Starting from the early 2000s, KAIST opened its doors for the first time to full-time international students. Since then, the university has seen the coming and going of many foreigners who benefitted from their vision: becoming a global value-creative leading university. As of 2021, KAIST now boasts a diverse international community consisting of 817 students coming from 81 countries, with a steady growth of international student admits; each year, the institution welcomes new faces beaming with passion and hope. Organizations and departments dedicated to uplifting the welfare of internationals have constantly adapted and created countless initiatives that help spread global interconnectedness. They organized programs such as the International Food Festival and provided assistance to financially challenged individuals through the efforts of KAIplus, a nonprofit organization resolute in enhancing a unified KAIST, and other granting bodies.

Such undertakings were not instantly developed but were born through the woes and worries reflecting the current living situation of foreigners. Through the years, KAIST undeniably brought about the needed change to improve the lives of every student on campus. Nevertheless, within these improvements still lies the unchanging, stagnant monthly allowance given to international students amounting to 350,000 KRW. For a couple of years, KAIST International Students Association (KISA) has raised the twofold issue to the university's attention, advocating for a stipend increase due to soaring costs and causing a controversial divide concerning the academia’s constituents. 

The members of KISA’s welfare division have noted the alarming observation of price adjustments from 2009 to 2022 that mainly affects how each student would have been able to save or spend after deducting housing and meal fees to the monthly allowance. Back in 2009, international students received an allowance of 350,000 KRW, and dormitory costs started at 72,000 KRW a month, while the average cost of three meals a day in the student cafeterias amounted to 255,000 KRW monthly. The remaining surplus of 23,000 KRW could be saved or spent on something else. However, as one would refer to updates from the official dormitory website and the main website of KAIST, the cost of living and eating inside the campus has climbed by 45% and 40%, respectively. After modifications based on these reported 2022 data, students now face a net deficit of approximately 135,000 KRW. After final corrections, including limited purchasing power and a consumer price increase of 2.6% from 2021 to 2022, the minimum standard aid given to the students must equal approximately 520,000 won. 

Critics of the proposed amount tackled its unsustainability. Once the rise of the stipend’s value is enacted, the school’s budget would have to steadily accommodate the already ballooning number of internationals and their corresponding allowances. And, with KAIST’s vision of increasing the percentage of foreign students accepted to the university to 30% by 2031, the desired value appears more and more illogical. An acceptable solution is to introduce additional openings: diverse options now exist, ranging from ensuring the safety of pedestrians and passengers to assessing areas of two-vehicle buildup. On the other hand, sentiments heard from its proponents center on personal liberty and securing basic needs. To make ends meet to break even the shortfall, self-financed internationals must seek jobs offered on-campus, relying on KAIST portal posts, the new ARA webpage, or through word of mouth. Notwithstanding this, the competition for the spots is cutthroat. Acknowledging some pursuits require the facility to speak basic conversational Korean and knowing the difference between lab apprenticeships and internships are also pivotal for them in landing a lucrative position.

Before international students came to KAIST in 2007, they received over 2 million KRW each to cover initial expenses. This support dropped to 1.2 million in Spring 2009 and was completely withdrawn thereafter. What is truly troubling is that the current situation echoes that of 2009, when authorities began creating part-time positions for financially struggling foreign national students to work at the library and government working spaces after the scholarship was reduced to 200,000 KRW due to budget cuts. It is disheartening that over 14 years, there has not been significant progress in assuring foreign nationals that they can live to work and not work to live.