01
Before you arrive
Understand your admission and visa route, make a realistic budget, compare accommodation and prepare the documents you'll actually need.
Study in Seoul
Make your student years in Seoul work for you.
Whether you're coming for a degree, exchange semester or language course, settling in takes more than finding a classroom. Start with the practical essentials, understand the rules around student work, and plan the next step before graduation arrives.
Practical English-language information with links to official Korean sources. Immigration rules depend on your individual status; always check before applying or working.
Photograph: Benjamin Jeary · Seoul
Choose your stage.
02
Settle into student life
Get your address, phone, bank account, transport and healthcare organised. Learn the Korean phrases that make ordinary tasks easier.
03
Work while studying
Find opportunities that fit around classes and understand when part-time employment needs advance permission. A job listing is not confirmation that you may legally accept it.
04
After graduation
Explore eligible professional employment, the D-10 job-seeking route, internships and the documents that can help you move from study to your next step.
The student guides worth bookmarking.
Start with the question you actually have today. You can always return to the bigger checklist later.
Six Ways to Be a Student in Seoul
Different students arrive with different funding, courses and responsibilities. Find the advice that matches your situation.
Read
Part-time Work That Fits Around a Degree
Understand permission, hours and the practical questions to ask before accepting work.
Read
After Graduation in Korea
A complete pathway from your final semester to a job search or qualifying employment status.
Read
Korea's International Student Boom: What Happens After Graduation?
Why student numbers tell only part of the story — and what universities, employers and graduates can do next.
ReadThree checks before you say yes to a job.
- 01
Does my current visa or residence status permit this activity?
- 02
Do the role, employer, contract and working hours fit the rules?
- 03
What permission or change of status must be approved before I begin?
Graduation is a milestone. Your next step deserves a plan.
If you hope to stay in Korea, begin with your permitted stay date and the work you want to do. Some graduates may qualify to seek professional employment under D-10; others may be able to change directly to a qualifying work-related status. Both need careful checks. Our After Graduation guide turns the process into a practical sequence without promising an outcome.
Complete standalone guide · A4 · 9 pages · Reviewed 22 October 2026
Not sure where to start?
Your university's international office should be a first point of contact for course-specific advice. For immigration decisions, check HiKorea or call 1345. Settle Seoul brings practical explanations and the official routes together in one place.
Official resources
- Settle Seoul D-10 guide · current duration comparison and eligibility
- Ministry of Justice · Job Seeker (D-10) Visa Scheme Improvements · 2 December 2025
- Study in Korea · Finding employment
- HiKorea · Verify your own status and permissions · 1345
- Korea Visa Portal
Online-only · Reviewed 22 October 2026. The Ministry of Justice's newer D-10 announcement applies to eligible Korean-university graduates; older Study in Korea summaries still state two years. Verify the rules for your own application with HiKorea or 1345.