The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 24th that the recruitment for new students at specialized high schools and Meister high schools in Seoul for the 2026 academic year has been completed successfully with an overall increase in application rates.
According to the Seoul Office of Education, this year, 13,055 students applied for a recruitment quota of 10,292, resulting in an average application rate of 126.8%. This indicates that more students are choosing paths that reflect their personal talents and aptitudes, moving away from solely being focused on higher education.
The Meister high schools (4 schools) had 863 applicants for a recruitment quota of 540, achieving an application rate of 159.8% and a fill rate of 101.7%. The Seoul Office of Education explained that the Meister high schools have maintained a fill rate of over 100% for three consecutive years.
The specialized high schools (67 schools) saw 12,192 applications for a quota of 9,752, resulting in an application rate of 125.0% and a fill rate of 95.2%. Compared to the previous year, the application rate increased by 9.1 percentage points, and the fill rate rose by 1.4 percentage points.
By field, the highest application rates were in culture, arts, design, and broadcasting (138.5%), beauty (138.0%), food and cooking (133.1%), tourism and leisure (132.5%), and information and communication (118.7%). The education office analyzed, “Students increasingly prefer practice-oriented education focused on industries and jobs that match their talents and aptitudes.”
The Seoul Office of Education provides continuous counseling and guidance on admission to specialized and Meister high schools to help students choose the right career paths. Additionally, various promotional and career education programs support students in improving their awareness.
Major initiatives include the creation and distribution of the ‘Employment and Then University’ pre-employment learning handbook, a joint career admission briefing session for Seoul’s Meister high schools, a special lecture series titled ‘Dream Met Early, Path Found First,’ and the production and distribution of the promotional music ‘Choose As Yourself_Pick it up.’
The office is also actively promoting successful cases of graduates from specialized and Meister high schools through booklets and videos via subways and online platforms like YouTube.
In the future, the Seoul Office of Education plans to strengthen policy support to nurture specialized and Meister high schools as ‘career paths centered on aptitude and capability.’ They aim to expand the ‘pre-employment post-learning’ pathway and increase opportunities for quality employment and field-centered learning through ‘Matching Day in Seoul.’
Furthermore, the office intends to enhance career education based on school, local, and industrial cooperation and to continue providing counseling and support so that each student can proactively design a career path suited to their aptitudes and capabilities.