Notarization vs. apostille: which one Korea actually needs

Here is the short version: a notary just confirms you signed something in front of a licensed official. An apostille is the certificate that tells a foreign government the notary (or the issuing agency) was real. Korea only recognizes the second one on your core documents. If you stop at notarization, your documents aren't done, they're half done.

Why notarization by itself doesn't work for Korea

South Korea is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, which means your documents get an apostille, not full embassy or consular legalization, and not a standalone notary stamp. South Korea is a Hague Apostille Convention member, so E-2 documents get an apostille, not embassy legalization. A notarized copy of your diploma, with nothing else attached, is not something a Korean consulate or immigration office will accept as proof of anything.

That said, notarization usually isn't skippable either. It's step one, not the whole job.

The order that actually works

Private documents like letters, affidavits, powers of attorney and diploma copies need a notary acknowledgement first, while government-issued vital records do not. Your diploma is a private document (a university isn't a government body), so a notarized copy comes before the apostille. Your criminal record check is government-issued, so it skips notarization and goes straight to the apostille stage.

Who actually stamps the apostille depends on what kind of document it is, and this is where people waste money sending things to the wrong office.

State-issued documents go to the Secretary of State of the issuing state, while federal documents, including the FBI Identity History Summary, go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications. This trips up a lot of American applicants: your state's Secretary of State cannot apostille a federal FBI check. A state office may stamp it, but Korea rejects a state-apostilled FBI check.

If you're Canadian, the rules changed recently

Older guides online tell Canadians to get documents authenticated and then legalized at a Korean consulate. That advice is out of date. Canada formally acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention on May 12, 2023, and the convention entered into force for Canada on January 11, 2024. Before that, Canadians sending documents abroad needed authentication through Global Affairs Canada followed by consular legalisation, regardless of the destination country. Now Canadian apostilles are issued by Global Affairs Canada and designated provincial authorities (Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan all have their own Competent Authorities). If your recruiter or a forum post still mentions consular legalization for Canada, that step is gone. Don't pay for it.

South African teachers go through a different office entirely: the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in Pretoria apostilles education documents.

Your criminal record check has an expiration clock

Unlike your diploma, which never expires, your background check does. It must be issued within 6 months of the E-2 visa application. Order it after you have a signed contract, not before, or you may be re-doing it.

One thing we can't promise you

Some countries now issue a digital e-apostille with a QR code instead of a paper certificate with a ribbon. Korean immigration and the Korean consulates still prefer a physical apostilled document with ribbon and grommet, and some Korean programs explicitly require paper. If your country only offers the digital version, print it well and check with your placement coordinator before you submit, because acceptance isn't guaranteed everywhere.