One of the few Buddhist universities
The Jogye Order founded Dongguk in 1906. The school says it is one of the few Buddhist-affiliated universities in the world, and that it welcomes students and staff of all faiths.
Dongguk University
Dongguk · Seoul
A Buddhist-affiliated university founded in 1906 by Korea's Jogye Order. It admits students of all faiths. Exchange students study at the Seoul campus in Pildong, Jung-gu, at the foot of Namsan.
- Founded
- 1906 by Korea's Jogye Order
- Campus
- Seoul Line 3, Dongguk Univ. Station
- Dorm
- ₩800,000 to ₩1,562,500 a semester in 2025
- Exchange fee
- ₩100,000 a semester, paid when you arrive
DONGGUK UNIVERSITY, CC BY-SA 3.0, croppedWhat Dongguk is like
Things Korean students all know that are new when you arrive.
The white elephant
Dongguk's symbol animal is the elephant. It comes from the white elephant in the story of the Buddha's birth, which Buddhism sees as a wise and fortunate animal.
The lotus flower
The school flower is the lotus. It blooms in mud and stays clean, so Dongguk uses it for the search for learning and truth.
The eight-way path
Palijeongdo sits at the centre of campus. Its eight paths stand for the eight practices that lead to enlightenment. A white elephant statue by it faces Namsan, and it was put up in 2001.
A poem carved in stone
Han Yongun, known as Manhae, was in the first graduating class of Myeongjin School, the school Dongguk grew from. A stone with his poem 'Nim-ui Chimmuk' stands among the pines on campus.
- Words you'll hear
- Dongdae 동대 Short for Dongguk University
- Pildong 필동 The neighbourhood the campus is in
- Palijeongdo 팔정도 The eight-way path at the centre of campus
- Sugang 수강신청 Course registration
From Dongguk's official English and Korean pages (about, symbols and the elephant statue) and the campus page of its Graduate School of Business, checked on 26 October 2026.
People
Two groups of Dongguk students look after exchange students.
DISSA
Dongguk International Student Supporters Association. Korean students who run events and culture trips for exchange students.
@dongguk_internationalDUBUD
Dongguk's exchange student supporters, picked by the international office to help you settle in and keep up with classes. For autumn 2026 it took about 251 Korean students, matched to the number of exchange students.
- When they recruit
- Recruits its Korean buddies in summer and winter, before each semester.
Instagram accounts checked on 19 October 2026.
Country chats
Country chats are for everyone from that country studying anywhere in Korea, not only at Dongguk.
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 Dongguk.
Flash meetups. Anyone can start or join a short meetup in the app, like dinner tonight or a hike on Saturday.
Around campus
Exchange students study at the Seoul campus in Pildong, Jung-gu, at the foot of Namsan.
Address in Korean
서울특별시 중구 필동로 1길 30
30 Pildong-ro 1-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 04620
Also on Kakao Map and Google Maps. Naver and Kakao work best in Korea.
- Subway
- Dongguk Univ. Station on Line 3, Exit 6, then a 5-minute walk. Chungmuro Station on Lines 3 and 4 is also close.
- Bus
- Blue buses 144, 301, 420 and 407 stop at Jangchung Arena.
- From Incheon Airport
- The KAL limousine bus takes about 90 minutes and costs ₩14,000. A taxi takes about an hour and costs about ₩75,000. Dongguk doesn't pick students up.
- International office
- Exchange questions go to the Office of International Relations, incoming@dongguk.edu or +82-2-2260-3483. The Office of International Students helps with visas and part-time work permits, 02-2260-4944.
- Cafeteria
- The student cafeteria is Sanglokwon. A meal there is ₩5,000 to ₩7,000.
- Students
- In 2025 Dongguk had 18,426 undergraduates and 5,056 graduate students, with about 2,292 international and 429 exchange students.
Namsangol Hanok Village and Myeongdong within 2 km of campus, and every place to eat nearby.
2,861places to eat near SeoulRestaurants 1,855 · Cafés 647 · Bars & pubs 359 · Vegetarian options 182 · · Open late 452Each place shows the menu in English and Korean and walking directions.
0.6 km from campus
Namsangol Hanok Village
Traditional performances and free hands-on programs run all year.
1.2 km from campus
DDP Night Illumination
The LED rose garden and Seoul Light only run in season, so check the schedule first.
1.3 km from campus
Gwangjang Market
The food alley runs 09:00-23:00 every day. Only the regular shops close on Sundays.
Namsan Cable Car
Runs 10:00-23:00 every day. On weekend evenings the wait goes past 30 minutes.
Myeongdong Street Food
The street stalls open from 16:00. On rainy days far fewer of them show up.
- Coffee & dessert 487
- Korean BBQ 311
- Soups & stews 273
- Korean home food 267
- Pocha 202
- Western 194
- Pub & Bar 157
- Japanese 151
- Seafood 141
- Street food 139
- Noodles 94
- Chinese 91
Checked by A-CHA
- 태화루
- 노띵커피
- 서울다이닝
- 복향원판점
- 붓골집
- 영동골방
- 파리바게트 동국대점Paris Baguette
- 필동면옥
- 헤베커피
- 김치만선생
- 필동해물포장마차Try: Sea Cucumber, Abalone Sashimi, Whelk
- 파파포
Before you come
0 / 8For 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 Dongguk page. Dates and rules change. Check the details on Dongguk's official site before you apply or book anything. Dongguk exchange programme ↗ Checked on 19 October 2026
Your home university gets the nomination link in late September. For spring, nominations close on 15 November and applications on 30 November, and late ones aren't taken.
A GPA of 2.5 out of 4.5. There's no language test, but your English has to be good enough for classes.
Dongguk decides within two months of your application and emails you. Don't book flights before the letter and visa papers arrive, since Dongguk won't cover the loss.
A student visa (D-2), from the Korean embassy or consulate nearest you. You need the admission letter for it.
Send proof of home insurance before you arrive, covering death, disability, medical costs and evacuation. After you arrive you are also enrolled in National Health Insurance.
Pay the ₩100,000 exchange fee each semester when you arrive. Dongguk suggests about ₩500,000 a month for food, ₩50,000 for transport and ₩150,000 for books.
Dongguk makes it from the photo in your application and hands it out at orientation. It is also a transport card and a debit card.
Spring 2027 dates aren't out yet. Orientation is in the week before classes. For spring 2026, arrival and dorm move-in started around 20 February.
Other dates
- 1 FebruaryCourse registration
- Last spring: Around 20 FebruaryDorm move-in
- Last spring: 3 MarchSemester starts
- Last spring: 15 JuneSpring semester ends
After you arrive
Residence card
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
- Who
- Anyone staying in Korea for more than 90 days.
- Documents
- The form and a copy of your passport, a certificate of enrolment, one colour photo (3.5 × 4.5 cm, white background, taken within 6 months), a tuition payment receipt issued after you arrived and your TB test result.
- Fee
- ₩35,000.
- Applying as a group
- For the first one to two weeks of each semester Dongguk takes residence card applications online and sends them to immigration together. The dates go up on the international student notice board. If you pay tuition in instalments or have moved house, you apply on your own.
- Moving house
- Report your new address within 15 days at the community centre, district office or immigration office, or you can be fined.
- Help
- The Global Service Desk handles stay permits, 02-2260-4945. The Office of International Students on the 9th floor of the New Engineering Building also gives advice on study and campus life in its Global Lounge (room 617), weekdays 9:00 to 17:00 in term.
- Staying longer
- To extend your stay you need the form, passport, residence card, certificate of enrolment, transcript, tuition payment certificate and proof of where you live. Unpaid health insurance can shorten your extension.
- Bank account
- Shinhan Bank is on campus, 02-2260-8989. Bring your passport or residence card.
- 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 Dongguk with a friend? Send them this page.
Housing
Ask for a room in your exchange application. Dongguk puts you in one of its three dorms, you can't choose which, and there are very few places.
Dongguk dorms
₩800,000 to ₩1,562,500a semester in 2025, paid at once for four months
- Namsan
- On campus. Rooms for two, each with its own toilet. ₩1,562,500.
- Chungmu
- The 4th floor of the Chungmuro Media Center, near Chungmuro Station. Rooms for four or six with shared toilets. ₩1,562,500.
- Pildong
- Women only, off campus. ₩800,000 for four to a room, ₩1,200,000 for two.
- Curfew
- Namsan and Chungmu close at midnight, with no entry from 0:00 to 5:00. Nights away need permission first. Pildong has no curfew.
- Cooking
- Not in Namsan. Chungmu and Pildong have shared kitchens.
- In the room
- Desks, beds, air conditioning, a small wardrobe and, in Namsan and Chungmu, a small fridge. Shared laundry.
- Penalty points
- Breaking rules adds points, and more than 20 means you leave. Namsan and Chungmu are very strict.
Before you apply
- Pay for four months. Pay the whole fee at once, before or when you arrive in Korea.
- TB test. Bring a TB test result issued within one month before you move in. The Jung-gu Community Health Center can issue one, weekdays 9:00 to 18:00 (02-3396-5555).
- When you hear. Dongguk tells you which dorm you got 1 to 2 months before the semester.
Dongguk's 2025-2026 exchange factsheet and its 2026 guide for international students. Fees are from 2025. Checked on 19 October 2026.
- Finding your own
- You can live off campus. Tell the Office of International Relations if you do.
- A full year
- Dorm rooms are for one semester. Students staying a year find their own place for the second.
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
- Registration
- 1 to 5 February 2027 for undergraduates.
- How much
- 6 to 18 credits, which is 2 to 6 courses. Most undergraduates take 15. 18 is heavy and hard to fill.
- In English
- Courses are in English or Korean. Outside business, humanities and social sciences there are very few in English.
- Film courses
- Mostly open only to students majoring in film, art or multimedia.
4 more
- Course list
- The factsheet has the 2025 list of courses in English. The new list comes out about a month before the semester.
- Korean
- An intensive course of 10 weeks, 4 hours a day. Exchange students at intermediate level or above get 30% off, which made it ₩1,225,000 in autumn 2025. If you take it, Dongguk suggests fewer than 12 regular credits.
- Attendance
- Dongguk's student guide says you get an F if you miss more than a quarter of a course's classes. Three late arrivals count as one absence.
- Grades
- Grades run from A+ (4.5) down to F (0). A GPA below 1.75 brings an academic warning, which can hurt a visa extension.
Questions exchange students ask
How does course registration work at Dongguk?
1 to 5 February 2027 for undergraduates.
Are there courses taught in English at Dongguk?
Courses are in English or Korean.
Outside business, humanities and social sciences there are very few in English.
How much is the dorm at Dongguk?
Dongguk dorms · Namsan, Chungmu and Pildong
From the last semester₩800,000 to ₩1,562,500
A semester in 2025, paid at once for four months
Does the Dongguk dorm have a curfew?
Namsan and Chungmu close at midnight, with no entry from 0:00 to 5:00.
Nights away need permission first.
Pildong has no curfew.
What do I need for the visa to study at Dongguk?
A student visa (D-2), from the Korean embassy or consulate nearest you.
You need the admission letter for it.
How do exchange students meet Dongguk students?
DUBUD
Dongguk's exchange student supporters, picked by the international office to help you settle in and keep up with classes.
For autumn 2026 it took about 251 Korean students, matched to the number of exchange students.
Is there a group chat for Dongguk exchange students?
Yes.
Dongguk has a room on A-CHA where exchange students meet, and you can join before you land.
When should I arrive at Dongguk?
Spring 2027 dates aren't out yet.
Orientation is in the week before classes.
For spring 2026, arrival and dorm move-in started around 20 February.
Do exchange students at Dongguk need health insurance?
Send proof of home insurance before you arrive, covering death, disability, medical costs and evacuation.
After you arrive you are also enrolled in National Health Insurance.
How many credits can I take at Dongguk?
6 to 18 credits, which is 2 to 6 courses.
Most undergraduates take 15.
18 is heavy and hard to fill.
How do I apply to Dongguk as an exchange student?
Your home university gets the nomination link in late September.
For spring, nominations close on 15 November and applications on 30 November, and late ones aren't taken.
Who do I contact at Dongguk?
Official links and help
Office of International Relations+82-2-2260-3483
incoming@dongguk.eduStudent life
- Health centre
- The Health Promoting Center is on the second floor of the Administration Building, weekdays 8:30 to 17:30 with lunch from 12:00 to 13:00, 02-2260-3442. Bring your student card.
- Library
- The Central Library is open 9:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 9:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays in term, 8:00 to 22:00 in exam weeks. The 4th floor reading room is open every day from 6:00 to 24:00. Your student card gets you in.
- Exchange programme
- 2025-2026 factsheet (Excel)
- Guide for international students (PDF)
- Campus life
- Academic calendar
- Namsan dorm
- Chungmu dorm
- Directions