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SCHOOLSPosted by Lena 🇦🇹 Austria · 1 month ago
How strict is attendance really?
keep seeing "you need 90% attendance" but people also talk about skipping class.
what actually happens if you drop below? is it a visa problem or just a school problem. i'd like to travel a bit on long weekends
what actually happens if you drop below? is it a visa problem or just a school problem. i'd like to travel a bit on long weekends
9 comments
OFFICIAL ANSWER
KyaALLO TEAM
Founder & Head Consultant · Seoul
It is both a school problem and a visa problem, and the visa side is the one that matters. Take this one seriously.
The numbers:
1. Below 90 percent: most schools issue a warning, and you may lose eligibility for level advancement or a certificate.
2. Below 80 percent: schools are required to report it to immigration. This is not discretionary and it is not the school being harsh.
3. Below 70 percent: your visa extension will very likely be refused, and in serious cases immigration can cancel the current visa.
What this means in practice: a ten-week term is about 200 class hours. 90 percent leaves you roughly four days of absence for the whole term. That has to cover illness, appointments, and anything unexpected. It is not a lot.
About the people you see skipping — some of them are on their last semester and no longer applying for an extension, some are quietly in trouble and do not say so. Attendance also follows you: it is checked at extension, at work-permit application, and again if you later apply to a degree program at the same university.
The good news for your actual question: long weekends are fine. Korean semesters have public holidays, there are usually one or two reading days, and there is a real break between terms. Travel then and you never touch your attendance. Students who plan trips around the calendar rather than against it have no problem at all.
If you get genuinely ill, get a doctor's note the same day and give it to the office immediately. Documented absences are handled differently at most schools — but only if the paperwork arrives on time.
The numbers:
1. Below 90 percent: most schools issue a warning, and you may lose eligibility for level advancement or a certificate.
2. Below 80 percent: schools are required to report it to immigration. This is not discretionary and it is not the school being harsh.
3. Below 70 percent: your visa extension will very likely be refused, and in serious cases immigration can cancel the current visa.
What this means in practice: a ten-week term is about 200 class hours. 90 percent leaves you roughly four days of absence for the whole term. That has to cover illness, appointments, and anything unexpected. It is not a lot.
About the people you see skipping — some of them are on their last semester and no longer applying for an extension, some are quietly in trouble and do not say so. Attendance also follows you: it is checked at extension, at work-permit application, and again if you later apply to a degree program at the same university.
The good news for your actual question: long weekends are fine. Korean semesters have public holidays, there are usually one or two reading days, and there is a real break between terms. Travel then and you never touch your attendance. Students who plan trips around the calendar rather than against it have no problem at all.
If you get genuinely ill, get a doctor's note the same day and give it to the office immediately. Documented absences are handled differently at most schools — but only if the paperwork arrives on time.
Was this helpful?Updated 1 month ago
9 comments
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You can still post anonymously after signing in.i dropped to 84% because of a flu and one lazy week and the office called me in for a formal meeting. it is not a soft rule.
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they're not being mean, they legally have to report it. the school gets audited on this too
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ok that's a much bigger deal than i assumed
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get the doctor's note THE SAME DAY. i tried to get one retroactively two days later and the clinic wouldn't backdate it. lost the day.
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learned this the hard way too. any clinic, it's like 5000 won, just go
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the between-semester break is 2-3 weeks depending on the school, that's your travel window. plan around it and there's no conflict at all
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attendance came up again when i applied for the work permit. they pulled up the whole record. it really does follow you
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didn't know that. good to know before i mess it up
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morning class + 90% attendance is the actual difficulty of language school, not the korean
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