Starting with the fall 2025 intake, many Korean universities will require international undergraduate applicants to submit personal statements as part of their application.

This change comes after a temporary ban on personal statements for undergraduate admissions, which was introduced for the spring 2024 intake.

Korea University, which did not ask for personal statements in previous years, will now require applicants to submit a statement of purpose beginning with the fall 2025 intake.

The application period for Korea University will be from February 24 to March 21, with hard-copy documents accepted until March 28.

The policy change comes after the South Korean government decided in July 2024 to amend the Higher Education Act.

The amendment allows international students to be asked for personal statements again, recognizing that universities faced difficulties in evaluating applicants without this extra documentation.

Seoul National University is also reintroducing personal statements.

Starting with the fall 2025 intake, applicants will need to submit a personal statement of up to 800 words, or about 4,000 bytes. Applications for Seoul National University will be open from March 4 to March 6, with letters of recommendation due by March 7.

Yonsei University has also added personal statements to its fall 2025 international undergraduate admissions.

Applicants will need to submit a personal statement of up to two pages, discussing their motivation for applying, their understanding of Korean culture, and their academic preparation.