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🎓 Top Research Universities in South Korea

Universities and colleges in South Korea ranked by the total citations their research has received (OpenAlex).

📅 2026📏 citations50 entries🇰🇷 See all of this country’s rankings →
Every dot is one entry, placed by its value (citations); the vertical bar marks each row’s median.
1
Seoul National University278,535 papers
26,436,715
2
Yonsei University181,975 papers
14,483,144
3
Sungkyunkwan University131,030 papers
12,445,046
4
Korea University131,312 papers
10,357,288
5
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology117,991 papers
9,612,150
6
University of Ulsan67,178 papers
6,303,455
7
Hanyang University95,650 papers
6,095,596
8
Pohang University of Science and Technology54,989 papers
5,947,618
9
Kyungpook National University77,764 papers
5,753,333
10
Kyung Hee University80,111 papers
5,148,558
11
Pusan National University73,958 papers
4,498,475
12
Chonnam National University60,059 papers
4,160,343
13
Catholic University of Korea59,124 papers
3,793,973
14
Jeonbuk National University50,242 papers
3,202,100
15
Ewha Womans University46,370 papers
3,156,463
16
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology23,582 papers
2,909,466
17
Konkuk University43,910 papers
2,882,371
18
Chungnam National University57,916 papers
2,832,842
19
Inha University48,627 papers
2,557,091
20
Gyeongsang National University37,654 papers
2,357,821
21
Chung-Ang University49,476 papers
2,330,152
22
Ajou University43,499 papers
2,251,898
23
Yeungnam University42,988 papers
2,250,919
24
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology24,906 papers
2,068,645
25
Kangwon National University37,303 papers
1,872,427
26
Chungbuk National University39,305 papers
1,828,682
27
Sejong University31,433 papers
1,802,308
28
Korea University of Science and Technology26,886 papers
1,576,051
29
Hallym University25,815 papers
1,489,166
30
Dongguk University27,422 papers
1,459,507
31
Pukyong National University28,640 papers
1,229,433
32
Inje University22,655 papers
1,229,008
33
University of Seoul15,541 papers
1,188,623
34
Gachon University27,814 papers
1,115,457
35
Dankook University25,628 papers
1,063,462
36
Soonchunhyang University23,054 papers
1,034,870
37
Jeju National University20,518 papers
1,018,126
38
CHA University15,196 papers
882,771
39
Sogang University19,279 papers
865,805
40
Chosun University22,907 papers
864,637
41
Dong-A University17,693 papers
804,647
42
Wonkwang University15,681 papers
796,501
43
Keimyung University18,950 papers
715,349
44
Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology10,259 papers
700,419
45
Kwangwoon University14,073 papers
627,263
46
Myongji University9,853 papers
532,370
47
Kookmin University14,109 papers
531,654
48
Soongsil University15,940 papers
516,828
49
Incheon National University14,843 papers
502,158
50
Korea Institute of Materials Science6,803 papers
498,437

Highlights

Within South Korea, Seoul National University ranks first in 2026 with 26,436,715, followed by Yonsei University (14,483,144) and Sungkyunkwan University (12,445,046).

Seoul National University is 1.8 times higher than Yonsei University, the runner-up.

Across 50 entries, values run from 26,436,715 (Seoul National University) to 498,437 (Korea Institute of Materials Science), with a median of 1,850,555.

Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers, 2026. Unit: citations.

Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers · CC0 1.0 (OpenAlex) · fetched Oct 13, 2026 — Counts every citation to papers by authors affiliated with the institution, so large and old universities score high. It measures research impact, not teaching quality.