My Korean husband filed for divorce while I'm visiting family abroad and just emailed me the court documents — is that even valid, and how much time do I have?

An email from your husband is not service, and no deadline runs from it. Service on a respondent abroad has to come from the court through official channels; until it does, the thirty-day period your friend mentioned has not started. That said, the petition is real, the court will attempt to serve you, and "he emailed me a PDF" is exactly the moment to act rather than wait, because the case now exists and its first exhibit is the story that you abandoned him. On returning: flying back to Korea next month is fine for your visa, helps your habitual residence, and puts you in a position to be served and to respond on your own terms.

Can he divorce in Korea, and under which law

Yes. A Korean court has jurisdiction under Article 56 of the Act on Private International Law (국제사법, gukje sabeop) because he is a Korean national habitually resident here, and Korean law applies under Article 66. He has filed for judicial divorce (재판상 이혼, jaepansang ihon) under Article 840 of the Civil Act, alleging malicious desertion — leaving the marital home without justification. Three months caring for a post-surgical parent, with a return planned and, presumably, messages saying so, is not desertion. That is your answer on the merits, and it is a good one.

Service abroad: what is valid and what isn't

A respondent in Canada is served through the Hague Service Convention, to which Korea and Canada are both parties, or — for Korean nationals only — through the Korean consulate. You are not Korean, so consular service does not apply to you; the court transmits the documents through Canada's central authority, and they reach you by the method Canadian law permits. That takes months. Service by email, or by the petitioner handing you a copy, has no legal effect.

The answer (답변서, dapbyeonseo) is due within thirty days of valid service, or within the longer period the court sets for a respondent abroad. If no answer is filed after valid service, the court may proceed without you and adopt his allegations. That is what "lose automatically" refers to, and it is a real risk — after service, not now.

Which route: agreement, mediation, litigation

The case will go to mediation (조정, jojeong) first. If you are represented by then, mediation is where the "abandonment" narrative meets your messages and your mother's medical records, and where the apartment question is discussed with both sides present.

Children, property and support

The apartment in his name is not his alone. Property division (재산분할, jaesan bunhal) covers assets acquired during five years of marriage in either name; you claim your share in your answer or by counterclaim. Consolation money (위자료, wijaryo) follows fault, and a petition built on a false desertion claim has its own consequences on that question.

Responding from Canada

You can respond entirely through Korean counsel. A power of attorney (위임장, wiimjang), notarized and apostilled in Canada, appoints a lawyer who files the answer and appears for you. If you return next month, you can sign it in person and skip the apostille. Either way, counsel can contact the court now, confirm the case number and the service attempts, and put your address on file — which turns an unpredictable service process into a known timeline.

What this means for your stay in Korea

An F-6 is not affected by a pending divorce petition. Re-entering Korea next month is normal; a filed case is not a bar. Your absence has been a trip to care for a parent, documented, and your return continues your residence — both for the divorce court and for any later immigration review, where a divorce judgment matters and where the Immigration Office, not the court, decides. MEGA X handles the divorce; where the outcome affects your stay, we coordinate with an immigration specialist as part of the case.

Practical insight

Respondents abroad lose these cases by treating the gap before service as time off. The petitioner uses it: the file grows, the hearing date approaches, and the respondent's first appearance is an apology for lateness. The other loss is evidence — the messages saying "I'll be back next month," the surgery date, the flight booking — sitting on a phone rather than in a lawyer's file. Save them now.

Forward us the PDF he sent, and we can identify the court and the hearing date and tell you what has actually been done about service — by text consultation or at +82-2-522-3959.

— MEGA X Law Firm Korea, International Family Law Team