Korean Universities Slip in Asian Rankings

Several Korean universities' rankings slipped in this year's Asian tally by Quacquarelli Symonds, which was carried out jointly with the Chosun Ilbo.

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) still came third, Seoul National University eighth, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) 10th, Sungkyunkwan University 17th, Yonsei University 18th, and Korea University 19th.

Like last year, six Korean universities made it into the top 20 but the placement of most of them fell.

SNU plunged four places from last year's fourth, after rising most years since the rankings began in 2009.

KAIST, POSTECH, Yonsei and Korea Universities dropped one place each.

The rankings firm said SNU slipped in many categories, including faculty-student ratio and international staff and students. An exodus of international faculty from SNU played a role in its fall in the rankings.

This year's rankings evaluated 507 universities in 17 Asian countries.

The National University of Singapore held on to the top position for the second year, followed by the University of Hong Kong.

The overall rankings of Chinese universities are on the rise.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

How many Korean universities made it into the top 20?

Which universities dropped one place from the list?

What are the reasons why Korean universities slipped ranking from the list?