Cost of Studying in South Korea (2027) for International Students

South Korea admits international students into a mostly Korean-taught higher education system built around two intakes, Spring in March and a smaller Fall in September, alongside a growing number of English-taught programmes. National universities such as Seoul National University and KAIST charge international students the same tuition as Korean students, while private universities generally set a separate, higher schedule; POSTECH funds every admitted freshman's first-semester tuition in full. International students hold a D-2 student visa, can work part time with prior permission, and a graduate of a Korean institution can generally move to a D-10 job-seeking visa for up to two years after finishing.

Verified 7 Sep 2026 Sources

Tuition is set by each university, not nationally, and depends more on whether the university is public or private than on nationality. Seoul National University and KAIST, both national universities, charge the same tuition to Korean and international students: SNU sets it per college, from about KRW 2,442,000 a semester in the humanities to KRW 5,038,000 for medicine's clinical years, and KAIST charges one flat rate, KRW 3,433,000 a semester for undergraduates and KRW 9,559,000 for graduate students. Private universities set a separate, generally higher, schedule for international students: this project's own sample found undergraduate ranges from about KRW 4,303,400 a semester at the low end (Kyung Hee) to over KRW 9,221,000 at the high end (Yonsei's School of Integrated Technology). POSTECH is a further exception: every admitted freshman, Korean or international, receives a full first-semester tuition scholarship, so its effective undergraduate tuition is zero. Undergraduate application fees commonly run from KRW 70,000 to KRW 200,000, generally non-refundable once paid.

Living costs, per the government's own Study in Korea portal, run from about KRW 750,000 to KRW 1,000,000 a month outside tuition, made up of roughly KRW 500,000 to 700,000 for housing, KRW 200,000 to 300,000 for food, KRW 50,000 to 100,000 for transport, and KRW 100,000 to 200,000 for phone, internet and health insurance combined; costs run higher in Seoul than in smaller cities. International students applying for a D-2 visa are commonly asked to show a bank balance of at least KRW 20,000,000 (about USD 15,000), a figure this project found stated consistently on university-run visa guidance pages rather than on one single central government notice.