SEOUL, South Korea, January 27, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Kyung Hee University has reinforced its position as one of the top universities in South Korea, securing the fifth place among comprehensive universities in the country and reaching 252nd globally in the 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. The university’s 33-place improvement from the previous year marks a milestone in its trajectory of academic excellence, global recognition, and institutional innovation.

In addition, the university also achieved 39th in Asia and fifth among private universities in South Korea in the 2026 QS Asia University Rankings. Being recognized by both THE and QS reflects not only international credibility but also Kyung Hee’s long-term strategic execution and performance-oriented approach.

This achievement is based on significant progress across various performance metrics. Notably, the university's Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI), a key indicator of research influence, rose from 1.37 in 2019 to 1.42 in 2024. This means Kyung Hee’s research output is cited 42% more often than the global average. Within the top 25% of most-cited papers, the FWCI increased even further, from 1.36 to 1.54 over the same period, placing Kyung Hee third among Korean universities in this elite citation category.

The total volume of published academic papers also increased sharply, from 16,023 in 2019 to 20,934 in 2024. Alongside this quantitative growth, the university has shown qualitative gains, with the share of papers in the global top 10% by citation rising from 11.5% to 14.2%. These results are reflected in Korea’s national university rankings, where Kyung Hee has consistently moved up due to its strong research performance.

Kyung Hee University’s research is particularly strong in medicine, health sciences, engineering, natural sciences, and basic sciences. Research teams have made significant contributions in digital health, global disease epidemiology, oncology, geriatrics, robotics, environmental monitoring, and next-generation semiconductors. These strengths support the university’s vision of becoming a "true university of future" that links fundamental discovery with global application.

International collaboration has also played a crucial role in Kyung Hee’s improved Korea university rank. The proportion of international co-authored papers rose from 29.8% in 2019 to 38.1% in 2024, placing the university third nationally in this category. The average FWCI of these collaborations reached 2.63, demonstrating high-impact outcomes from global partnerships.