The opportunity to receive higher education still depends largely on the income level of parents in South Korea, a country with one of the highest college entrance rates in the world, a study showed Sunday.

The study published by the Korea Institute of Vocational Education and Training suggests that the lower the income of parents, the lower the proportion of their children attending four-year universities.

Only 41 percent of children from the lowest income quarter went to four-year colleges, while 68 percent of children from the highest income level went to colleges.

The highest percentage of children who did not go to college came from the group with the lowest income at 35 percent, while only 15 percent of children from the group with the highest income did not attend college.

The survey was conducted in 2021 by tracking 7,590 students who were high school sophomores in 2016. It also looked into how their parents' financial support had an impact on whether they entered higher education facilities.

Among the respondents who did not attend college, 53 percent of them said they believed there wouldn’t be any economic support from their parents as soon as they graduated high school. On the other hand, half of respondents who are currently attending four-year universities said they should receive full support from their parents after they graduate high school.

"The difference in the level of education according to the family's economic power suggests that environmental constraints still play a large role in an individuals' choice of higher education," said Choi Soo-hyun, a research with KRIVET.

"This problem (regarding polarized education opportunity) won't just give (a limited) impact in the field of education, but it will lead to a long-term stratification of society.”