Yesterday we wrote about health insurance and left one thing deliberately unanswered: how many hours a student is allowed to work in Korea. We said those figures come from ministry guidance rather than the Act, and that we would not print numbers we could not stand behind.
That was the honest answer, but it was not the whole answer. Because before the question of how many hours comes a question of whether you may work at all — and that one is in the Act, in a single sentence.
What Article 20 actually says
Article 20 of the Immigration Act is one sentence long:
Any foreigner staying in the Republic of Korea who intends to engage in activities corresponding to another status of stay, in addition to activities corresponding to his or her status of stay, shall obtain permission for activities outside his or her status of stay from the Minister of Justice in advance, as prescribed by Presidential Decree.
Two words carry the weight. Another status. And in advance.
Why a job is "another status"
Recall what D-2 means. From the decree we covered on Friday: a person who intends to receive education in a regular course at a junior college or above. That is the activity your status authorises. Studying.
Paid work is not that activity. It belongs to a different status of stay — one of the employment categories. So a student who takes a part-time job is, in the language of the Act, engaging in activities corresponding to another status in addition to their own. Which is precisely the situation Article 20 addresses.
This is why "is it allowed?" is the wrong first question. The Act does not ask how many hours you work, or whether the job is small, or whether you are paid in cash. It asks whether the activity belongs to your status. A job does not, so permission is required — and the permission has to come first.
Two things happen if you skip it
Working without that permission is not a paperwork oversight. It appears in two separate places in the Act, and they operate independently.
Article 94, item 12 lists a person who violates Article 20 by engaging in another status's activities without permission. The penalty at the top of that article is imprisonment for up to three years, or a fine of up to 30 million won. That is a criminal penalty, and it does not disappear when you leave the country.
Article 46(1), item 8 lists the grounds for deportation, and Article 20 is named there directly, alongside Articles 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25.
These are not alternatives you pick between. Both provisions can attach to the same act.
The employer is not outside this
People sometimes assume the risk sits entirely with the student. It does not. Article 21(2) says no person shall employ, or arrange the employment of, a foreigner who has not obtained the required change or addition of workplace permission. Article 18 carries parallel provisions for employing someone without a status that permits work, and Article 94 penalises those too.
Which means an employer who tells you "don't worry about the paperwork" is describing their own exposure as well as yours. It is a reasonable thing to raise before you start, not after.
What we still are not telling you
The same three gaps we flagged yesterday are still gaps, and we would rather name them than paper over them.
- How many hours. Permitted hours are set through Ministry of Justice guidance, vary by status and level of study, and are revised. The Act does not contain them.
- Which jobs qualify. Certain categories of work are excluded from this permission entirely. That list is also ministry practice, not statute.
- What the application needs. Documents and processing depend on your immigration office.
For all three, the immigration office and your university's international office are the sources that count. What the Act gives you is the part that does not move: permission exists, it comes first, and going without it is a criminal matter rather than an administrative one.
Related reading
- D-2 or D-4? The Korean Study Visa Difference, Straight From the Decree (2026)
- Health Insurance in Korea for Students: Why D-2 and D-4 Holders Don't Wait Six Months
- HiKorea Explained: Booking a Visit and Checking Your Expiry Date
Sources: Immigration Act, Article 20 (Activities outside status of stay), Article 21 (Change or addition of workplace), Article 46(1) (Persons subject to deportation), Article 94 (Penal provisions). Korean Law Information Center, checked 24 August 2026. Translations are ours and are given for orientation only — the Korean text governs, and permitted working hours must be confirmed with the immigration office.
