Korean is spoken by millions of people living in South Korea, North Korea and in several Chinese prefectures. However, slight differences in word usage and grammar exists between the Korean language spoken by South and North Koreans. Learning Korean also involves learning dialectical differences based on tonal and idiomatic dissimilarities. However, these dialects are partially intelligible and generally pose little problem when communicating in either districts.

Requirements for the PhD program often involve the student having already obtained a Master’s degree. Additionally, a thesis or dissertation primarily consisting of original academic research must be submitted. In some countries, this work may even need to be defended in front of a panel.