Opened by a steel company's foundation
The government authorised the school in November 1986, and it opened in December 1986. The first entrance ceremony in March 1987 welcomed 249 bachelor's students.
POSTECH
POSTECH · Pohang
POSTECH was set up by the POSCO Educational Foundation and opened in Pohang in 1986. It has one campus, in Nam-gu, Pohang, on Korea's east coast. Exchange students study and live there.
- Founded
- 1986 opened in December by POSCO's foundation
- Campus
- Pohang KTX to Pohang Station, or an express bus from Seoul
- Dorm
- Guaranteed double rooms in DICE
- Course load
- 10 to 18 credits 15 recommended
GIFT POSTECH, CC BY-SA 3.0, resizedWhat POSTECH is like
Things Korean students all know that are new when you arrive.
The mascot is PONIX
PONIX is a blend of POSTECH and Phoenix, with the letter P on its body. The school colours are POSTECH Red, Orange and Gray.
What the emblem shows
The outer circle stands for the universe and the atom for science and technology. The torch inside the P, the initial of Pohang, stands for the will to seek truth.
The crape myrtle
The school flower is the crape myrtle, which POSTECH describes as a favourite flower among scholars.
A city built around steel
POSCO was founded in Pohang in 1968. POSTECH's city guide points to Space Walk, 333 m high with 717 steps, Homigot on the eastern tip of the peninsula, and a fireworks festival that has run since 2004.
- Words you'll hear
- POSTECH 포스텍 How people say the school's name in Korean
- Pohanggongdae 포항공대 The older, common name of the school
- Pokajeon 포카전 The POSTECH and KAIST games, called Kapojeon at KAIST
- Sugang 수강신청 Course registration
From POSTECH's official English pages (history, mascot, emblem, symbols and living in Pohang), checked on 26 October 2026.
People
ISSS, on the 2nd floor of the Tae-joon Park Digital Library, helps international students with the visa, housing and settling in.
PBUD (POSTECH Buddy)
A student group for exchange students. They help with dorm check-in and campus tours, and run a Pohang walking tour, a seaside trip with DICE residents and a food booth day where you share dishes from home.
@postech_pbudInstagram accounts checked on 21 October 2026.
Country chats
Country chats are for everyone from that country studying anywhere in Korea, not only at POSTECH.
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 POSTECH.
Flash meetups. Anyone can start or join a short meetup in the app, like dinner tonight or a hike on Saturday.
Around campus
POSTECH has one campus, in Nam-gu, Pohang, on the east coast.
Address in Korean
경상북도 포항시 남구 청암로 77
77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673
Also on Kakao Map and Google Maps. Naver and Kakao work best in Korea.
- From the airport
- Most students land at Incheon or at Gimhae in Busan. Both airports run limousine buses to Pohang.
- By train or bus
- KTX trains run to Pohang Station, and express buses leave Seoul from the Gangnam Express Bus Terminal.
- Around Pohang
- City buses 207 and 306 stop at the POSTECH stop, the closest one to campus. Kakao T is the easiest way to get a taxi to and from campus.
Every place to eat near campus.
79places to eat near PohangVegetarian options 31Each place shows the menu in English and Korean and walking directions.
Before you come
0 / 9For 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 POSTECH page. Dates and rules change. Check the details on POSTECH's official site before you apply or book anything. POSTECH student exchange ↗ Checked on 21 October 2026
Your home coordinator nominates you online. For autumn that's by 31 March, and you apply by 15 April. For spring, nominations close in September and applications in October. After nominations close you get an email asking you to apply on POSTECH's site.
Apply ↗Students at partner universities with a GPA of 3.0 out of 4.3, and TOEFL iBT 79 or IELTS Academic 6.0 taken in the last two years. A letter from your home university saying your English is enough to study in can replace the test. You can't extend your stay once you're admitted.
A certificate of enrolment issued in the last 6 months, an English transcript showing your overall GPA, your English test or letter, a recommendation letter and a passport valid for 6 months after the programme ends.
Your certificate of enrolment needs an apostille from the Korean embassy or an official apostille centre, which often takes two weeks or more. Add a bank statement or scholarship letter in your name for at least US$3,000 for a semester or US$7,500 for a year.
To do research alongside your courses, find a professor and lab at POSTECH yourself and get a letter of approval before you apply.
Results come by email with your Certificate of Admission and an exchange student guide. A pre-arrival orientation on Zoom covers the visa, course registration and life at POSTECH.
POSTECH emails the papers for a D-2-6 exchange student visa with your result. Apply at the Korean embassy or consulate as soon as they arrive, because it can take longer than you expect.
To check into the dorms, every student needs a negative tuberculosis report in English, from an X-ray, blood test or skin test.
National Health Insurance starts only from your residence card registration. Buy insurance that covers at least your first month in Korea.
Other dates
- Last spring: Early JanuaryCourse registration
- Last spring: 9 FebruaryCheck-in and orientation
- Last spring: 16 FebruaryClasses start
After you arrive
Residence card
ISSS, POSTECH's international student office, takes new students to the immigration office together.
Booking the immigration visit. Papers, fee and HiKorea screens step by step. Read the guide
- When
- Register within 90 days of arriving. On day 4 of orientation week ISSS takes the group to the Pohang immigration office to apply.
- Papers
- Your passport with copies of the photo and visa pages, the immigration application form, a 3.5 × 4.5 cm photo on white taken in the last 6 months, a certificate of studentship and proof of where you live. Dorm residents download the proof of residence from POVIS.
- Getting the card
- The card takes 3 to 4 weeks. You pick it up at the Pohang immigration branch office, 135 Woochangdong-ro, Buk-gu, on +82-54-247-5363.
- Health insurance
- You're enrolled in National Health Insurance automatically from the day you register, and the monthly bill comes by post. French and Japanese citizens, and students with private insurance bought outside Korea that has no limits in Korea, can apply to opt out by fax to 054-230-3321.
- Part-time work
- You need permission from immigration and ISSS before you start any part-time job.
- Leaving Korea
- Leave within 30 days of the last day of the programme, or before your card expires if that comes first. Hand the card in at the airport.
- Fee
- The government fee for the card is ₩35,000.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 POSTECH with a friend? Send them this page.
Housing
DICE
About US$120a month, POSTECH's living cost estimate for 2026-2027
- Rooms
- Double rooms with a bed, desk, chair, side table, wardrobe, sink, drying rack and fridge.
- Shared
- Kitchens, laundry rooms, shower booths and lounges.
- Bedding
- You can rent bedding for US$50.
Before you apply
- Guaranteed. Every exchange student gets a room on campus unless you choose to live elsewhere.
- Paying. Pay the whole housing fee in cash to the POSTECH Housing Services account in the first week of the semester.
POSTECH's 2026-2027 fact sheet and the housing page on the international site. Checked on 21 October 2026.
- Off campus
- If you live off campus, sign the lease through an estate agent, not straight with the landlord. Zigbang, Dabang and Naver Real Estate list places.
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
- How much
- Take 10 to 18 POSTECH credits a semester. 15 credits is the recommended full load.
- Course list
- Courses are listed on the PLMS site, where spring is marked 1 and autumn 2.Course listings ↗
- Registration
- You register on POVIS, first come first served.
- Any department
- There are 11 undergraduate departments. As long as you have the prerequisites, you can take courses in other departments and at other levels.
3 more
- Korean classes
- PICL, the POSTECH Institute of Culture and Language, runs practical Korean courses from the alphabet up to intermediate, plus language exchange and movie nights.
- GKS scholarship
- Undergraduates with an overall GPA above 80% can be nominated for a Global Korea Scholarship of ₩630,000 a month plus an economy return flight. GKS students take one Korean course. Tick the box on your application.
- Transcripts
- You print your official transcript from My Page on the exchange site, usually within a month of the semester ending.
Questions exchange students ask
How does course registration work at POSTECH?
You register on POVIS, first come first served.
How much is the dorm at POSTECH?
DICE · On campus
About US$120
A month, POSTECH's living cost estimate for 2026-2027
Does the POSTECH dorm give you bedding?
You can rent bedding for US$50.
What about living off campus at POSTECH?
If you live off campus, sign the lease through an estate agent, not straight with the landlord.
Zigbang, Dabang and Naver Real Estate list places.
What do I need for the visa to study at POSTECH?
POSTECH emails the papers for a D-2-6 exchange student visa with your result.
Apply at the Korean embassy or consulate as soon as they arrive, because it can take longer than you expect.
How do exchange students meet POSTECH students?
PBUD (POSTECH Buddy)
A student group for exchange students.
They help with dorm check-in and campus tours, and run a Pohang walking tour, a seaside trip with DICE residents and a food booth day where you share dishes from home.
Is there a group chat for POSTECH exchange students?
Yes.
POSTECH has a room on A-CHA where exchange students meet, and you can join before you land.
How do I get my residence card at POSTECH?
Register within 90 days of arriving.
On day 4 of orientation week ISSS takes the group to the Pohang immigration office to apply.
Do exchange students at POSTECH need health insurance?
You're enrolled in National Health Insurance automatically from the day you register, and the monthly bill comes by post.
French and Japanese citizens, and students with private insurance bought outside Korea that has no limits in Korea, can apply to opt out by fax to 054-230-3321.
How many credits can I take at POSTECH?
Take 10 to 18 POSTECH credits a semester.
15 credits is the recommended full load.
How do I apply to POSTECH as an exchange student?
Your home coordinator nominates you online.
For autumn that's by 31 March, and you apply by 15 April.
For spring, nominations close in September and applications in October.
After nominations close you get an email asking you to apply on POSTECH's site.
Who do I contact at POSTECH?
Official links and help
Student Exchange (inbound)+82-54-279-8904 · Weekdays 9:00 to 18:00
exchange-in@postech.ac.krStudent life
- Counselling
- The Counseling Center in Hogil Kim Memorial Hall, room 210, offers personal and group counselling in English, weekdays 9:00 to 18:00. Call 054-279-2726 or book online.Counseling Center ↗
- Events
- ISSS holds a Lunar New Year and a Chuseok celebration, an autumn field trip and a year-end party. The POSTECH and KAIST Science War is in September.
- Living costs
- POSTECH puts monthly costs at about US$700, with US$120 for housing and US$350 for food.