The object of this study is the characteristics of the development of the present-day national education systems in two leading economies of the Asia-Pacific region (APR), Japan and the Republic of Korea (Korea). Its main purpose is a comparative analysis of the aspect of the state's education policy dealing with enhancing the national markets for educational services by means of internationalization. The study's methodology is founded on the analysis of the logic behind the development of the national education systems based on an evolutionary approach that is inclusive of history, culture, demographic policy, the market for educational services, and the idea of integration of education systems. The authors employ classification and comparative analysis. They use as source information open data from the official websites of companies specializing in worldwide university rankings and of institutions dealing with education, culture, sports, and technology in Japan and Korea. Results and discussion. Over the last couple of decades, the development of the education system in Korea has been distinguished by a revolutionary and innovative spirit, propelling the nation into leading positions within the education market in the APR. The Korean government is encouraging the nation's colleges to take on a primary role as regional centers engaged in the production of new knowledge and skills, which may help drive technological and regional growth throughout the APR. Based on the World University Rankings, South Korea is currently ranked 9th and Japan 10th globally in higher education. Conclusion. The findings of the authors' analysis of the major aspects of the internationalization of the education systems indicate that both in Korea and in Japan the process of education internationalization is increasingly gaining momentum. The reasons here are pretty much the same--globalization and demographic declines. The two systems differ in that in Korea preference is given to the scientific component of universities, while in Japan it is the development of the educational segment. In Korea, international education is entirely regulated by the state, while Japan's current internationalization model is transitive--there is a shift taking place from government regulation to market freedom. The prospects for the continuation of this research, apparently, lie in expanding the cross-border networked interaction of APR universities.