Korean Law – Flexible Continuing Education Programme (new 2025)

The Republic of Korea is a nation of rapidly growing economic, technological and political significance on the global stage. Fuelled in part by the global influence of Korean popular culture, student interest in the country has also surged in recent years. Following the relaunch of the fully updated continuing education programme on Japanese law in January 2024, the Junior Professorship of East Asian Law has now established the new continuing education programme “Foundations of Korean law” as its first offering on another East Asian legal system. As the first university-level qualification in Korean law outside of East Asia, this new programme debuted in the summer of semester of 2025.

The eleven new course books for the core modules were developed by seasoned experts from renowned universities, commissioned by Prof Weitzdörfer during a research trip to Korea in 2023. The curriculum of this continuing education programme was designed to align with the existing Japanese law offerings and upcoming Taiwan programme. We aim to be able to provide all graduates of our three continuing education programmes full credit transfer options towards a planned LLM in East Asian Law.

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Initiated by Jun-Prof Dr Weitzdörfer’s predecessor, Prof Dr Hans-Peter Marutschke, more than ten years ago, there have been continuous efforts and preparations to expand the range of programmes from the established programme on Japanese law offered by Hagen University to include the legal systems of other East Asian countries. Johann In-Ho Kim, who headed the Department of Japanese Law from 2013 to 2016, continued the project.

The new continuing education programme offers the following advantages:

Completely new study materials with the latest Korean case law and legislation
Diploma of Advanced Studies certificate recognised by the Federal Ministry of Education in accordance with the German Qualifications Framework (DQR 7)
Full access to numerous legal databases
Interlibrary loan of approx. 6,000 volumes and 2 Korean subscription journals from our extensive Korean law library
Access to our network of experts and around 400 alumni worldwide
Full flexibility in terms of location and time; start of programme at any time, knowledge of the Korean language not required
Individual specialisation through elective modules and a self-selected research paper topic

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Module 0: Methodological Approach (10 ECTS)

Course unit CL – Introduction to Comparative Law

Module 1: Public Law (10 ECTS)

Course unit K1 – Korea: Society, Politics and Economy – Prof Eun-Jeung Lee (Freie Universität Berlin)

Course unit K2 – Historical Background of the Private Law System – Prof Sang-Yong Kim (Emeritus at Yonsei University)

Course unit K3 – Judicial System in the Past and Present – Prof Woo-Jin Choi (Korea University)

Course unit K4 – Constitutional Law I: State Organisation Law – Prof Kwang-Seok Cheon (Emeritus at Yonsei University)

Course unit K5 – Constitutional Law II: Fundamental Rights – Prof Dr Kwang-Seok Cheon (Emeritus at Yonsei University)

Course unit K6 – Criminal Law – Prof Jong-Hwan Kim (Yonsei University)

Module 2: Private Law (10 ECTS)

Course unit K7 – Private Law I: Overview – Prof Dschungmo-Ivo Seong (University of Seoul)

Course unit K8 – Private Law II: General Part of the Korean Civil Code – Prof Kyung-Hyo Ha (Emeritus at Korea University)

Course unit K9 – Private Law III: General Part of Contract Law – Prof Byung-Jun Lee (Korea University) / Prof Kim Hwa (Ewha Womans University)

Course unit K10 – Private Law IV: Special Part of Contract Law – Prof Byung-Jun Lee (Korea University)

Course unit K11 – Private Law V: Property Law – Prof Jin-Ki Lee (Sung Kyun Kwan University)

Seminar (10 ECTS)

Research paper on foreign and comparative law and oral presentation
In addition to the compulsory modules, the following elective modules are being developed and will be offered as optional units in the future:

Elective Module 1: Specialisation in Private Law (10 ECTS)

Course unit K12 – Family Law – TBC

Course unit K13 – Management without Mandate and Unjust Enrichment – Prof Kyu-Wan Kim (Korea University) / Dr Daegu Sung (Judicial Policy Research Institute at the Supreme Court of Korea)

Course unit K14 – Tort Law – Prof Sang-Joong Kim

Elective Module 2: Labour Law (10 ECTS)

Course unit K17 – Labour Law I: General Foundations – Dr Anna Hyler / TBC

Course unit K18 – Labour Law II: Collective Labour Law – Dr Anna Hyler / TBC

Course unit K19 – Labour Law III: Individual Labour Law I – Dr Anna Hyler / TBC

Course unit K20 – Labour Law IV: Individual Labour Law II – Dr Anna Hyler / TBC

Course unit K21 – Labour Law V: Individual Labour Law III – Dr Anna Hyler / TBC
The modules mentioned above are thematically and chronologically self-contained. This organisational principle allows you to structure your studies in a clear and flexible manner and thus adapt the duration of your studies, your study times and, above all, the distribution of your workload to suit your individual needs. All modules of this continuing education programme are offered continuously and are tailored to ensure that they can be successfully completed within one semester. However, you are not restricted to semester times and can start and complete a module at any time.
This programme is aimed at anyone who has a particular interest in Korean law, either professionally or personally. Prior knowledge of law or knowledge of the Korean language is not required.

The winter semester of 2025/26 saw the first cohort of 19 students start their studies in the continuing education programme:

Foto: FernUniversität in Hagen
The “Foundations of Korean Law” continuing education programme is open to anyone who
- has successfully completed a university degree (at a university or university of applied sciences) or
- has acquired the necessary aptitude through professional training (completed vocational training and employment in a relevant profession, e.g., judicial clerk, foreign language secretary, foreign trade clerk, interpreter, specialist for labour market services, notary clerk, patent attorney assistant, legal assistant, social security clerk, assistant tax consultant, administrative clerk).
The required professional aptitude is verified at the time of enrolment by the registrar’s office; in cases of doubt, the academic directorate will determine if the applicant’s professional qualifications are sufficient for admission. Information on this can be obtained by email at eastasianlaw. The examination regulations referred to below apply.
The fee for the continuing education programme is EUR 2,000 (payment in instalments possible). This includes access to the three core modules, including taking the final module examinations as well as support and participation in the final seminar, for up to five semesters. If you need more time for your studies after the end of five semesters, an additional fee of EUR 150 will be charged for each additional semester.

As soon as the optional elective modules are available, a fee of EUR 500.00 will be charged for each module selected. You can re-register for an additional semester free of charge for each elective module you have taken. If you have already taken this continuing education programme in the past, you can resume your studies by taking one or more elective modules at this price, at no additional cost, and receive a new certificate.

According to the new examination regulations, as of 2025 the fee for the continuing education programmes on Japanese and Taiwanese law can be reduced by 25% per credited module upon recognition (currently EUR 375 for Taiwan, as from 01.01.2027 EUR 500; EUR 500 for Japan). It is generally always possible to transfer Module 0 credits from other continuing education programmes to this one, but concluding seminars from other programmes cannot be credited.