Universities open to public in South Korea and Japan?

Question

In California and most other states in the USA, at public universities (and sometimes private universities), it is possible for anyone who is not affiliated with the institution to walk into a classroom and learn for free. In small classes, it is polite to show up 5 minutes early and ask the class instructor if your presence is welcome (the answer is almost always yes); in large lectures no such introduction is necessary.

Is it similar in Japan and S. Korea? If I want to visit a class at the university, what sort of introduction should I make to whom, and how do I know which classes are more 'open' to the public in this sense and which ones are more private?

Answer 1

I have been studying in Korea for two years have have never seen a case like that, so the answer may be no :) Koreans fought very hard to enter universities and admission is kind of a privilege you have to earn, and class sizes are generally small enough for the instructor to remember everyone's name. You can freely roam most campuses and enjoy the landscape design though

Answer 2

Most of case, it's not quite difficult to hanging around in a campus under weekdays on working hour. However, it's not familiar culture that joining other class if you are not part of that institute.

But don't hesitate to do that. If you really want to see how South Korean studies in a university, try some classes with pay a little more time to ask any student who is not seems quite busy. Most of case, you can get a hint for an appropriate classes for your request.

Answer 3

In Japan, it depends highly on universities. Some universities ask everyone trying to get into the campus to show ID cards but other universities are open to strangers. I feel there are more universities that let you enter the campus than not.

However, the class is usually for students. You could enter the class that has more capacity, a kind of classes that accommodate 200+ students, but in smaller class (less than 40) you likely can't (or more likely "shouldn't", as these classes tend to be that teachers force students to answer questions on materials, which you don't have).

Universities usually have a cafeteria but some universities only accept its students, professors, and staffs, so you can't buy food or drinks without its IDs (or at least you can't get a discount).

South Korea is more open to strangers as far as I know. You can enter the campus in most cases but I'm not sure if you could enter the class (probably could, but not sure if they are tolerant). Many Chinese travelers enter the campus and take a photo, especially at the Ehwa Women University, the top female university in South Korea.