Korean Language Institutes 2026: Yonsei, SNU, Korea, Kyung Hee, Sogang, Ewha, PNU Fees per Term (₩1.4M–1.86M), 2027 Dates, D-4-1 Rules — Calculator

A university Korean language institute, 어학당 (eohakdang), teaches in ten-week terms of 200 class hours (four hours a day, five days a week), four terms a year, and in 2026 the Seoul institutes charge ₩1,710,000–1,860,000 a term — Yonsei ₩1,860,000, Seoul National and Korea ₩1,800,000, Kyung Hee ₩1,850,000 — with Pusan National at ₩1,400,000. The application fee is ₩120,000, textbooks are extra, and a D-4-1 visa requires at least 2 terms. A year of four terms in Seoul with a one-room comes to roughly ₩22.5M all-in; the calculator builds that figure for your institute, term count and housing.

Fees per term, 2026

Institute	Per 10-week term (2026)	Notes
Yonsei University KLI	₩1,860,000	the reference price; application ₩120,000
Seoul National University LEI	₩1,800,000 (morning regular)	afternoon ₩1,650,000; academic-purpose track ₩1,450,000; pay by the Friday eight weeks before term
Korea University KLC	₩1,800,000	application ₩120,000; D-4 applicants show ₩10,000,000 issued within a month
Kyung Hee University IIE	₩1,850,000 + ₩20,000 insurance	fall 2026 notice
Sogang University	about ₩1,830,000–1,860,000	known for speaking-heavy classes; official 2026 sheet not published online
Ewha Womans University	about ₩1,710,000	strict attendance rules (below)
Pusan National University	₩1,400,000 (2025)	afternoon ₩1,260,000; textbooks and tests included; the regional discount is real

Textbooks are extra everywhere except Pusan National — one book per level. Fees have moved with tuition generally: the ₩1.6M term that older guides quote is now ₩1.8M–1.87M at the major Seoul institutes. The differences between Seoul institutes are small enough that the choice should turn on teaching style, class size, dorm access and location rather than price; the choice between Seoul and a regional city is worth ₩400,000 a term plus half the rent.

How a term works, and the 2027 calendar

Every institute runs four terms — spring, summer, fall, winter — of ten weeks, 200 hours, in six levels that map roughly onto TOPIK 1–6 (Part 1). Application deadlines fall six to seven weeks before the first day, and institutes ask for documents two to four weeks before the deadline because the visa paperwork (Part 3) starts from their admission letter. Yonsei has already published 2027:

Yonsei KLI term	Application deadline	Classes begin
Winter 2026	2026-10-16	2026-12-01
Spring 2027	2027-01-15	2027-03-05
Summer 2027	2027-04-16	2027-06-03
Fall 2027	2027-07-16	2027-09-01
Winter 2027	2027-10-15	2027-12-01

Other institutes follow the same rhythm; check the institute's own page, not a third-party site, because a missed deadline costs a whole term.

Visa and attendance rules

The D-4-1 (Part 3) requires enrolment in at least 2 consecutive terms at application, a bank balance of ₩10,000,000 (capital region) or ₩8,000,000 (elsewhere), and allows at most 2 years of language study in total. Extensions cost about ₩60,000 in person or ₩50,000 online and are granted term by term against your attendance.

Attendance, 출석률 (chulseongnyul), is where language students lose their visas. The Ministry of Justice rule is that attendance under 70% requires a written explanation and two consecutive terms under 70% mean the extension is refused. Institutes are stricter: Ewha dismisses a D-4 student after 10 unexcused absences or 15 total absences out of 50 class days, with departure from Korea within 14 days and no refund; Hongik cancels below 80% attendance or after failing the same level three times (about). Part-time work on a D-4-1 is possible only after six months, at 20 hours a week with TOPIK 2 (Part 4), which is another reason the attendance record matters — the international office signs off on the permit.

Housing: the dorm problem

Language institutes have far fewer beds than students. Yonsei's KLI houses about 10% of enrolment, first come first served; Korea University offers new KLC students a Frontier Hall double at ₩1,450,000 for the first term only; Seoul National's campus dorms are the cheapest in the city and correspondingly hard to get; Ewha's I-House takes some language students. From the second term most students are in a goshiwon (₩300,000–500,000 a month, no deposit) or a one-room (₩625,000 a month plus ₩84,000 utilities near Seoul campuses, ₩10M deposit) — the tuition and living costs article has the district-by-district rents, and the ARC guide explains why you need the room address before you can register.

Run the calculator for Yonsei, four terms, a Seoul one-room and ₩500,000 a month for everything else: tuition ₩7,440,000, application ₩120,000, housing ₩8,508,000, NHIS ₩475,920 for the six insured months, living ₩6,000,000 — about ₩22,543,920, or ₩1,878,660 a month. The minimum D-4-1 plan — Korea University, two terms, a dorm double — comes to about ₩10,170,000, with no NHIS premium inside the first six months.

Free and cheap alternatives

If the visa is not the point — you are already on a D-2, an F-visa, or a working visa — the university institute is the expensive option.

• KIIP, 사회통합프로그램 (Sahoe Tonghap Peurogeuraem), the Ministry of Justice's Social Integration Program: 515 hours free (stage 0 of 15 hours, stages 1–4 of 100 hours each, stage 5 of 100 hours), placement by a pre-test on socinet.go.kr or by TOPIK level, open to registered foreigners including D-2 and D-4 holders. Stage completion counts as the Korean requirement for part-time work, scores F-2-7 points, and stage 5 is the language route to permanent residence that TOPIK is not. Textbooks are the only cost.
• Online King Sejong Institute, 세종학당 (Sejong Hakdang), at iksi.or.kr: free structured courses with certificates that also satisfy the part-time-work requirement.
• University evening and community courses, and the multicultural family centers run by cities, offer low-cost conversation classes.

None of these issues a D-4-1, and none gives the immersion of 20 hours a week in a classroom, which is what you are paying ₩1.8M a term for.

How the calculator works

1. Tuition = per-term fee × terms; the application fee (₩120,000) is added once.
2. Months = terms × 3 (a ten-week term plus its break). Housing = monthly option × months, or the per-term dorm midpoint × terms.
3. NHIS = ₩79,320 × (months − 6), never below zero, reflecting the D-4-1 six-month wait.
4. Living = your monthly figure × months. Total and per-month figures follow; the ₩10M one-room deposit is not included.

Common mistakes

• Budgeting ₩1.6M a term. Major Seoul institutes are ₩1.8M–1.87M in 2026.
• Enrolling for one term on a D-4-1. Two terms minimum, with the balance certificate to match.
• Treating 70% attendance as the real floor. Immigration's is 70%; your institute's is higher, and it decides first.
• Assuming a dorm for the year. One term at best; have the goshiwon or one-room plan ready.
• Paying for classes you could get free. On any non-D-4 status, KIIP delivers 515 hours for the price of the textbooks.

Next, the last part: what to do in your final semester — D-10, E-7, F-2 and the other routes after graduation.