Opened in wartime
CBNU opened on 27 September 1951 as a two-year agricultural college, backed by local people's wish for education. It became a four-year college in 1953.
Chungbuk National University
CBNU · Cheongju
Chungbuk National University opened on 27 September 1951 as Cheongju Junior Agricultural College, during the Korean War. It has four campuses: Gaesin, Osong, Ochang and Sejong. Exchange students attend the main campus in Seowon-gu, Cheongju.
- Founded
- 1951 as a two-year agricultural college
- Campus
- Gaesin Chungdae-ro 1, Seowon-gu, Cheongju
- Dorm
- ₩840,000 to ₩1,056,000 spring 2026, by meal plan
- Money to show
- ₩5,500,000 for one semester, ₩11,000,000 for a year
Daeya79, CC BY-SA 3.0, croppedWhat CBNU is like
Things Korean students all know that are new when you arrive.
The motto
The founding ideal is NOVA APERIO (開新), Latin for opening something new. The school motto is truth, justice and pioneering.
The shield mark
Inside the shield, ㅊ and ㅂ are the first letters of Chungbuk, and 大 means a great university. The outer line stands for harmony among the members of the Gaesin community.
The bull
The symbolic animal is the bull, announced on 28 April 1981 after a choice between candidates that included the bear and the dolphin. The school links it to sincerity, perseverance, justice and pioneering.
A tree and a flower
The school tree is the zelkova, chosen for the wide shade that shelters many people. The school flower is miseon, a plant that grows only in Korea.
- Words you'll hear
- Chungbuk-dae 충북대 Short for Chungbuk National University
- Gaesin 개신 The campus area and festival name
- Hwangso 황소 The bull, the school's symbol animal
- Sugang 수강신청 Course registration
From CBNU's official English history and about pages, its Korean pages on the motto, symbols and emblem, and a Chungbuk Times article on the 2021 festival, checked on 26 October 2026.
People
Programmes the international office runs for exchange students.
CBNU Buddy&U
The international office pairs each exchange student with a CBNU student, who helps with the student system, campus and life in Cheongju. Your buddy emails you before the semester.
- When they recruit
- CBNU picks its buddies at the start of each semester.
Country chats
Country chats are for everyone from that country studying anywhere in Korea, not only at CBNU.
Netherlands
Germany
France
Spain
Italy
Sweden
Finland
PolandGoing with friends? Make a group in A-CHA for your own crew and send them the invite link.
A-CHA events
All eventsOpen to every international student in Korea, not only at CBNU.
Flash meetups. Anyone can start or join a short meetup in the app, like dinner tonight or a hike on Saturday.
Around campus
CBNU has one campus for exchange students, in Seowon-gu, Cheongju. The international office is room 151 in building N10.
Address in Korean
충청북도 청주시 서원구 충대로 1
1 Chungdae-ro, Seowon-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28644
Also on Kakao Map and Google Maps. Naver and Kakao work best in Korea.
- From Incheon Airport
- Buy a bus ticket to Cheongju at the counter outside Gates 11 and 12. The bus usually leaves from platform 11-3 and takes 2 hours 10 to 30 minutes, about ₩25,000. Don't confuse Cheongju with Chungju.
- From Cheongju terminal
- A taxi takes 10 to 15 minutes and costs under ₩5,000. City buses 105, 105-1, 500, 513, 823 and 50-3 stop at the main gate. CBNU suggests a taxi on arrival day, when you have luggage.
- Pick-up
- CBNU doesn't run an airport pick-up.
- Arriving early
- You can't move into the dorm early. CBNU's notice lists a few places near the main gate for those nights, though it has no tie with most of them.
- International office
- Room 151 in building N10. Weekdays 9:00 to 18:00, closed 12:00 to 13:00. Call before you visit.
Every place to eat near campus.
209places to eat near CheongjuVegetarian options 75Each place shows the menu in English and Korean and walking directions.
Before you come
0 / 7For Spring 2027. The emails from the school come first. Use this list to check nothing is missing. Ticks stay in this browser only.
Not an official CBNU page. Dates and rules change. Check the details on CBNU's official site before you apply or book anything. CBNU incoming exchange ↗ Checked on 21 October 2026
Your home university nominates you, then you apply. For spring the nomination is due by 10 November, the application by 20 November and the documents by 30 November. CBNU decides in December and emails the admission letter to your home coordinator in mid-January.
At least one semester done at your home university and an average of 70% or more. Courses are in Korean or English, and CBNU asks for at least elementary level in one of them. Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, Medicine and Nursing are closed to exchange students.
The application form, a recommendation letter, an enrolment certificate, a transcript, a passport copy and an original bank statement for ₩5,500,000 for one semester or ₩11,000,000 for a year. Academic documents need an apostille or consular stamp unless you're from one of 37 listed countries, which include most of the EU, the UK, the US and Japan.
Buy student insurance at home covering illness, injury and death from the day you leave until you go back, and upload the policy before you come. Without it CBNU can stop you registering for courses. National Health Insurance starts once you register, at about ₩80,000 a month.
Four passport photos and enough cash for the first weeks. CBNU suggests a SIM or eSIM for about two months from the airport, since the residence card takes a while.
In spring 2026 there were four sessions on 5 and 6 March in room 351 of building N10, in Korean and English. You hand in your residence card documents the same day. Orientation and other exchange events don't count as excused absences from class.
NH Bank on campus opens accounts for international students with your residence card, enrolment certificate and passport.
Other dates
- 18 DecemberAutumn semester ends
- Last spring: 2 FebruaryCourse registration
- Last spring: 1 MarchDorm move-in
- Last spring: 2 MarchSemester starts
- Last spring: 19 JuneSpring semester ends
After you arrive
Residence card
CBNU files your card as a group.
Bring the documents and the fee in cash to orientation. If you miss it, your card can come later.
You need the card to open a phone contract in your own name, open a bank account and sign up for most Korean apps.
Booking the immigration visit. Papers, fee and HiKorea screens step by step. Read the guide
- Documents
- The application form, one photo (4.5 × 3.5 cm, white background), your passport, a copy of your visa and the fee. Dorm residents don't need proof of address.
- How long
- About a month after your fingerprints are taken.
- Going home
- Hand your card back at airport immigration when you leave Korea for good. Keeping it can cause trouble when you come back.
- Fee
- The government fee for the card is ₩35,000.
- Changes
- Report a new address within 15 days of moving, at your local community centre or at immigration. Report a new passport to immigration within 15 days as well. Both are free.
- Trips abroad
- Don't travel to other countries until your card is out. A single-entry visa works only once, so leaving early can stop you from coming back on it.
- Immigration helpline
- Call 1345 with visa or residence card questions. It answers in English and other languages on weekdays from 9:00 to 22:00. From abroad, dial +82-2-1345.
Going to CBNU with a friend? Send them this page.
Housing
CBNU puts every exchange student in the dorm for the semester.
Yanghyeonjae (YHJ)
₩840,000 to ₩1,056,000a semester in spring 2026, meals five or seven days a week
- Rooms
- Rooms for two only, assigned at random. You can't change rooms after moving in.
- Meals
- The cafeteria is in the basement of Yangseongjae, another dorm building. No vegetarian or halal meals.
- Kitchen
- No cooking. Your own fridge, microwave and heaters aren't allowed.
- Bring
- Only the bed is provided. Bring or buy a duvet, sheets, a pillow, toiletries and slippers.
- Move-in
- 9:00 to 18:00 on move-in days, with a ₩10,000 key deposit in cash. Arrive after 18:00 and you move in the next day.
- Nights away
- Report on the dorm website by the day before. There's no limit on nights.
- Rules
- No guests in the dorm, and keep the curfew. Breaking the rules can get you moved out.
Before you apply
- Pay after you arrive. In spring 2026 the fee was due by 11 March, by bank transfer or ATM to the account in the guidebook, with your own name as the sender.
- TB test. Get a TB test in Korea after you arrive and hand the result to the dorm office yourself. In spring 2026 it was due by 9 March.
CBNU's spring 2026 exchange student guidebook. CBNU's dorm page, last updated in March 2025, gives about ₩1,750,000 with three meals five days a week. Checked on 21 October 2026.
Room search sites in English
Korean universities point exchange students to these. They're private companies with no tie to any school. Don't send a deposit before you've seen the contract.
Finding a room. Browse rooms near campus in the app. If nothing fits, tell us what you need and we'll ask local agents for you, free.
Courses
- Language
- Most courses are in Korean. Some colleges and departments teach courses in English.
- Course list
- Out at the end of January for spring and the end of July for autumn, on CBNU's How to apply page.How to apply page ↗
- Registration
- Seats for exchange students are limited, so register only through the international office. In spring 2026 the rounds were 2 to 6 February, 2 to 6 March, and 12 to 13 March for drops. Changes are made in person in room 151, not by email or phone.
- Gaesin-nuri
- CBNU's student system, for your timetable, grades, Wi-Fi and certificates. Your student number and password come by email.
2 more
- Grades
- Out of 4.5, and below 60 is an F. CBNU emails transcripts to your home coordinator.
- Attendance
- Korean universities usually fail you after a set number of absences, whatever your grades. Ask each professor in week one.
Questions exchange students ask
How does course registration work at CBNU?
Seats for exchange students are limited, so register only through the international office.
In spring 2026 the rounds were 2 to 6 February, 2 to 6 March, and 12 to 13 March for drops.
Changes are made in person in room 151, not by email or phone.
How much is the dorm at CBNU?
Yanghyeonjae (YHJ) · On campus
From the last semester₩840,000 to ₩1,056,000
A semester in spring 2026, meals five or seven days a week
How do exchange students meet CBNU students?
CBNU Buddy&U
The international office pairs each exchange student with a CBNU student, who helps with the student system, campus and life in Cheongju.
Your buddy emails you before the semester.
Is there a group chat for CBNU exchange students?
Yes.
CBNU has a room on A-CHA where exchange students meet, and you can join before you land.
When should I arrive at CBNU?
In spring 2026 there were four sessions on 5 and 6 March in room 351 of building N10, in Korean and English.
You hand in your residence card documents the same day.
Orientation and other exchange events don't count as excused absences from class.
How do I get my residence card at CBNU?
CBNU files your card as a group.
Bring the documents and the fee in cash to orientation.
If you miss it, your card can come later.
Do exchange students at CBNU need health insurance?
Buy student insurance at home covering illness, injury and death from the day you leave until you go back, and upload the policy before you come.
Without it CBNU can stop you registering for courses.
National Health Insurance starts once you register, at about ₩80,000 a month.
How do I apply to CBNU as an exchange student?
Your home university nominates you, then you apply.
For spring the nomination is due by 10 November, the application by 20 November and the documents by 30 November.
CBNU decides in December and emails the admission letter to your home coordinator in mid-January.
Who do I contact at CBNU?
Official links and help
Office of International Affairs+82-43-261-3291 · Weekdays 9:00 to 18:00
international@cbnu.ac.krStudent life
- BESTIE events
- A student team at the international office runs events for exchange students during the semester. In autumn 2026 these included a Korean culture day, a Halloween night and language café evenings. Sign-ups go up on the incoming notices page.Incoming notices ↗