Japan vs South Korea for Indian Students: Costs, Scholarships and Jobs

Dr. Jayanthy Ramakrishnan

06/11/2026

11 min read

Japan and South Korea are now on the same shortlist for many Indian students. Both have strong engineering and technology universities, government scholarships that pay tuition and a monthly allowance, and a route from a degree to a job. They differ in cost, in the scholarship you would apply for, in the language you need and in how much part-time work the visa allows.

This guide compares the two country by country on official sources only: Japan’s Ministry of Education (MEXT), the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) and Study in Japan, and Korea’s National Institute for International Education (NIIED), Study in Korea and the Korea Immigration Service. We read each one on 5 November 2026. Costs are given in yen and won exactly as published, with no rupee conversion, because exchange rates move and the official figures do not.

How do Japan and South Korea compare at a glance?

The sections below give the source for each line. The last row uses two different measures, a student survey in Japan and a count of visa holders in Korea, so treat it as a sense of scale rather than an exact comparison.

Is it cheaper to study in Japan or South Korea?

Both countries charge much less at public universities than at private ones. The figures below are national averages, so the fee at the university you apply to is the one to budget for.

Japan. MEXT’s table of national, public and private university fees (Japanese, December 2025) gives the government’s standard amount for national universities as ¥535,800 a year in tuition plus a ¥282,000 admission fee. Some national universities charge more: the University of Tokyo lists ¥642,960 a year for undergraduates, while its graduate tuition stays at ¥535,800. MEXT’s 2025 survey of private universities (Japanese) puts average private tuition at ¥968,069, and the average first-year payment, including admission and facilities fees, at ¥1,380,983. By field, first-year totals averaged ¥1,212,235 in the humanities and ¥1,602,053 in the sciences.

South Korea. Study in Korea’s study expenses page, citing the Korean university disclosure service Academy Info, gives average bachelor’s tuition of about KRW 6.82 million a year: about KRW 4.27 million at national and public universities and about KRW 7.63 million at private ones. Engineering averages about KRW 7.28 million and medicine about KRW 9.84 million. For graduate programmes, the same page gives averages of about KRW 2.48 million at national and public universities and KRW 4.43 million at private ones. The page does not say which academic year these figures are for.

Both countries publish averages, and the fee at the university you apply to is what counts. Our guide to national vs private universities in Japan explains how that choice works on the Japanese side.

What does it cost to live in Japan compared with Korea?

Japan. JASSO’s 2023 Student Life Survey of privately financed international students is the latest edition. Study in Japan’s cost of living page gives the result as ¥105,000 a month nationwide, excluding study and research costs. The full survey report (Japanese) puts total monthly spending, including study costs, at ¥170,000 on average and ¥199,000 in Tokyo, with rent averaging ¥41,000 nationally and ¥57,000 in Tokyo.

South Korea. Study in Korea’s living expenses page gives a total of about KRW 750,000 to 1,000,000 a month: housing KRW 500,000 to 700,000, food KRW 200,000 to 300,000, transport KRW 50,000 to 100,000, and KRW 100,000 to 200,000 for phone, internet and health insurance. The page does not give a year for these figures.

In both countries the capital costs most, and university dormitories are usually the cheapest housing. For a fuller breakdown on the Japan side, see our guide to living costs in Japan.

Which is better for scholarships: MEXT or GKS?

Both are full government scholarships, and both are competitive. They pay in different ways.

MEXT (Japan). The 2027 research student guidelines set the monthly allowance at ¥143,000 for non-regular research students, ¥144,000 for master’s students and ¥145,000 for doctoral students. The 2027 undergraduate guidelines set it at ¥117,000. Entrance exam, admission and tuition fees are waived, and MEXT provides an economy-class air ticket to Japan and a return ticket after graduation. Our MEXT application pack and MEXT application guide cover the embassy and university routes.

GKS (Korea). The Global Korea Scholarship is run by NIIED. The 2027 GKS undergraduate guidelines, published by the Korean Embassy in India, pay economy airfare, Korean language training worth KRW 5.2 million a year, tuition up to KRW 5 million a semester (the university pays anything above that) and an all-inclusive allowance of KRW 14,400,000 a year in the degree. The 2026 GKS graduate guidelines pay KRW 16,560,000 a year in a master’s or doctoral degree. India’s places in those two rounds: 4 on the 2027 undergraduate embassy track, and 26 on the embassy track plus 47 on the university track in the 2026 graduate round.

The bigger practical difference is language. GKS builds in a year of Korean study, and the undergraduate guidelines say every scholar must reach at least TOPIK level 3 in that year. Our GKS scholarship guide has the full round-by-round detail, and our Japan scholarships page lists funding beyond MEXT.

Do you need Japanese or Korean to study there?

Not for every programme, but it helps in both countries, and it matters more once you want a job.

Japan: the JLPT. The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test has five levels, N5 to N1. The Japan Foundation’s list of overseas test sites shows eight Indian cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Karur in July and December, and Santiniketan in July only. Our JLPT guide for India covers registration and levels.

Korea: TOPIK. The Test of Proficiency in Korean has six levels across two papers, TOPIK I (levels 1 and 2) and TOPIK II (levels 3 to 6). Study in Korea’s language requirements page says requirements vary by university and department, and that scores are valid for two years. In India the test is run by the Korean Education Centre in India. Our TOPIK exam guide lists the Indian test cities by sitting.

English-taught degrees. Both countries have them, mostly at graduate level and at larger universities. Neither government publishes a current national count, so check the programme list at each university. Study in Korea notes that English-taught programmes ask for an English test score instead of TOPIK. If you want to learn Korean first, our guide to the Korean language course and D-4 visa explains that route.

Can you work part-time while studying in Japan or Korea?

Yes in both, with permission first. The limits are set differently.

Japan. Study in Japan’s part-time jobs page says students may work within 28 hours a week, and up to eight hours a day during long school holidays, once they have permission to engage in activities other than those permitted by their status of residence. The same page gives the average hourly wage as about ¥1,300, from the 2023 JASSO survey. Our guide to part-time jobs in Japan covers the permit and the kinds of work students do.

South Korea. Study in Korea’s residence and stay page, citing HiKorea, ties the hours to your degree level and your Korean level. Degree students on a D-2 visa can apply straight away; language students on a D-4 visa wait six months. Every job needs a permit, with the form signed by your university’s international student adviser.

The same table allows 30 weekday hours for bachelor’s students and 35 for master’s and doctoral students at accredited universities or with excellent grades or Korean. The table does not name the period the hours apply to. The practical point: in Korea your Korean level decides how much you can work, while in Japan the limit is the same for everyone.

Which country makes it easier to work after graduation?

Both let you stay on to look for work, and Korea gives you longer to do it.

Japan. Study in Japan’s immigration procedures page says graduates still looking for work can get a status of residence for six months, with a one-time extension, for a maximum of one year. Once you have an offer, you change to a work status. Of the 343 Indian students who moved from student to work status in 2025, 264 took Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, according to the Immigration Services Agency’s 2025 report (Japanese). Our guide to jobs in Japan for international students covers the job market.

South Korea. Graduates of a Korean university with a bachelor’s degree or higher can change to the D-10 job-seeker visa. Study in Korea’s residence page says it can be extended in six-month steps up to a maximum of two years, and allows internships for up to a year within that limit. The job must be professional work; manual or unskilled work is not permitted. Study in Korea’s employment system page says graduates with a Korean bachelor’s degree or higher can change to the E-7 professional work visa without a work-experience requirement when the job relates to their major, but that a change is generally restricted if the pay is under 60% of the average wage for nationals in similar roles.

In both countries, an English-taught degree can get you into university, but most local employers work in Japanese or Korean. Plan your language learning around the job you want, not only the degree.

Does this comparison apply to students from Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka?

Mostly, yes. Tuition, living costs, part-time rules and post-study visas are the same for every nationality. What changes is the scholarship quota and the embassy paperwork: each country gets its own number of GKS and MEXT embassy places, and visa documents follow the Japanese or Korean embassy in your own country. Both destinations are already popular across South Asia. JASSO’s 2025 survey of international students counted 100,239 students from Nepal and 17,626 from Sri Lanka in Japan, against 2,095 from India. Our GKS guide lists the places for India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

How should an Indian student choose between Japan and Korea?

• Start with the programme. Shortlist universities in both countries that teach your subject in a language you can study in now, and compare their published fees, not the national averages.
• Pick the scholarship round you can meet. MEXT and GKS run on different calendars, so check the next round’s dates in our guides before you plan anything else.
• Decide how much language you will learn. If you will study Korean to TOPIK 4, Korea lets you work more hours as a student. If you will not, Japan’s flat 28-hour rule is simpler.
• Look at the job route you want. Korea’s D-10 gives up to two years to find work; Japan’s job-hunting status gives up to one.
• Budget in the local currency. Use the yen and won figures above, and convert at the rate on the day you apply.

For an overview of each destination, see our Study in Japan and Study in South Korea hubs. If you are weighing both countries for the same subject, talk to our admissions team about universities, scholarships and timelines.