In July this year, a Korean tourist walked into a school in Fort Kochi to wait for a friend, and left it stunned. A student there struck up a conversation with her — in fluent Korean. The video went viral within days, the kind of clip that gets forwarded across a dozen Kerala family WhatsApp groups before anyone quite knows why.
It's not really a mystery why, though. A generation of Kerala teenagers has grown up on K-dramas and K-pop, absorbing enough Korean along the way that a schoolgirl in Fort Kochi speaking it fluently is surprising, but not baffling. The culture arrived first, informally, through phones and playlists. The formal recognition arrived more recently, and from an unexpected direction: this year, Seoul was ranked the world's number one city for students, for the second year running.
A Region on the Rise, Not Just One City
The QS Best Student Cities 2027 ranking — a genuinely rigorous exercise, assessing 150 cities on university quality, employer links, affordability, and student experience — placed Seoul first, Tokyo second, and London third. But the more interesting story sits just beneath the headline. Independent analysis of the same data points to something bigger than any single city's win: Asia-Pacific cities are climbing as a region, while several North American and some European cities are sliding, and affordability is the factor doing most of the explaining. Boston, San Francisco, and Washington DC all lost ground specifically on cost. Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa fell too.
For a Kerala family currently weighing options, that's not trivia. It's a genuine shift in where the smart money — and the smart universities — are pointing.
Korea: The Number One City, Backed by Real Numbers
Seoul's top ranking isn't a fluke or a one-year blip. South Korea's own government had set a target of 300,000 international students by 2027; it blew past that goal roughly two years early, crossing 314,000 by early this year. Behind the ranking sits real infrastructure Kerala students can actually access — English-taught programmes at recognised universities, and the Global Korea Scholarship, which can cover full tuition, a living stipend, flights, and a year of language training for eligible students. It's one of the more genuinely generous international scholarships available anywhere, not a marketing line.
Tokyo: The Second Name Nobody Mentions First
Tokyo sits directly behind Seoul in the same ranking — second globally, ahead of London, ahead of every other city on this list. It rarely gets said in the same breath as "study abroad" in Kerala the way Seoul increasingly does, and that's worth noticing on its own: a city ranked this highly, with genuinely world-class universities and one of the safest, most efficiently run urban environments anywhere, still isn't part of most Kerala families' shortlist conversation. We work with partner universities in Japan directly, and interest here tends to follow a familiar pattern — it usually starts with language and culture, the way it has for Korea, before it turns into a real academic question. It's part of why, alongside our Korean language offerings, IRS Group recently added Japanese language courses too.
Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur's Quiet Climb
Kuala Lumpur doesn't get Seoul's headline, but it moved up eight places to 15th in the same ranking — a real, measurable rise, not a rounding error. For Kerala specifically, Malaysia's appeal has always run a little deeper than rankings anyway: it's close, culturally familiar, and lets students earn degrees from University of Nottingham, Monash, or Southampton — through their Malaysian campuses — at a fraction of what the same degree costs in the UK or Australia directly. Kuala Lumpur's climb is simply the rest of the world starting to notice what Kerala families already suspected.
Australia: Two Cities in the Top Five
Melbourne came in 4th globally, and Sydney tied for 5th — genuinely elite positions in a ranking of 150 cities worldwide. That's worth sitting with for a moment, given how much of Kerala's Australia conversation still centres on visa headlines and intake dates rather than the underlying strength of its university cities. Both rankings are earned the same way Korea's is — strong universities, real employer connections, and a student experience that holds up to scrutiny, not just marketing.
Interest Doesn't Stay Still
This shift isn't limited to Korea, Japan, Malaysia, or Australia specifically — it's part of something broader happening across Kerala's relationship with East Asia generally. None of it is coincidence. When a region's culture becomes familiar — through dramas, music, language, or simply enough friends and cousins who've already gone — its universities stop feeling foreign by the time a family is ready to seriously consider them.
A Note from IRS Study Abroad, Kottayam
A viral video won't decide where your child studies, and neither should a ranking on its own. But when a world-recognised ranking, a government scholarship programme, and a schoolgirl's fluent Korean all happen to be pointing in the same direction, it's worth at least having the conversation. We work with real partner universities across Korea, Malaysia, and Australia, and can help you weigh whether one of these increasingly well-ranked destinations fits your goals and budget better than the more obvious choices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Seoul really ranked the world's best city for students?
Yes — according to the QS Best Student Cities 2027 ranking, Seoul holds the top spot for the second consecutive year, ahead of Tokyo and London, based on university quality, employer activity, affordability, and student experience.
Why is Kuala Lumpur's ranking climb relevant if I'm not considering Malaysia?
It's a sign of a broader pattern: Asia-Pacific cities are rising across the board in global student rankings, largely driven by affordability, at a time when several well-known Western cities are losing ground on cost. It's worth knowing even if Malaysia specifically isn't on your shortlist.
Are Melbourne and Sydney really among the world's best student cities?
Yes — Melbourne ranked 4th and Sydney tied for 5th globally in the same 2027 ranking, reflecting genuinely strong university quality and employer connections, not just general popularity.
Does a city's ranking matter more than a specific university's reputation?
Both matter, for different reasons. A city ranking reflects the overall student experience — safety, affordability, job prospects, student life — while a university's own reputation matters more for the specific degree and academic outcomes. It's worth weighing both together, not choosing one over the other.
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