International undergraduate admissions for Korean universities open for spring 2026
Published: 07 Jul. 2025, 10:48
Updated: 08 Jul. 2025, 19:08
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- LEE TAE-HEE
- [email protected]
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![People take photos at Seoul National University on the day of its matriculation ceremony held on Feb. 29, 2024. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/08/1d66c36f-362c-43c1-9402-84fc987f657f.jpg)
People take photos at Seoul National University on the day of its matriculation ceremony held on Feb. 29, 2024. [YONHAP]
The first wave of spring 2026 undergraduate admissions for international students is underway. Some universities have created new majors that exclusively admit international students, while Yonsei University is set to open special transfer admissions throughout the year.
Spring semester admissions for foreign nationals that wish to enroll in undergraduate programs tend to be spread out between July and October, with some of the early starters beginning to accept applications.
Seoul National University has traditionally been the university that starts admissions early, and is accepting applications for its spring 2026 international undergraduate admissions between Monday and Thursday.
Applicants are given until Friday to submit recommendation letters, with preliminary admission decisions announced on Oct. 16 and final admission decisions announced on Nov. 21.
Another institution that's set to open spring 2026 undergraduate international admissions is Hongik University, which will accept applications between July 17 and 24.
One noticeable change is that applicants will now be required to submit a personal statement and study plan.
Universities weren't allowed to require personal statements and study plans for undergraduate admissions for a few years. However, many brought them back for international admissions starting the fall 2025 intake, following the amendment to the Higher Education Act that allowed them to do so.
Hongik University has been slow to enact the change and will require personal statements and study plans starting the spring 2026 intake.
International undergraduate admissions for both Yonsei University and the university's Underwood International College (UIC), which operates different admission windows, will also open in the upcoming months.
Yonsei University will accept applications between Sept. 1 and 12, with selected students announced on Dec. 5.
Yonsei University's UIC, a popular choice for international students as the college's programs are taught in English, is set to open international undergraduate admissions between Aug. 25 and Oct. 17.
Selected applicants will go through an online interview on Dec. 12, with accepted students announced on Dec. 19.
Apart from Yonsei University's two freshmen admission windows, the university is also opening a special transfer admission window for spring 2026.
The transfer program is open to not only just foreign nationals, but also to overseas Koreans who have studied abroad for elementary, middle and high school. Applicants must also be enrolled as either a sophomore or junior at a university abroad.
Applications will be accepted between Sept. 2 and Dec. 4, with the unusually long application period reflecting the university's decision to accommodate students that may be affected by the student visa crisis in the United States.
While an admission guideline is yet to be uploaded to the university's admissions website, the university did announce a brief breakdown of how students will be evaluated.
Foreign applicants will be evaluated based on Korean language proficiency, official English test scores and the academic documents they submit, with each given a weight of 30 percent, 30 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
For overseas Koreans, the Korean language proficiency criterion will be substituted with previous university grades — also given the same weight of 30 percent.
According to the university, a detailed admission guideline will be uploaded to its admissions website around late July.
Chung-Ang University will be opening its international undergraduate admissions between Sept. 1 and 19, with selected students announced on Oct. 31.
The university operates a second application window for spring 2026, which will open between Nov. 12 and 26 and announce successful applicants on Dec. 19.
One big change for the university is the introduction of new majors, which will be open exclusively for international students.
Starting from spring 2026, the university will create the Korean Language Education & Korean Culture major under the School of Korean Language & Literature and the Global Advertising & PR major under the School of Advertising & Public Relations, which will only admit international students.
The Department of Global Interactive Convergence Content, which will include programs about the game, media and content industries, is another new department for international students that will be created in spring 2026.
BY LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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