Korean Government Scholarships for International Students
The Global Korean Government Scholarship is a fully-funded program by the South Korean Government to international applicants. The scholarship grant aims to give opportunities to international students and develop their skills in their chosen courses or research programs while in Korea. With this program, Korea was able to strengthen its ties with other countries.
This scholarship grant provides a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctoral degree, and research programs to all the awarded applicants. There are also various Korean institutions included in the program. The number of scholarships granted to the international students in this program is a total of 220 yearly.
Scholarship Awards for Korean Government Scholarship
Korean Government Scholarship is a fully-funded program intended for international students by the South Korean Government. The awarded recipients of the program are entitled to awards and benefits.
Travel cost from home country to South Korea is free and included in the grant. Allowances will also be given. For Resettlement Allowance, the amount is KRW 200,000. For the Living Allowance, the amount is KRW 900,000 KRW to KRW 1,000,000 monthly. For Medical Insurance, an amount of KRW 20,000 is given every month.
Allowance for the actual study is also available. Since this program is fully funded, tuition fees will be free but with no more than 5 million KW per semester. To improve the students’ language skills, Korean Language Courses will be paid every quarter with the amount of KRW 800,000 for 1 year. Research Support is cost by KRW 210,000 – 240,000 per semester. Printing Costs for Dissertation is equivalent to KRW 500,000 – KRW 800,000.
Korean Proficiency Grants are given per month with an amount of KRW 100,000 and Degree Completion grants with the same amount but it is only provided once.
Eligibility Criteria for Korean Government Scholarship
To become an eligible candidate for the Korean Government Scholarship, an applicant should possess the traits and meets the standard of the Korean Government.
All international applicants are eligible to apply if they do not hold Korean citizenship. The physical well-being of the applicant also matters. Applicants should have a good health status, both physically and mentally as they are staying in a foreign country for a long time.
For undergraduate students, should be under the age of 25 and have finished formal education, elementary to high school, by the date of arrival. For graduate studies, students must be under 40 years of age and a holder of a Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree by the date of arrival. Good conduct and a grade point average (G.P.A.) above 80% should also be possessed by an aspiring applicant.
Applicants who have previously been part of any Korean Scholarship in any program are not eligible to apply. However, a scholar who attained 90% or above of the overall grade and achieved TOPIK level 5 or higher can reapply through the university or embassy.
Global Korean Government Scholarship Deadlines
The announcement for the release of the Global Korea Scholarship for undergraduate students is in September every year. The announcement in Korean Embassy per country and Korean institutions happen from October to November. By January, the results of the scholarship grant will be announced. And February will be the arrival of the awarded candidates in Korea.
The timeline for graduate students is different and is ahead unlike the timeline for undergraduate students. The announcement of release is by February. The announcement in Korean Embassy per country and Korean institutions happen from March to April. The list of awarded candidates will be posted by June. The arrival of the recipients in Korea is by late August.
For a more updated timeline for Korean Government Scholarships, the applicant should check the website for different Korean Scholarships and the Korean embassy in their respective country of origin.
How do I apply for the Global Korean Government Scholarship?
To proceed with the application process, the applicants should have the necessary documents submitted in hard copy. These documents are your application form, personal statements, the applicant and parents’ proof of residency, two recommendation letters, a transcript of records, a diploma, a statement of purpose, the Korean Government Scholarship agreement, a list of awards, published books (if any), a certificate of proficiency, and a medical assessment form.
The length of the chosen course varies per program. Students who wish to take undergraduate studies should have a 4-year course program in their designated university. The range for the Master’s Degree Program is 3 years. It is the equivalent of having 1 year of taking the Korean language program and 2 years for the degree study.
The span for Doctoral Degree Program is 4 years. It is equivalent to 1 year of studying the Korean language program and 3 years of taking the degree program. The Research Program span is 6 months.
When applying, an applicant must take note that there are two tracks on how and where to apply for the Korean Government Scholarship. They can choose between the Korean Embassy of the applicant’s country of origin or directly to the Korean Institutions. The scholarship slot may also vary depending on the chosen track of the applicant.
If an applicant chooses to utilize the Embassy track, they must submit their documents to the Korean Embassy of their country of origin. Only 125 slots for 67 eligible countries are allotted for the Embassy track. The applicant can choose up to 3 Korean institutions for their chosen program.
When an applicant chooses the University track, they may only send an application to one Korean university. They must submit all the required documents directly to the institutions. University track has 60 slots open for international candidates from 72 countries whose course of study is in engineering or natural science. For other associate degrees, they have 35 slots for international candidates from 17 countries.
Each track has a different set of deadlines and guidelines. It is the applicant’s responsibility to check the details with the embassy and their chosen university.
The applicant may check the Korean Government Scholarship page or their embassy for more necessary announcements. The announcement for the application process is updated and published yearly and can be seen on the GKS Notice board.
I hope that this article was helpful. If you are interested, visit the Korea Scholarships Page!