An increasing number of aspiring doctors in Korea have moved to Hungary to study and then returned home to acquire medical licenses here for the last 20 years, according to Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, Friday.
She said medical colleges in the Philippines were popular among aspiring doctors in Korea until the early 2000s, but the preference has shifted to schools in Hungary.
According to documents the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute submitted to Rep. Shin, 409 people have taken national examinations for doctors in Korea after graduating from medical colleges overseas from 2001 to 2023. Among them, 247 passed the exams.
Among the exam takers, the number of graduates of medical schools in Hungary was the highest at 119, followed by 106 from colleges in the Philippines, 38 from colleges in Uzbekistan, 23 from British colleges, 22 from German colleges, 18 from Australian colleges, 15 from U.S. colleges, 12 from Paraguayan colleges, 11 from Russian colleges, six from Japanese colleges and five from Ukrainian colleges.
From 2001 to 2005, those who studied in the Philippines accounted for the highest proportion at 105 among the medical exam takers.
Rep. Shin cited the acceptance rate of the state exam as one of the major reasons for the change in preference among Korean students for medical schools overseas.
From 2001 to 2023, the acceptance pass rate for those who studied in the Philippines stood at only 18 percent, while the rate for those who studied in Hungary was 82 percent.
In 2015, only one person took the state exam for doctors in Korea after graduating from a Hungarian medical school and the number has consistently increased from eight in 2016 to 18 in 2023.
On the other hand, 34 applicants took the exam after studying in the Philippines in 2001, and this number has decreased from 17 in 2003 to one in 2009. Since then, there has been no medical exam taker who studied in that country.
Source: aktaiopost
