Study in Korea from Japan

Visas are filed at the Korean embassy in Tokyo or at a consulate general, and you must use the office whose area covers where you live. The embassy in Tokyo covers Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Tochigi, Ibaraki and Gunma; the consulate general in Yokohama covers Kanagawa, Shizuoka and Yamanashi; Fukuoka covers Kyushu and Okinawa. Check the embassy's visa page for your own prefecture.

Japanese passport holders can currently enter Korea for short stays without applying for K-ETA (the exemption runs until 31 December 2026), but that does not cover a degree (D-2) or language course (D-4). For those you need a study visa before you travel.

Japan is not on Korea's list of tuberculosis high-risk countries, so Japanese applicants are normally not asked for a TB certificate. The list is updated by the Ministry of Justice, so confirm with your university or the embassy before you apply.

Japan is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan can issue an apostille instead of a consular legalization. Documents from national and public schools are public documents and can go straight to the Ministry; documents from private schools are private documents and normally need a notary's certification (and the Legal Affairs Bureau's confirmation) first. Check with your target university which documents and translations it wants.

The Ministry of Justice sets no fixed amount: you must show one year of tuition plus living costs (six months for a D-4 language course), and your university states the figure in its admission guide. A large deposit made right before applying can be questioned as borrowed money, so keep the balance settled in your account.

We have not found a verified, active association or group of Japanese students in Korea that we can point you to. Until we do, your university's international office is the best place to ask, and we would rather say so than link to something we can't check.