South Korea
One of the most digitally advanced societies in the world, where everything from public transport to street food ordering runs through your phone. Seoul is a city that never slows down, with a pop culture scene, nightlife, and food culture that rival any capital in Asia. Outside Seoul, cities like Busan offer a completely different side of Korea with coastline, mountains, and a more relaxed pace.
Universities
Average Monthly Costs (CHF)
Rent
CHF 288
Food
CHF 175
Transport
CHF 37
Fun
CHF 139
Averaged across profiled universities, converted at exchange rates as of 2026-08-14. Set your home currency under My Profile.
Climate
Fall semester (Sep-Nov)
15.4°C
Spring semester (Mar-May)
11.6°C
Average temperature in Seoul (2024), source: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API.
Visa
Exchange students need a D-2-6 visa, the exchange subtype of the D-2 student visa. Everything hinges on the Certificate of Admission (표준입학허가서) from your host university, usually issued two to three months before departure. You apply in person at a Korean embassy or consulate, and processing takes two to four weeks. The fee is typically USD 60 single entry for stays over 90 days and USD 90 multiple entry. Proof of funds is required with no published minimum: universities set the figure from annually updated Ministry of Justice standards, often USD 5,000 per semester or USD 10,000 per year, and your host university's number is the binding one. Visa-free entry for 90 days, K-ETA exempt until 31 December 2026, covers tourism only and cannot be converted into a D-2, so the visa must be in your passport before you fly. Within 90 days of arrival you register for a Residence Card at your local immigration office via HiKorea, for KRW 30,000 cash. Since the D-2-6 is normally single entry, regional travel before it arrives can leave you unable to re-enter. Registration also enrols you in National Health Insurance, mandatory for D-2 holders since March 2021, at roughly KRW 76,000 a month after the 50 percent student reduction.
South Korea concentrates 51.7 million people and the world's 14th-largest economy on half a peninsula, with roughly half the country living in the Seoul metropolitan area, one of the largest urban regions on earth. Daily life runs at maximum convenience: 24-hour convenience stores on every corner, one transit card covering subway, bus, and taxi, and delivery apps that bring almost anything within the hour. One practical note: Google Maps barely works for navigation there, locals use Naver Map or KakaoMap instead. Culturally you land in the middle of the wave that exports K-pop, dramas, and film worldwide, yet on the ground centuries-old palaces sit between skyscrapers, social life revolves around shared Korean BBQ and a cafe on practically every block, and the nightlife runs until sunrise: Hongdae with its student crowd and live music scene, Itaewon with its international mix. Eating out stays affordable, and the KTX high-speed train puts Busan two and a half hours from Seoul. The trade-offs: English gets thin outside campus and younger crowds, fine dust clouds some spring weeks, winters are properly cold, and the academic pace at Korean universities is competitive. Hangul, at least, can be read within days. Korea compresses more into one semester than most destinations manage in a year.