Daegu Metropolitan City on May 12 announced its launch of a project to attract more international students and help them find jobs in Korea. Shown is the campus of Kyungpook National University in the city's Buk-gu District. (Kyungpook National University)

By Charles Audouin

Daegu Metropolitan City on May 12 announced a program to help international students in Korea from recruiting to employment.

The country's No. 4 city seeks to raise the number of such students in Daegu to 10,000 by 2028, up from 5,951 last year.

Daegu and universities will jointly run initiatives to achieve this goal.

They include intensive training in the Korean language for study and living in the Greater Daegu area and joint efforts for curriculums that meet regional demand.

The city will systematically identify and manage the job search needs of such students and labor demand by regional companies so that the students can find jobs.

Other programs will cover areas like education, counseling, mentoring and cultural programs for adaptation to life in Daegu and vicinity.

From the second half of this year, a one-stop support center will help foreign students and a "base center" will systematically run Korean-language education.

"We are thoroughly preparing for the era of 10,000 international students," the city said in a statement. "We will lay the basis for them to become outstanding talent in regional industries and stable members of our regional community."

caudouin@korea.kr