Study in Korea, without the degree.
A semester, a year, or a summer on a Korean campus is a real, well-mapped path with three ways in. Find your route below, or start with the complete exchange guide.
Three ways in
The paths compared
| Partner exchange | Visiting student | Summer school | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who applies | Nominated by a partner home university | You, directly | You, directly |
| Korean tuition | None (tuition swap) | Full host tuition | Per course, 1.2M to 4.1M KRW |
| Length | 1 or 2 semesters | 1 or 2 semesters, max 1 year | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Visa | D-2-6 | D-2-8 | Often C-3-1 or visa-free (K-ETA) |
| Apply when | Sep to Nov for Spring, Mar to May for Fall | Similar windows, sometimes earlier | Spring, for a late-June start |
Summer schools, 2026 cycle
Verified against each program's official site. Missing cells mean the figure was not published or not yet verified: check the official page.
| Program | 2026 dates | Tuition (KRW) | App fee | Housing (KRW) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Yonsei University · Seoul | Jun 29 to Jul 22 (4-week) or Jun 29 to Aug 5 (6-week), 2026 | 2,020,000 - 4,130,000 KRW1 to 3 courses; early-bird pricing is about 10% lower | 100,000 | - |
Seoul National University · Seoul | See official site | 1,200,000 - 3,348,000 KRW1 course (2 credits) to 9 credits; 20% early-registration discount by Apr 5, 7% off for 5+ credits | 200,000 | 1,100,000 KRWoptional on-campus dormitory, meals not included |
Korea University · Seoul | Jun 27 to Jul 24 (4-week) or Jun 27 to Aug 6 (6-week), 2026 | 1,790,000 - 3,700,000 KRW1 to 3 courses | 100,000 | 664,500 - 1,616,000 KRWon-campus, 29 to 42 nights by room type; bedding included |
Sungkyunkwan University · Seoul | Jun 26 to Jul 24, 2026 | 1,760,000 - 3,740,000 KRW1 to 3 courses | 100,000 | 990,000 KRWdormitory for the term; group insurance 50,000 KRW extra |
Ewha Womans University · Seoul | Session 1: Jun 26 to Jul 23; Session 2: Aug 4 to 18, 2026 | 1,800,000 - 3,000,000 KRWby session and course count; early-bird discounts of 100,000 to 300,000 KRW | 100,000 | 730,000 - 1,300,000 KRWon-campus, by session and room type |
Hanyang University · Seoul | See official site | 2,000,000 - 2,300,000 KRWpartner vs non-partner rate, before the program's own tuition scholarships | 100,000 | - |
Deadlines fall in March to May and early-bird discounts close earlier. Full detail, including the sub-90-day visa question, in the summer schools guide.
Direct-apply visiting programs
Semester-length, fee-paying, and open without a university partnership. KAIST, notably, runs no fee-paying visiting semester: its inbound exchange is partner-only.
| Program | Tuition (KRW) | Application window | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host tuition; see official site | Sep 10 for Spring, Mar 10 for Fall (earlier than the exchange track) | Pay SNU tuition directly; GPA 2.5/4.0 (UG) or 3.0/4.0 (grad) after at least one completed semester. Visiting students are not eligible for on-campus housing or SNU scholarships, and no language certificate is required. Application fee 82,000 KRW. | |
| 5,500,000 KRWper semester, paid to Korea University | Apr 1 to 30 for Fall, Oct 1 to 31 for Spring (KST) | No home-university nomination needed; GPA 2.5/4.0 and at least 2 completed semesters (1 for transfer students). | |
| Host tuition; see official site | See official site | Yonsei runs a direct visiting track alongside partner exchange for a semester or a year; windows and fees are published per cycle on the OIA site. | |
| Host tuition; see official site | Apr 15 to May 15 for Fall, Oct 15 to Nov 15 for Spring | Fee-paying visiting students apply directly with no nomination; exchange applicants need home-university nomination first. |
Government-linked funding, honestly
Three programs put real money behind exchange semesters, and none of them take open applications, so read the eligibility before you get attached. The GKS exchange grant pays selected incoming exchange students 630,000 KRW a month for one semester plus airfare; your Korean host university must operate the program and recommend you. DUO-Korea pays 4,000 EUR per person for paired Korea-Europe partner exchanges, applied for by the Korean university. CAMPUS Asia runs consortium-based exchange among Korean, Japanese, and Chinese member universities. If your universities participate, these are excellent; if not, they are not your route.
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