Korean language programs in Korea
In short
- A term
- 10 weeks, 4 terms a year, at all 14 university institutes listed here.
- Tuition
- 1,300,000 to 1,860,000 won a term at 14 university language institutes, as their own pages printed it on October 12, 2026; 2 already print a higher fee for 2027.
- Visa
- Language trainees staying over 90 days apply for a D-4-1 visa: documents and proof of funds
On a GKS scholarship? NIIED places you and pays the language year: GKS scholar visa
What does a term cost?
The 8 universities in Seoul and the 6 outside Seoul with the most language trainees on April 1, 2025 (Ministry of Education; branch schools are counted apart). Regular daytime course, as each institute's own page printed it on October 12, 2026. The one-time fee is the application or admission fee the school names, added together where it names both; what tuition includes differs by school.
Seoul
| University | Tuition per term | One-time fee | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yonsei University (opens in a new tab) | 1,860,000 won | 120,000 won | 2027: 1,960,000 won |
| Chung-Ang University (opens in a new tab) | 1,700,000 won | 100,000 won | Da Vinci Campus (Anseong) 1,500,000 won |
| Dongguk University (opens in a new tab) | 1,800,000 won | 100,000 won | |
| Hanyang University (opens in a new tab) | 1,850,000 won | 150,000 won | |
| Sejong University (opens in a new tab) | 1,650,000 won | 100,000 won | |
| Sogang University (opens in a new tab) | 1,860,000 won | 100,000 won | afternoon class 1,800,000 won |
| Seoul National University (opens in a new tab) | 1,800,000 won | 100,000 won | afternoon class 1,650,000 won |
| Korea University (opens in a new tab) | 1,800,000 won | 120,000 won |
Outside Seoul
| University | Tuition per term | One-time fee | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keimyung University (opens in a new tab) | 1,300,000 won | 100,000 won | Daegu |
| Gachon University (opens in a new tab) | 1,400,000 won | 70,000 won | Gyeonggi |
| Ajou University (opens in a new tab) | 1,500,000 won | 100,000 won | Gyeonggi · 2027: 1,550,000 won |
| Dong-A University (opens in a new tab) | 1,300,000 won | 50,000 won | Busan |
| Sun Moon University (opens in a new tab) | 1,400,000 won | 150,000 won | South Chungcheong |
| Hannam University (opens in a new tab) | 1,400,000 won | 70,000 won | Daejeon |
Application dates change every term; each link opens the institute's own page, in Korean.
What do the institutes ask of applicants?
- Class hours
- 12 of the 14 institutes state 200 hours a term; the other 2 state no such total.
- Visa-free study
- 5 of the 14 institutes say study within a visa-free stay needs no study visa, where your nationality may stay 90 days without a visa. The visa manual's table of visa-waiver agreements excludes study for Russia, Lithuania, and Dominican Republic.
Terms and bank balance
- Number of terms
- 7 of the 14 institutes say a D-4-1 applicant registers for at least 2 terms, 2 of them setting the number by nationality; 1 other asks for 4. The period can be adjusted for a student who has a guarantor in Korea and submits the required papers, that institute says. These are the institutes' rules, not the visa manual's.
- Bank balance
- Institutes ask for their own figure with your application: 8,000,000 won, 10,000,000 won, or USD 10,000 depending on the school. Some differ by where you live.
Is the school certified?
On the Government's list of February 12, 2026, 123 language programmes are certified, all 14 here among them. At an uncertified university the visa check also covers the university's management and the applicant's schooling and funds, the same release says. At 4 schools, visas are in principle not issued to new language trainees starting between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027:
Daegu Haany University · Howon University · Sangji University · Mokpo Science University
Sources
StudySunbae is independent of every university and of the Korean Government; each figure on this page is quoted from a listed source or from the institute's own pages.