired to attend a four-year university or another higher education institution, only 61.9 percent managed to do so, which is 13 percentage points lower than the national average.

Rep. Kang emphasized the need for comprehensive support programs specifically designed for multicultural students. She highlighted the importance of initiatives that go beyond language education to include mental health and career development support, to better address the unique challenges faced by these students.