Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), undergraduate
Korea's government scholarship for a bachelor's or associate degree, run by NIIED. 286 places for 2027: 156 through Korean embassies in 74 countries, 100 on the university (UIC) track, which is open to every country, and 30 for associate degrees. It pays your tuition, a monthly allowance, a flight to Korea and a year of Korean first, unless TOPIK 5 or 6 excuses you.
Start your application Read the official pageOpens in Korean. Pick your language from the Language menu at the top right, sign up, then press the blue button GKS 학부장학금 신청하기 (apply for the GKS undergraduate scholarship).
Bachelor's 5 to 7 years, associate 3 to 4 years: a year of Korean first, then the degree. TOPIK 5 or 6 skips the language year.
- 1Check your country in the guideline's quota table. The embassy track covers 74 countries for 2027; the UIC track is open to everybody
- 2EMBASSY TRACK: apply online on Study in Korea between 15 September 2026 at 11:00 and 30 September at 18:00, Korean time
- 3UNIVERSITY TRACK: apply to the university itself between September and November 2026, on its own dates and in its own way
Embassy track: apply online on Study in Korea, 15 to 30 September 2026. University track (UIC or associate degree): one university and one department, its own way, September to November. Pass the embassy's first round and you cannot also apply through a university; fail it and you still can.
NIIED, 2027 GKS-U Application Guidelines (September 2026) ↗Checked 15 September 2026
Official sources. Waegook does not guarantee admission, funding or a visa.
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Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), undergraduate
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- We read the official notice and checked this page against it.
- Government of Korea (NIIED) decides who gets it, not Waegook.
- Rules can change. Check the official page before you apply.
What you pay
per program · official
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once · official
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The school does not publish what a year costs to live, so we cannot say what share is left for you. We will not put a figure there until it does.
Read the official page →Official figures from the source page on the date checked. Estimates are Waegook's. Unknown is shown as not published, never as zero.
Who can apply
- You and both parents (or legal guardians) hold a nationality other than Korean. Dual Korean citizenship in any of you means you cannot apply
- Your country is on NIIED's list for this cycle, 74 countries for the embassy track. The UIC university track is open to every country in the world
- Under 25: born on or after 1 March 2002
- You finished high school or an associate degree, or will by 31 December 2026. Somebody who already holds a bachelor's degree cannot apply
- Grades: 80 or more out of 100, or the top 20% of your class, or a CGPA of at least 2.64/4.0, 2.80/4.3, 2.91/4.5 or 3.23/5.0
- NOT eligible: anyone who graduated, or will graduate, from a Korean high school (international schools in Korea included) or a Korean associate degree, online courses included, and anyone in their final year at a high school or university in Korea
- NOT eligible: anyone who already studied for a degree on a Korean government scholarship (from NIIED or any other agency), a GKS scholar whose scholarship was cancelled after starting a degree or the IRTS Korean course, and anyone selected in the past three years who withdrew or was disqualified. Former GKS exchange students and IRTS Korean course graduates can apply
- Good health, in body and mind, for the whole programme, and nothing that would stop you travelling abroad
- If your nationality changes during screening, you are excluded, except for UIC applicants.
- You must have no criminal record and no disqualification for overseas travel.
- You can apply while living outside your own country, Korea included. Living in Korea, or entering from a third country, means no visa support and no entry airfare
- Some universities and departments add their own requirements, such as a language level: check the University information file posted with the guideline
From the official page. The provider decides, not Waegook.
Keeping it
TOPIK 5 or 6 in the first six months ends the language year early, and the degree starts in September 2027. Your field cannot change after final selection. Leave within three months of enrolling and you pay everything back. A scholarship you give up cannot be taken back or applied for again.
From the official page. The provider decides, not Waegook.
Helpers for this
People in Trusted Help who list "Scholarship guidance". Waegook has reviewed their account information. Please still agree fees in writing first. The application itself always goes through the school or the embassy.
Where this comes from
- Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), undergraduate ↗Checked 18 September 2026
- Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), undergraduate ↗Checked 18 September 2026
- Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), undergraduate ↗Checked 18 September 2026
- Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), undergraduate ↗Checked 18 September 2026
- Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), undergraduate ↗Checked 15 September 2026
- Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), undergraduate ↗Checked 15 September 2026
- Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), undergraduate ↗Checked 15 September 2026
- NIIED announcement, 2027 GKS-U ↗Supports: the call, published 9 September 2026, and every attachment · Checked 15 September 2026
- 2027 GKS-U Application Guidelines (English) ↗Supports: eligibility, grades, documents, the schedule, the benefits and the country quota · Checked 15 September 2026
- 2027 GKS-U Application Guidelines (Korean) ↗Supports: the benefits table, which sets the tuition limit per semester · p.22 · Checked 15 September 2026
Each page above supports the part of this entry named beside it.
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Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), undergraduate. An admin checks the official page before anything changes.
What do I need?
- Form 1, application form, completed online Apply
- Form 2, personal statement, completed online
- Form 3, study plan, completed online
- Form 4, recommendation letter, uploaded as a scan (the original goes in after round one)
- Form 5, GKS applicant agreement, completed online
- Form 6, personal medical assessment, completed online
- Form 7, consent to collect and use personal information, completed online
- Proof of citizenship for you AND both parents, and proof of your family relationship
- High school graduation certificate, or a certificate of expected graduation
- High school transcript
- Associate degree graduation certificate, if you took one
- Associate degree transcript, if you took one
- Proof of overseas Korean or Korean adoptee status, if it applies to you
- Proof that you renounced Korean citizenship, if it applies to you
- Proof of being a Korean War veteran's descendant, if it applies to you
- TOPIK, TOEFL iBT or IELTS score report, if you have one (TOPIK as the original, an English test as a copy). Scores earn points in the review
- Up to five awards or certificates from high school onward. Optional
- Passport copy. Optional
- If family facts are missing from the certificate, submit supporting documents such as divorce or death certificates.
- If nationality is not shown, add valid passport copies for you and your parents.
- If your transcript CGPA is not on a 4.0, 4.3, 4.5, 5.0, or 100-point scale, submit a conversion transcript.
- Submit one recommendation letter written within 1 year before the application deadline.
- No passport copy? Another government-issued document or ID card that shows your citizenship will do as the supplementary document
- Where a graduation exam report is the official record of high school grades, it can be assessed instead of a transcript
- TOPIK: only PBT 96th to 109th or IBT 4th to 16th score reports count as valid
Items 8 to 15 are the "required certificates": each needs an apostille or a Korean consular confirmation, on the original or on its certified translation. A plain photocopy, or a notarised copy of an apostilled document, is not accepted; a certified true copy from a Korean embassy, or from the government office that issued the apostille, is.
THE FIRST ROUND IS ENTIRELY ONLINE on the embassy track: you fill in forms 1 to 7 on the system and upload scans of everything else.
IF YOU PASS ROUND ONE you print and sign the forms and hand in the ORIGINALS, with the apostilled certificates, by the date and in the way your embassy sets (on the university track, the university sets them). NIIED only accepts papers that come through an embassy or a university, never from an applicant directly.
ONE TRACK AT A TIME. An embassy applicant who passes round one (reserve candidates included) cannot apply again through a university; one who fails it may. On the embassy track you enter only one programme: General, R-GKS, or Overseas Koreans and Adoptees. On the university track, one university and one department.
Expected to graduate? Send the expected-graduation certificate now, and the final certificate and transcript by 31 December 2026, or the offer is cancelled.
From the official guide. The school decides what it accepts, not Waegook.
How do I apply?
Embassy track: apply online on Study in Korea, 15 to 30 September 2026. University track (UIC or associate degree): one university and one department, its own way, September to November. Pass the embassy's first round and you cannot also apply through a university; fail it and you still can.
- 1Check your country in the guideline's quota table. The embassy track covers 74 countries for 2027; the UIC track is open to everybody
- 2EMBASSY TRACK: apply online on Study in Korea between 15 September 2026 at 11:00 and 30 September at 18:00, Korean time
- 3UNIVERSITY TRACK: apply to the university itself between September and November 2026, on its own dates and in its own way
- 4Embassy first-round result by 16 October. If you pass, hand your original papers to your embassy by the date it gives you. The embassy sends them on, and they reach NIIED by 30 October. Do not post them to NIIED yourself
- 5NIIED announces its round within November, and the universities announce theirs by 23 December
- 6Passed the last round and newly won TOPIK 5 or 6? Email the certificate to NIIED by 24 December 2026, and you skip the language year
- 7The final list of 2027 scholars is expected by 7 January 2027, and invitation letters come by email within January
- 8If you pass the embassy track's third screening, choose your final university in Study in Korea by 29 December 2026 at 18:00.
- 9UNIVERSITY TRACK: the recommendation letter goes to the university in a sealed envelope, signed by the recommender across the flap