Seoul, South Korea
International schools in Seoul: what families need to know
Seoul's international schools are small in number relative to demand, and most restrict enrolment by nationality or by time spent abroad. Foreign schools are licensed for foreign nationals, with a limited quota for Korean citizens who have lived overseas long enough to qualify. That single rule shapes waiting lists across the city. This guide covers eligibility, admissions, the school year, fees, districts and how places actually work here.
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What you tell us
- Where you are moving
- Seoul
- Children
- Sofia (age 8) · Luca (age 5)
- Curriculum
- British preferred
- Start
- August
You tell us once, for every child. Your adviser assesses the brief and contacts relevant admissions teams on your behalf.
Example only. School names in these examples are fictional.
Seoul in short
- Curricula available in Seoul: American, IB, British and Korean national.
- The Seoul school year runs August to June at foreign schools; March to February in the Korean system, with the main intake at the start of it.
- Schools are overseen by Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, under the Ministry of Education.
- Tuition is published per year group by each school. Registration, deposit, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are normally billed separately.
- Availability is decided per child, per year group and per campus, so two children in one family can get two different answers from the same Seoul school.
- You tell us what your family needs once, and see matched Seoul schools with places, fees and next steps.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished September 2026Last reviewed September 2026
Seoul at a glance
The facts that shape a Seoul school search
- Oversight
- Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, under the Ministry of Education
- Main curricula
- American, IB, British and Korean national
- School year
- August to June at foreign schools; March to February in the Korean system
- Ages served
- Pre-K through Grade 12
- Language
- English at foreign schools; Korean in the national system
How admissions work in Seoul
Most Seoul schools follow the same stages, whatever the curriculum.
- 1
Enquire and check the year group
Confirm the year group each child would enter in Seoul. Age cut-offs differ between systems, so the same child can be placed a year apart in two schools.
- 2
Assessment
Most schools assess before offering a place. This can be a short online task, a classroom visit or a subject test, depending on age.
- 3
Offer, deposit and registration
An offer is usually held only after a registration fee or deposit is paid. Check whether either is refundable before you accept.
Documents to prepare
Some documents can take time to arrange from abroad. Start collecting them before you have chosen a school.
- Passport and, where required, visa or residence documents for each child
- Birth certificate
- School reports for the last two years
- Transfer or leaving certificate from the previous school
- Vaccination and health records
- Any learning support or assessment reports, shared early rather than late
More detail: how international-school admissions work.
Curricula families meet in Seoul
We explain each system once, in the curricula library, rather than repeating it city by city.
British curriculum
IGCSE and A Level, and how English year groups are set by age.
International Baccalaureate
PYP, MYP and the Diploma, and who the IB suits on a later move.
American curriculum
US grades, high-school credits and AP, with their own placement rules.
Changing curriculum mid-move
What transfers cleanly between systems and where a child may repeat or skip a year.
The Seoul school year and when to apply
Timing decides how much choice you have. These are the stages most families move through.
Six to nine months ahead
Start looking for the main intake
Popular year groups in Seoul fill first, and assessment slots become scarce close to the intake.
Three to six months ahead
Assessments and offers
Schools assess, then make offers within days or weeks. Registration fees and deposits usually follow immediately.
One to three months ahead
Places confirmed, waiting lists move
Waiting lists move as leaving families release places, so keep asking rather than assuming a school is closed.
Start of the school year
Term begins
The Seoul school year runs august to June at foreign schools; March to February in the Korean system.
Mid-year
In-year entry
Possible, but limited to whichever year groups have room. This is where asking schools directly saves the most time.
What school costs in Seoul
Published tuition is the starting figure, not the total. These are the charges to budget for.
What the Seoul market costs, in round numbers
High band- Primary, per year
- KRW 25,000,000 – 38,000,000
- Secondary, per year
- KRW 30,000,000 – 45,000,000
- Roughly, in US dollars
- US$18,000 – 33,000
Indicative annual tuition across mainstream international schools, for the stated academic year. Individual schools publish their own fees per year group, the top of each market runs above these ranges, and registration, deposits, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are billed separately. Figures refer to the 2025/26 academic year. Compare fees across cities.
- Tuition
- Published per year group by each school
- Registration fee
- Charged at application or offer stage, usually non-refundable
- Deposit
- Secures the place and is often deducted from the first term's tuition
- Transport
- School transport is charged separately and varies by distance and route
- Uniform, books, devices
- One-off costs at the start of the year, higher in the first year
- Meals and activities
- Optional at most schools, but a real part of the annual budget
- Examination entries
- IGCSE, A Level, IB and AP entries are billed in the exam years
See also understanding international school fees.
Places and waiting lists
Which Seoul schools have places for your children?
A place is not something a school has in general. It exists for one year group, at one campus, for one intake. Two children in the same family can get two different answers from the same school on the same day.
School websites cannot tell you this. Availability changes when a family leaves, when a contract ends, or when a new year group opens. That is why relevant schools answer directly instead of publishing a number that would be out of date by the time you read it.
For each child, a Seoul school can answer that a place is available, that there is a waiting list, that the intake is full, or that it cannot confirm yet. You see the answer, the fees and the next step, and you decide where to focus.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Your schools · 2 children · British curriculum · Starting August
Westbrook International School
From the school
North campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Place availablePlace available for August
Next step: Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
From the school
City campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Waiting listWaiting list, reviewed monthly
Next step: Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
From our team
Main campus · British · Annual fees: Earlier-year reference fee
Fees for your intake not yet confirmed
- Sofia · Year 4Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
- Luca · Year 1Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
Next step: We ask admissions to confirm
Every option says who provided the information and whether places are confirmed. Your adviser explains what each answer means for your children.
Example school options. School names in these examples are fictional.
Choosing where to live in Seoul
We do not rank areas. These are the questions that decide whether a school works day to day.
Yongsan, Itaewon and Hannam
Central, walkable and long favoured by diplomatic and corporate families, with several campuses within a short drive.
Seocho and Gangnam
Strong transport, modern apartments and access to schools south of the river; busy and expensive.
Seongbuk and Pyeongchang-dong
Quieter, greener and traditionally home to embassy residences, with houses rather than towers.
Songdo, Incheon
A planned district about an hour west with its own international schools, chosen by families who want space and newer campuses.
Moving to Seoul with children: a checklist
The school-related steps that decide how smooth the first term is.
- Confirm each child's year group under the curriculum you are moving to in Seoul.
- Collect and, where required, attest school reports and certificates before you leave.
- Ask schools about places for every child in the same request, not one at a time.
- Check whether registration fees and deposits are refundable if your move date changes.
- Check the visa or residency steps that enrolment can depend on.
- Ask about learning support early, since capacity is decided case by case.
- Line up housing only after you know which school can take all of your children.
See also the moving-abroad timeline.
Moving with more than one child
One school that works for every child, not one child
Most families moving to Seoul are moving with more than one child, and the hardest part is rarely finding a good school. It is finding one school that can take all of your children in the same year.
Checking each child separately, school by school, is where the search becomes slow. A school that has room in Year 1 may be full in Year 4, and you only learn that after two emails and a wait.
One request covers every child. Each school answers for each child, so you can see immediately where all of your children could start together, and where you would be splitting the family across two schools.
- Ask once for the whole family, not once per child.
- See sibling answers side by side before you contact anyone.
- Ask about sibling priority and start dates while places are still open.
Your schools, side by side
Westbrook International School
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- North campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- City campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
- Information
- From our team
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- Main campus
- Annual fees
- Earlier-year reference fee
- Next step
- We ask admissions to confirm
Westbrook International School
Harbour Ridge Academy
Elmfield International College
Sofia · Year 4
Luca · Year 1
Information
From the school
From the school
From our team
Curriculum
British
British
British
Area
North campus
City campus
Main campus
Annual fees
Confirmed for your intake
Confirmed for your intake
Earlier-year reference fee
Next step
Assessment, then offer
Campus visit, then assessment
We ask admissions to confirm
Example comparison. School names in these examples are fictional.
How schooling works in Seoul
Korea licenses foreign schools separately from the national system. Enrolment normally requires a foreign passport, or Korean citizenship combined with a documented period of residence abroad — commonly around three years — with a cap on the share of Korean nationals a school may admit. Verify the current rule with each school and with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education before planning around it.
Eligibility comes before curriculum
Ask each school, in writing, whether your children qualify given their passports and where they have lived. Rules on returning Korean nationals are specific and evidenced with school records and immigration history.
Dual nationals should expect to provide more documentation, not less. Sort this before you compare programmes.
Two calendars in one city
Foreign schools run an August-to-June year. Korean schools start in March. If a child moves between systems, one transition will fall mid-year.
Plan the arrival date around the system you intend to use, and ask how the school handles a child joining part-way through.
Waiting lists are normal, not a rejection
Popular year groups, especially in the early primary years, often carry waiting lists. Schools ask for assessment results, reports and references before placing a child on one.
Ask where your children sit on the list, how it moves historically, and whether a January start is realistic. That question saves months.
Fees and what sits outside them
Tuition is published in Korean won per grade and billed by semester. Application and registration fees are separate, and some schools hold a refundable deposit or a building fee.
Bus, lunch, technology, trips and examination entries are billed separately. Employer packages often cap the total: check what happens if fees rise mid-posting.
Housing, deposits and the school run
Korean leases may use jeonse, a large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent, or wolse, a smaller deposit with monthly rent. Foreign families most often use wolse.
Bus routes are the practical constraint. Confirm coverage from a specific address before signing; Seoul traffic makes short distances slow at peak.
What families get wrong in Seoul
The local details that cost families a term, a deposit or a long daily drive.
Assuming a Korean passport rules you out, or in
Quotas and residence-abroad rules are specific. Confirm eligibility with each school in writing before shortlisting.
Ignoring the March versus August calendar gap
Moving between the Korean and foreign systems means one mid-year transition. Plan which one.
Applying to only one school
Capacity is tight in early primary. Apply to several and ask each about waiting-list movement.
Underestimating housing deposits
Korean lease structures can require large sums upfront. Budget alongside school fees.
Missing document legalisation
Previous reports and family documents typically need apostille and translation for enrolment and visa purposes.
Official Seoul resources
Primary sources for regulation, inspection and enrolment. We link out rather than paraphrase.
How InternationalSchools.org works in Seoul
Tell us what your family needs once, and see matched schools in Seoul with places, fees and next steps.
- 1
Tell us about your family and Seoul
Your children's ages and year groups, the curriculum you prefer, your budget and when you want to start. One brief covers every child named in it.
- 2
Your adviser researches Seoul
A 30-minute consultation, then research of the schools in Seoul that suit each child, and contact with relevant admissions teams about your start date.
- 3
Receive your recommendations
Three recommended schools plus up to two alternatives where suitable, with written reasoning for each child, a review call and follow-up questions answered for 30 days.
We do not publish scores or predict availability. How we select schools.
Questions families ask about Seoul
Find international schools in Seoul for your children
One conversation, every child, answers from the schools themselves.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Go deeper on Seoul
How fees compare across cities
What is published, what is billed separately and how Seoul compares with the other markets we cover.
Compare the main curricula
British, IB and American side by side, and what a later move between countries changes.
How admissions work
The stages most international schools use, and where relocating families lose time.
Continue reading
Waiting lists and availability
How waiting lists really work, and what to ask before you join one.
School year and intake timing
When places open, and what a mid-year move changes.
How it works
From telling us what you need to answers from the schools themselves.
Other destinations
You can search any destination, published guide or not.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Guide version 3.1. Seoul information is compiled from official regulators, curriculum authorities and school-published material. Fees, intakes and requirements are set by individual schools and change, so confirm details directly with a school before you rely on them.
Sources
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