999 Forum · Industry Track

Programme

Length

Founding cohort 11 weeks · 84 days in country. From 2028 the quarterly rhythm is 10 weeks · 72 days — the same length as a US quarter

Location

Seoul, with site travel across Korea

Language

English throughout. No Korean required; Korean sessions offered

Eligibility

Undergraduates, typically years 2–4. Any major, depending on track

Cohort size

Site visits run in groups of 20 on staggered days — the cohort never moves as a single block, which is what makes fab and production-line access possible. Visits are applied for, not assigned, with a guaranteed minimum per student and rotation on oversubscribed sites

Tracks

Twelve-industry catalogue; the number running in a term is the cohort size divided by 25, since a site visit is 20 people. All twelve are covered across a year: Games · Content & K-Culture · Education · Biotech & Pharma · Medical Devices · Robotics · AI & Platforms · Mobility · Batteries & Energy · Fintech · Semiconductors. Year 1 opens four, from K-Pop, K-Drama, Games and Education. Semiconductors open in year two or three — fab access is the hardest to arrange

Deliverable

Team report (3–5 students) with faculty assessment; individual option available where a department requires it

Ends with

999 Forum assembly, 9 September — cohorts present

Cost and funding

Programme fee

US$7,500 — housing (1–2 per room, ensuite), all meals, in-country travel, site visits, insurance, materials, staff

Not included

International airfare; personal spending, budget US$300–500/month; passport and K-ETA fees

Scholarships

Fully funded places cost a sponsor US$8,500 and cover the fee and airfare — roughly what a self-funded student spends once their own flight is counted. The programme books the ticket rather than reimbursing, so arrival dates are controlled and origin cost is never passed to the student. One price per place, identical housing and provision either way; the margin above running cost funds additional places, published annually

Selection

Sponsors fund places and may specify a track. Sponsors do not select recipients. Same published criteria for funded and self-funded applicants

Disclosure

Programme income and how it was spent are published annually

For reference, semester-length study abroad in Asia typically runs US$15,000–30,000. The fee is set near delivery cost; the margin funds scholarship places and is published annually. No government subsidy and no religious funding sit behind the price — Korean student housing and meals simply cost a fraction of the US or EU equivalent.

Health and safety

• Tier 1 — insurer's 24-hour multilingual assistance line. Always staffed, English-speaking
• Tier 2 — programme duty officer. Dedicated number, 30-minute response, nights and weekends. Rota shared across at least three paid staff
• Tier 3 — programme director. Serious incidents, media, consular matters, institutional notification

Documents provided to your office: emergency response and communication plan with 24-hour contacts; incident reporting and institutional notification procedure; named medical facilities including English-speaking hospitals in Seoul; site-visit safety protocol and pre-visit training record; sexual harassment and misconduct reporting procedure with Title IX cooperation commitment; severe weather and heat protocol; certificate of insurance with limits.

Insurance

Group cover

Carried by the programme for every participant

Includes

Medical expenses · emergency medical evacuation · repatriation of remains · liability · 24-hour multilingual assistance

Your cover

Keep it in place. We do not ask students to drop CISI or an institutional equivalent

Korea's national health insurance does not apply. Mandatory NHIS enrolment for international students begins at six months of residence; at 72–84 days students are below it. No premium — and no national cover. Private insurance carries the whole load, which is why evacuation and repatriation are required rather than optional here.

Visa and entry

• 84 days for the founding cohort (72 thereafter) sits inside the 90-day visa-free admission available to US, Canadian, UK, Australian and most EU citizens — six days of margin in 2027, eighteen after
• K-ETA is required for visa-free entry and is handled in the pre-departure process
• The first cohort accepts visa-waiver nationals only. We would rather exclude a student than have them arrive on a status that does not hold
• Where an institution requires a formal training status for credit or insurance, we will work with you on the appropriate short-term study visa