Insurance and Visa
LIVING IN KOREA
Insurance
In Korea, there is a mandatory national health insurance for everyone, including foreigners. Depending on the type of your visa, the time when the insurance becomes effective might vary. For further details, visit the NHIS website.
For example, if you come to Korea with GKS and begin with Korean classes, you will receive a D-2 visa for language studies. In this case, you will have to wait 6 months before receiving the insurance. So make sure to have one of your own for the first 6 moths, just in case.
However, if you start your degree program right away you'll probably get a D-2 visa and the insurance will become effective immediately.
GKS also covers 70% of the insurance cost.
Visa
As mentioned above, during language training and degree program you'll get D-4 and D-2 respectively. But what happens after graduation? For international students whose country participated in the Korean War, there is a special agreement (한국전 참전국 우수인재를 위한 거주(F-2) 자격 변경) which makes it possible to apply for long-term residence visa F-2. The GKS manager at your school will likely contact you in advance regarding this visa some time before graduation.
Otherwise, if you want to stay in Korea after graduation but are not eligible for F-2, you can check the list of visas on Visa Navigator below.