Can my parents join an official campus tour before I apply to a Korean university?
My parents and I plan to visit universities in Chungcheong Province before I submit applications. I would like to know whether international admissions offices usually allow family members on campus tours and how far in advance interpretation or accessibility support should be requested.
Note: This is an editorial persona question created from common experiences of foreign residents in Korea.
1 Answer
Parents can often join a campus visit, but there is no single rule across Korean universities. Some schools offer scheduled group tours, while others arrange visits only through the international admissions office, and guest numbers may be limited. Contact each university before making the trip and ask for written confirmation that both parents may attend; do not assume that a walk-in visit will include access to classrooms, laboratories, or dormitories. For example, Chungnam National University publishes its international undergraduate admissions information at https://plus.cnu.ac.kr/html/en/sub03/sub03_0303.html, and KAIST provides an international admissions contact page at https://admission.kaist.ac.kr/intl-undergraduate/notice/contact.
There is also no universal advance-request period for interpretation or accessibility support. Ask as soon as your travel dates are reasonably fixed rather than waiting until arrival. In the request, give the preferred date and time, total number of visitors, required language, mobility or sensory-access needs, and the buildings or program you hope to see. Wait for the university to confirm what it can provide. If staff interpretation is unavailable, ask whether an English-language tour, accessible self-guided route, campus map, or online admissions consultation is available instead.