My certification,
will it work in Korea?
Will my C-card work in Korea?
A scuba certification is not a government license but an accreditation (C-card) issued by a private training agency. Agencies use different names, but the entry → intermediate → rescue → professional framework is aligned to international standards (ISO 24801/24802 · WRSTC), so a card is honored on Korea's fun-diving scene regardless of the issuing agency. This guide shows the distribution of agencies using data from 81 Korean dive centers.
Issued by training agencies, not the government
Korea has no separate government license for recreational diving either. Cards from different agencies work because the framework is aligned to the WRSTC minimum standard plus ISO 24801/24802. A card only certifies that ‘you trained at this level’; depth and environmental limits are managed by rating and logbook.
- Standard entry path: Discover dive → Open Water (~18m) → Advanced (~30m) → Rescue → Professional (Divemaster/Instructor)
81 shops, PADI dominates
We aggregated the training-agency field for 81 dive centers (shops with multiple agencies counted more than once). At least one agency is listed for 47/81, unconfirmed for 34/81. Among listed shops: PADI 33 (~70%) · SDI 11 · TDI 8 · SSI 7 · NAUI 7.
- PADI 33 · SDI 11 · TDI 8 · SSI 7 · NAUI 7 · CMAS 4 · a few others
- The 34 unconfirmed cases are not ‘no training offered’ — the agency name is simply unconfirmed in the primary source (concentrated among new resort-style shops on the East Sea)
Different names, aligned framework
World's largest recreational agency (~60–75% estimated). #1 in our data with 33 shops, 21 on Jeju. Effectively the lingua franca for foreign divers.
TDI 1994 (technical leader) · SDI 1998 (recreational). In step with technical demand on the East Sea: SDI 11 · TDI 8.
Digital-first (MySSI app). Ratings roughly 1:1 compatible with PADI. 7 shops.
NAUI (1959, non-profit) 7 shops. CMAS uses a star rating (1–3★); its Korean member body is KUDA. RAID · BSAC · GUE are a small minority.
- The 34 unconfirmed cases have no agency name confirmed in the primary source — this does not mean ‘untrained’.
- PADI's global market share is an estimate (aggregated).
Your card is universal,
now to Korea's waters
Your card works here.