One continuous
ladder
Try → Open Water → Instructor.
A scuba certification is a credential (C-card) issued by a private training agency. Even across different agencies, the shared global minimum training standard (WRSTC) and the international standards (ISO 24801/24802) keep them aligned, so a card you earn once is honored anywhere in the world. The path is a single line — Discover → Open Water → Advanced → Rescue → Divemaster → Instructor.
Three principles
Korea, too, has no separate national license for recreational diving. A card is proof of training, not an all-access license.
A C-card issued by private training agencies, not the government.
The WRSTC minimum standards plus ISO 24801/24802 align the framework across agencies.
Depth, environment and experience limits are managed through certification levels and your logbook.
Agencies build their courses on the floor
The WRSTC is a council that officially publishes the level-by-level minimum training standards agreed on by its member agencies. Each agency stacks its own course on top of this floor — they can teach better, but never below it. CMAS and BSAC are non-members, yet many of their levels are aligned with ISO 24801/24802 and are honored the same way.
- Published standards: Discover (trial) dive, supervised diver, Open Water, nitrox, entry-level rescue and instructor, plus a standard medical questionnaire and hand signals.
Dive independently with a buddy, unsupervised
Open Water (OW) is the first certification that lets you dive independently with a buddy, without supervision. Below it sit the Discover (trial) dive (not a certification — a single instructor-controlled session) and the supervised diver (under a professional's direct supervision).
From Discover to Instructor
The higher you climb, the stricter the standards (names follow the PADI system).
- Discover (trial) dive ~12m → supervised diver (ISO 24801-1) ~12m
- Open Water ~18m → Advanced ~30m → Deep ~40m
- Rescue (+first aid) → Divemaster → Instructor
- PADI Junior OW covers ages 10–14 (with age-based depth and supervision limits).
- Depth limits come from agency standards and on-site policy, not from law.