Just like last week, I’ve created a conversational audio version of this post using Google’s NotebookLM—featuring research and insights that didn’t make it into the written version. If you’re interested in digging deeper into this topic, I highly recommend giving it a listen!
After a short detour into Korea’s May traditions—Children’s Day, Parents’ Day, and Teachers’ Day—we’re now back to our core series on Korean education. And we’re picking up right where we left off: with a deep dive into the nation’s growing obsession with medical school.
This is Part 10 of my “Growing Up in Korea” series.
New to the series? Get the full context by starting from the beginning with “Growing Up in Korea: But First, Why Korea?”.
Wander through a major bookstore in South Korea today, and you’ll encounter a sea of books dedicated to a single, all-consuming goal: getting into medical school.
Titles range from practical exam strategies (“Real Admission Notes from a Seoul National University Medical Student,” “Medical School Admissions Fact Check“) to improbable success stories (“How the Bottom-Ranked Student Became a Med Student in 270 Days“) and even parenting guides designed to groom children into future doctors from elementary school (“Mom, This is How Med Students Spend Their Elementary School Years“).
This phenomenon, dubbed the “medical school craze” (의대 광풍, uidae gwangpung), refers to the growing tendency for Korea’s top-performing students to concentrate overwhelmingly in medical-related fields—especially medicine, dentistry, traditional Korean medicine, pharmacy, and veterinary science, collectively known as “Uchi-hanyak-su” (의치한약수).
It is far more than a quirky educational trend—it’s a profound shift in Korea’s societal aspirations.
Just after the traumatic 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis (the “IMF Crisis”), the national obsession centered on securing stable government or teaching jobs— seen as safe havens in a turbulent economy.
Now, that fervent desire for security has morphed and intensified, laser-focusing on medicine.
Today, Korea is experiencing nothing short of a medical school mania—a phenomenon so intense that it has reshaped education, family life, and even national policy.
Why Medicine? More Than Just Money
It’s tempting to assume that money is the primary driver, and to some extent, it is. Doctors in Korea consistently rank among the nation’s top earners. However, the full story is more complex.
Interestingly, doctors are not necessarily the highest earners in Korea anymore; as shown in the charts below, tech giants often offer better starting salaries.
Still, tech jobs often involve demanding hours, relentless competition, and age discrimination — potentially making medicine’s stability more attractive in the long run.
By contrast, medicine offers a steadier, longer-lasting path. While not all doctors earn astronomical incomes—many work as salaried physicians, often called “pay doctors” in Korea—the profession’s perceived longevity and resilience remain highly attractive.
Parents, in particular, often view medicine as an unbeatable “three-in-one package”: financial security, societal respect, and job stability. In a climate of economic uncertainty, becoming a doctor offers advantages that few other careers seem to provide:
- Immunity from Recessions: Doctors remain in demand regardless of economic cycles.
- No Mandatory Retirement: While most corporate employees are pushed out in their fifties, doctors often work well into their seventies.
- Social Prestige: Physicians still enjoy immense respect in Korean society.
- Relative Autonomy: Compared to Korea’s famously hierarchical corporate world, opening a clinic offers significantly greater independence.
The combination is irresistible to Korean families seeking a future-proof career path for their children.
Intense Competition: A Race to the Top
How fierce is the competition? In a word: staggering.
Historically, Korea’s brightest students aspired to study subjects like physics at Seoul National University. But since 2010, the top ten most sought-after majors have been overwhelmingly dominated by medical programs—eclipsing all other fields, as shown in the charts below.
The Wider Societal Impact
This intense national focus isn’t without consequences:
- STEM Brain Drain
- Elite universities like Seoul National University and KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) are witnessing a troubling trend – top science and engineering students are dropping out to retake the Korean university entrance exam (Suneung), solely to gain admission to medical school.
- In just the past three years, 611 incoming students at Seoul National University and 182 at KAIST have reportedly withdrawn to pursue studies in the medical field.
- This exodus has sparked serious concerns about the long-term health of Korea’s innovation ecosystem and technological competitiveness.
- The Rise of ‘N-su Saeng’ (University Entrance Exam Retakers)
- And it’s not just elite STEM students. Increasingly, high school graduates, college students, and even working professionals are repeatedly retaking the Suneung with one goal in mind: getting into medical school.
- This trend is expected to intensify as the government pushes forward with plans to expand medical school enrollment.
- Educational System Overheating
- The hyper-competition starts incredibly early. The private tutoring industry (hagwon, 학원) dedicated to medical school admissions is enormous. There are even reports of “med school prep classes” targeting elementary school students.
- Healthcare System Imbalances
- At first glance, having more doctors—or watching so many students aspire to become physicians—might seem like an unequivocal good. But the reality is more complicated.
- Korea’s medical school craze isn’t necessarily producing more doctors in the areas where they’re most needed. Instead, it’s fueling a well-documented trend: graduates flocking to lucrative, lifestyle-friendly specialties like dermatology and plastic surgery, while essential fields like pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, and general surgery face chronic shortages.
- This concentration in so-called “popular departments” has created a dangerous imbalance within Korea’s healthcare system.
- Despite government efforts to expand medical school enrollment—ostensibly to address shortages in essential care and rural medicine—most new doctors continue to avoid less lucrative, high-stress specialties.
As a result, critical areas like emergency medicine, pediatrics, and regional healthcare remain severely understaffed, threatening both the sustainability and equity of the overall system. - Although the details vary, the uneven distribution of doctors across specialties and regions isn’t just a Korean problem.
In the United States, for example, medical students are increasingly drawn to high-income specialties—often at the expense of primary care and essential services.
Studies show that the allure of higher salaries, better work-life balance, and greater social prestige in certain fields leads to a widespread maldistribution of physicians, leaving rural and underserved communities without adequate access to basic healthcare.
From IMF Anxiety to Medical Dominance: The Evolving Definition of ‘Stability’
At its core, today’s medical school craze is an evolution of a deep-seated desire for stability—etched into the Korean psyche by the 1997 IMF crisis. The collective memory of mass layoffs and economic uncertainty gave rise to a powerful, risk-averse culture.
But the meaning of “stability” has changed.
In the immediate post-IMF years, it meant guaranteed employment and a pension—usually through public sector jobs.
The version of stability now sought through the medical school craze is a more ambitious package:
- High and steady income
- Elevated social status
- Immunity from economic shocks and technological change
While the core desire remains unchanged, shifting economic structures—and the declining appeal of once-reliable alternatives like corporate jobs or civil service—have led many to view medicine as the most dependable path to this new definition of stability.
Today, medicine is widely seen as the only career that reliably delivers all three.
More Than a Trend—A Societal Symptom
Korea’s so-called “medical school craze” is far more than just a popular career choice.
When a nation’s brightest minds consistently choose security over invention—when children are trained from the age of seven to become future doctors, and when medicine emerges as the only perceived “safe” path—Korea risks losing the creative dynamism and intellectual range that once powered its economic miracle.
What’s Coming Next: Power, Protest, and Korea’s Young Generation
I was planning to continue the education series right away—but something big is happening in Korea.
On Tuesday, June 3, South Korea will choose a new president. The twist? Yoon Suk-yeol, who was elected in May 2022, has been impeached—less than three years into his five-year term.
And here’s a remarkable fact: Of Korea’s last three presidents, two have been removed from office before finishing their terms. Not by coups. Not by the military. But by ordinary citizens.
So for the next few weeks, I’ll be shifting gears to explore what makes this possible.
How have Korean people—especially the younger generation—developed such a powerful democratic instinct?
And how does this connect to the way they’re raised?
It turns out, the very students often criticized as passive, test-obsessed, and self-centered—especially young women in their 20s—have been at the forefront of recent impeachment movements.
They were the ones holding candles, organizing marches, and demanding change.
So how did kids trained to follow rules become leaders willing to break them for justice?
Let’s find out together.
It’ll be surprising, energizing—and maybe even a little bit envy-inducing.
This article refers to the following sources:
Books:
- 7 Keywords That Will Change Our Children’s Future in Korea’s Education – Bang Jong-im & Lee Man-gi (『우리 아이 미래를 바꿀 대한민국 교육 키워드 7』, 방종임·이만기, 2023)
- The IMF Crisis – Eun Soo-mi, (『IMF 위기』, 은수미 저, 책세상, 2004)
Articles & Reports:
- [Top 10 Healthcare News of 2024] STEM Collapse Triggered by the Medical School Craze – Doctors Times (『[2024 의료계 10대 뉴스] ⑦ 의대 열풍으로 무너지는 이공계···의대 증원이 사태 키웠다』)
- Suneung Becomes a “Medical Exam”… Medical School Track Starts in Elementary School – Hankyung Business (『‘메디컬 고시’ 된 수능…초등학생부터 ‘의대반’』)
- In 2025, Only 1 OB-GYN Resident and 2 Thoracic Surgery Applicants: Crisis in Essential Fields – MediGate News (『2025년 전공의 모집 8% 지원율 속 인기과 쏠림 심각…산부인과 1명·흉부외과 2명 지원』)
- [Year-End Feature] Alarming Signs of Collapse in Essential Care Across Korea – The Young Doctor (『[의료계 10대뉴스②] 곳곳에서 들리는 필수의료 붕괴 경고음』)
- Why US Medical Students Are Shunning Primary Care – MDLinx
- Primary Care Physicians Earn Half as Much as Specialists – SignatureMD
- The Health of US Primary Care: 2024 Scorecard Report — No One Can See You Now– Milbank Memorial Fund
- The Qualitative Crisis in Korea’s STEM Fields: Accelerated Brain Drain to Medicine – STEPI Science and Technology Policy Brief, April 2023 (『이공계의 질적 위기, 우수인재의 의학계열 선호 현상 가속화 시켜』, 박기범 선임연구위원)
