My Korean wife wants a divorce after one year — I'm an E-2 teacher with nothing here. Is the "agreement divorce" really that simple?

Your wife has it mostly right. Divorce by agreement (협의이혼, hyeobui ihon) is the simplest procedure Korean law offers, foreign nationals use it every day, and for a childless one-year marriage with no shared assets it is the right route. The parts she cannot answer are the ones that decide whether it actually gets finished in five months: the language question, the documents, and the sequence. Leaving before the final step does, in effect, kill it.

Can you divorce in Korea, and under which law

A Korean court has jurisdiction under Article 56 of the Act on Private International Law (국제사법, gukje sabeop): your wife is a Korean national with habitual residence here, and so are you in the residence sense. Korean law applies under Article 66, because one spouse is a Korean national habitually residing in Korea. Your Canadian nationality does not pull Canadian law in.

Which route: agreement, mediation, litigation

Divorce by agreement has three steps. You apply together at the family court with jurisdiction over your registered address; you attend a guidance session and then wait out the cooling-off period (숙려기간, sungnyeo gigan), which is one month where there are no minor children; and you return together for the court to confirm your intention. After confirmation, one of you must report the divorce to the family registry within three months, or the confirmation lapses.

Two practical points for a foreign spouse. First, you may bring your own interpreter, and the court will want to be satisfied that you understand what you are confirming; if you turn up without one and your Korean is limited, some courts will not proceed that day. Second, bring identification the court accepts: your passport and alien registration card, and, depending on the court, a document from your embassy or a sworn statement about your marital status. Ask the specific court in advance; requirements vary and a missing paper costs you a round trip.

If she changes her mind or does not appear, the route becomes judicial divorce (재판상 이혼, jaepansang ihon), which is slower. Given that she initiated this, that is unlikely — but it is the reason to book the first appointment now, not in month four.

Children, property and support

None to decide. If you want certainty that neither side will later claim property division (재산분할, jaesan bunhal) or consolation money (위자료, wijaryo), a short written agreement signed by both of you at the same time is inexpensive insurance; the two-year window for property claims runs after the divorce.

Leaving Korea: service and timing

Both of you are here, so there is no service problem. The problem is sequencing. If you leave Korea after the first appointment but before the confirmation date, the process does not complete; a divorce by agreement requires you at both appearances. If your contract end and the court date collide, there is a consular route for a Korean national and a spouse abroad, but it is slower and more paperwork than simply finishing here. Start early enough that the second appearance falls comfortably before your flight.

What this means for your stay in Korea

Nothing. Your E-2 is tied to your employer, not your marriage. Your contract is unaffected. There is no notification to your school and nothing to report to immigration.

Practical insight

The step Canadians in your position most often skip is the home side. Canada generally recognizes a foreign divorce where either spouse was ordinarily resident in that country for the year before the proceedings — a principle, not a guarantee for your file. But recognition is only useful if you can prove the divorce: obtain the divorce confirmation and a certificate of the family register entry showing the divorce, with an apostille and a certified English translation, before you leave. Getting those from Canada later is slow and expensive. The second thing people forget is the three-month reporting deadline after confirmation; if neither of you files the report, you are still married.

If you would like the court's document list checked and the dates mapped against your contract, that takes one short conversation — by text consultation or at +82-2-522-3959.

— MEGA X Law Firm Korea, International Family Law Team