China has removed 15 Korean universities from its list of recognized overseas higher education institutions, raising fresh concerns in Korea’s academic community, where Chinese students make up one of the largest shares of foreign students in the country. The Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE), a body under China’s Ministry of Education that certifies foreign degrees for use in the domestic job market and civil service recruitment, updated its list of accredited overseas institutions in late October, striking 270 schools worldwide, including 15 from Korea. Among the Korean institutions removed are Korea National Open University, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Mokpo National University and Chungbuk Provincial University, according to sources in the local education sector. A number of the delisted schools are regional universities struggling with financial pressure and demographic decline, but the latest update also affected national universities. The removal means these universities are effectively shut out of the Chinese student market. The CSCSE will no lon