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University · Seoul · South Korea

Korea University

In research, Korea University stands highest in Physical Sciences (#224 of 12,888 worldwide), Engineering (#125 of 6,636 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#308 of 11,982 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Signal Processing, Hardware and Architecture and Electrical and Electronic Engineering — Signal Processing is 3.1× its share of world research.

korea.ac.krROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#227
of 28,054 · #400 all time
Rank in South Korea
#5
of 417
Research works
52k
▲ 14% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.2M
23.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
23.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
35%
world 28%

What is Korea University known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #224 of 12,888 22.7%6,001 #362
EngineeringField #125 of 6,636 22.9%2,528 #214
Health SciencesDomain #308 of 11,982 20.1%2,176 #628
MedicineField #317 of 10,443 19.6%1,896 #775
Computer ScienceField #151 of 4,667 22.5%1,432 #275
Life SciencesDomain #268 of 7,800 23.9%1,472 #558
Social SciencesDomain #452 of 10,521 35.4%1,181 #563
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #102 of 2,318 21.1%1,057 #145
Biomedical EngineeringSubfield #82 of 1,568 21.6%446 #134
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #191 of 3,579 23.0%693 #476

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Korea University sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Physical Sciences#362 #224
  2. Engineering#214 #125
  3. Health Sciences#628 #308
  4. Medicine#775 #317
  5. Computer Science#275 #151
  6. Life Sciences#558 #268
  7. Social Sciences#563 #452
  8. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#145 #102
  9. Biomedical Engineering#134 #82
  10. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#476 #191
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Korea University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Signal Processing takes 3.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Signal ProcessingSubfield · 102.8 works3.1×
  2. Hardware and ArchitectureSubfield · 34.3 works2.8×
  3. Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield · 1,056.6 works2.7×
  4. Cognitive NeuroscienceSubfield · 202.5 works2.6×
  5. Polymers and PlasticsSubfield · 110.7 works2.5×
  6. Computer Vision and Pattern RecognitionSubfield · 310.4 works2.3×
  7. CatalysisSubfield · 35.5 works2.2×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.55× its world share, 285 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.20× its world share, 693 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.93× its world share, 101 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 2.04× its world share, 359 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.89× its world share, 34 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.82× its world share, 69 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.93× its world share, 157 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.70× its world share, 1,432 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.55× its world share, 93 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.90× its world share, 190 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.56× its world share, 2,528 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.87× its world share, 470 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.90× its world share, 719 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.85× its world share, 108 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.97× its world share, 234 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.76× its world share, 40 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.54× its world share, 153 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.91× its world share, 1,896 worksMedicineNursing: 1.52× its world share, 81 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.48× its world share, 7 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.12× its world share, 38 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.50× its world share, 176 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.82× its world share, 86 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.73× its world share, 169 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.87× its world share, 288 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.31× its world share, 424 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Neuroscience, 2.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Korea University?

Ranked on the composite score, Young‐Eun Kim, Seok‐Jun Yoon and Jong‐Wha Lee lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Korea University.

  1. 1 Young‐Eun Kim South Korea · #1,721 worldwide 2.8k citations · 79 works
  2. 2 Seok‐Jun Yoon South Korea · #4,239 worldwide 4.2k citations · 60 works
  3. 3 Jong‐Wha Lee South Korea · #5,793 worldwide 1.2k citations · 67 works
  4. 4 Yong Sik Ok South Korea · #7,161 worldwide 3.3k citations · 181 works
  5. 5 Johnmarshall Reeve South Korea · #9,927 worldwide 1.4k citations · 50 works
  6. 6 Jong-Tae Lee South Korea · #13,257 worldwide 892 citations · 51 works
  7. 7 Yo Han Lee South Korea · #18,046 worldwide 940 citations · 43 works
  8. 8 Min‐Jeong Shin South Korea · #21,846 worldwide 2k citations · 37 works
  9. 9 Sang Bin Lee South Korea · #24,231 worldwide 759 citations · 105 works
  10. 10 Y.-J. Lee South Korea · #41,308 worldwide 405 citations · 46 works
All ranked researchers at Korea University

Which keywords describe research at Korea University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Deep Learning, Neural Networks, Machine Learning, Biomedical Applications, Nanomaterials, Cathode Materials, Energy Storage and Neuromorphic Computing.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Deep Learning723▲ 1.95×78 topics
  2. Machine Learning433▲ 1.22×87 topics
  3. Neural Networks420▲ 2.5×38 topics
  4. Epidemiology372◆ 0.87×126 topics
  5. Biomedical Applications267▲ 2.1×35 topics
  6. Inflammation259◆ 1.15×83 topics
  7. Nanomaterials251▲ 2.2×18 topics
  8. Nanoparticles217▲ 1.59×43 topics
  9. Oxidative Stress211▲ 1.19×60 topics
  10. Energy Storage204▲ 2.9×12 topics
  11. Nanocomposites191▲ 2.2×21 topics
  12. Cathode Materials171▲ 4.0×3 topics
  13. Graphene167▲ 2.2×11 topics
  14. Tissue Engineering159▲ 2.4×13 topics
  15. Convolutional Neural Networks157▲ 1.98×14 topics
  16. Biosensors145▲ 2.6×12 topics
  17. Metal-Organic Frameworks127▲ 2.8×6 topics
  18. Lithium-ion Batteries123▲ 2.7×3 topics
  19. Efficiency118▲ 3.6×8 topics
  20. Semiconductors115▲ 3.5×5 topics
  21. Crystal Growth112▲ 3.7×11 topics
  22. Rechargeable Batteries111▲ 3.8×2 topics
  23. Water Splitting109▲ 2.8×4 topics
  24. Nanocrystals108▲ 3.6×5 topics
  25. Semiconductor107▲ 2.9×7 topics
  26. Neuromorphic Computing107▲ 8.4×2 topics
  27. Solar Cells102▲ 4.7×7 topics
  28. Field-Effect Transistors96▲ 5.5×4 topics
  29. Nanofibers93▲ 4.0×3 topics
  30. Flexible Electronics92▲ 5.0×3 topics
  31. Synaptic Plasticity92▲ 3.9×6 topics
  32. Organic Electronics87▲ 5.5×2 topics
  33. Metal Oxides84▲ 6.2×2 topics
  34. Photovoltaics81▲ 4.5×4 topics
  35. Motor Imagery78▲ 5.9×2 topics
  36. Non-Volatile Memory77▲ 7.3×2 topics
  37. Brain-Computer Interfaces76▲ 7.3×1 topic
  38. EEG Analysis76▲ 7.3×1 topic
  39. Memristor74▲ 8.0×1 topic
  40. Resistive Switching74▲ 8.0×1 topic

Which research topics does Korea University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces, Advanced Memory and Neural Computing, Conducting polymers and applications and Perovskite Materials and Applications.

EEG and Brain-Computer I…76EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces: 76 fractional worksAdvanced Memory and Neur…74Advanced Memory and Neural Computing: 74 fractional worksConducting polymers and applications: 73 fractional worksPerovskite Materials and…68Perovskite Materials and Applications: 68 fractional worksAdvancements in Battery …67Advancements in Battery Materials: 67 fractional worksAdvanced Battery Materials and Technologies: 60 fractional worksAdvanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials: 57 fractional worksElectrocatalysts for Ene…49Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion: 49 fractional worksAdvanced Photocatalysis Techniques: 48 fractional worksSemiconductor materials and devices: 44 fractional works
Cognitive NeuroscienceElectrical and Electronic EngineeringPolymers and PlasticsBiomedical Engineering1 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces Cognitive Neuroscience 76 works
  2. 2 Advanced Memory and Neural Computing Electrical and Electronic Engineering 74 works
  3. 3 Conducting polymers and applications Polymers and Plastics 73 works
  4. 4 Perovskite Materials and Applications Electrical and Electronic Engineering 68 works
  5. 5 Advancements in Battery Materials Electrical and Electronic Engineering 67 works
  6. 6 Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies Electrical and Electronic Engineering 60 works
  7. 7 Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials Biomedical Engineering 57 works
  8. 8 Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 49 works
  9. 9 Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 48 works
  10. 10 Semiconductor materials and devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 44 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available35.4%not open64.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors22.2%domestic only77.8%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Korea University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 14% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Seoul

All research institutions in Seoul

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.