Your guide to studying in Korea
GKS Undergraduate Scholarship 2027 Guide
Who can apply for the 2027 undergraduate GKS (formerly KGSP), what it pays, and the years to a degree.
What is GKS?
The Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) is a scholarship program run by NIIED under the Ministry of Education to support international students in Korea.
What does GKS cover?
GKS supports scholars with the following categories.
GKS-U amounts are from the 2027 guidelines; GKS-G from the 2026 set. NIIED covers tuition up to KRW 5,000,000 per semester (for GKS-G the period is stated in the Korean text only), and the university pays the admission fee — plus, in the 2027 GKS-U English guideline, anything above the cap. The language year costs KRW 5,200,000 a year, and the flight is an economy ticket at actual cost — though not for scholars already living in Korea when the final results are announced.
The allowance is where the two programs differ: GKS-U pays KRW 13,560,000 for the language year and KRW 14,400,000 a year on the degree; GKS-G pays KRW 14,400,000, then KRW 16,560,000 a year, and KRW 20,880,000 on the research program.
GKS-U's figure is all-inclusive: the 2027 guideline folds living costs, accommodation, health insurance, Korean proficiency grants, the TOPIK application fee, the settlement allowance and the return-home grant into it; the 2026 GKS-G guideline prints its amounts without that breakdown. GKS-U's are the 2027 cycle's amounts and GKS-G's the 2026 cycle's; they change by cycle, and GKS-G's is stated as subject to budget availability.
How much GKS pays, program by program
Scholarships in Korea beyond GKS: who can enter each
Work out what you still need to fundEmbassy or university track?
- Apply via Korean embassy of your citizenship
- Up to 3 universities
- 3 rounds of selection
- Apply directly to 1 university
- 2 rounds of selection
- Best for a specific program
Hold Japanese nationality? Check this before using either track above. The official Japanese-language sources on both sides — the Korean Education Foundation (KREF) in Tokyo, and Japan's own JASSO and MEXT — route Japanese degree applicants to a separate GKS program for Japanese nationals, the Korea–Japan Educational Exchange Cooperation Project (韓日教育交流協力事業), rather than to the two tracks on this page. It runs on its own guideline: you apply in Japan under the call the Korean Embassy and KREF publish (by post to KREF in Tokyo; NIIED's 2027 notice set the document deadline at 21 October 2026, which has passed), the closing date is set there rather than by NIIED, and every level, graduate places included, starts in March — GKS-G starts in September. Its 2027 guideline, posted by NIIED on 10 September 2026, keeps 15 undergraduate and 15 graduate places, subject to Korea's 2027 budget.
- Parents’ nationality: the 2027 guideline’s editions disagree. Its Korean text, like KREF and NIIED’s document guide, says any non-Korean nationality; its Japanese text says Japanese. Confirm with KREF.
- TOPIK: the 2027 guideline gives a preference from level 3, as KREF’s page does, with more points at higher levels (the 2026 one started at level 5). Level 5 or above also skips the one-year Korean course.
- Grades in the 2027 guideline: 80% or above, or a rank within the top 20%, or a CGPA of 2.64/4.0, 2.80/4.3, 2.91/4.5 or 3.23/5.0 or above. The transcript must carry the CGPA or the class rank.
- Converted grades: NIIED’s 2027 document guide reads a 評定平均値 on the 5.0 scale. One line of it (p.12) waives the school seal on a conversion site’s printout; its pp.13 and 17 and the 2027 guideline require it.
- JASSO’s 2027 page adds what the guideline’s table lacks: a Japanese translation of the application form, personal statement and study plan, one each. Post it all, second-round set too, in one tracked envelope.
Checked 1 October 2026 against the program’s guideline in its Korean and Japanese text and NIIED’s notice for it (Study in Korea, 10 September 2026), NIIED’s document guide (16 September 2026), KREF, and JASSO (updated 25 September 2026). NIIED posts it under the GKS name, but on its own guideline and schedule, apart from the GKS-U and GKS-G calls.
KREF's own page on the programWho is eligible for GKS?
- Nationality
- Applicant & parents non-Korean
- Country
- GKS-U 2027: 74 invited countries (university-track UIC programme: any but Korea) · GKS-G: own list
- Age
- GKS-U: under 25 · GKS-G: under 40
- Degree
- GKS-U: high-school completion · GKS-G: bachelor's for master's, master's for PhD
- Graduation
- GKS-U 2027: by December 31, 2026 · GKS-G 2026: by July 31, 2026
- Language
- No TOPIK required to apply
- Health
- Meet health requirements
Most scholars need TOPIK 3 to start the degree and TOPIK 5–6 to skip the language year. GKS-G exempts some program tracks from both.
Who cannot apply for GKS 2027?
The guideline lists these separately from the requirements above. Meeting every one of those requirements still leaves you ineligible if any one of these applies to you.
- Schooling in Korea
- Graduating — or expecting to graduate — from a Korean high school (international schools included) or from a Korean associate-degree programme makes you ineligible. So does an online curriculum from a school or university located in Korea, or being in your final year at one right now.
- Korean citizenship, yours or a parent's
- You and your parents or legal guardians must hold citizenship of a country other than Korea. If you or a parent hold Korean citizenship alongside another, you are ineligible — and you or a parent who once held it must submit the Korean government's document proving it was renounced. A citizenship change during the selection process also excludes you, except on the UIC programme.
- A past Korean government degree scholarship
- A former GKS scholar who held one cannot apply, nor can a scholar whose GKS scholarship was cancelled after a degree programme or the IRTS Korean course began, nor anyone who held a degree scholarship from a Korean government agency other than NIIED. GKS non-degree Exchange Student and IRTS Korean-language alumni can apply.
- A withdrawal within the last three years
- Anyone selected as a GKS degree scholar within the last three years who then withdrew, or was disqualified from the scholarship, cannot apply.
- More than one application
- Embassy track: one programme only — General, Overseas Koreans & Adoptees, or R-GKS. University track: one of UIC or Associate, at one university and one department. Applying to more than one track, programme or university has the application disregarded, and the scholarship cancelled if it is found later. And if you passed the embassy track's first round — backup candidates included — you may not apply again through the university track; that second chance is for unsuccessful applicants only.
From sections II.1 and II.2 of the 2027 GKS-U guideline. GKS-G publishes its own restrictions, and its 2027 guideline has not been posted. 2027 GKS-U Application Guidelines
Your country's 2027 GKS quota: how many places?
The embassy track's 156 places are divided between 74 countries in advance, so you compete with applicants from your own country. The full table, what changed from 2026, and the Korean embassy for each country are on their own page.
See your country's 2027 places and embassyMaster's and PhD (GKS-G): places by countryWhen can you apply?
GKS-U · Undergraduate
Embassy window closed 30 September · university Sep–Nov · final results expected by 7 January 2027 · classes start the following spring
GKS-G · Graduate
Applies ~February–March · results by late June · classes start in autumn
The GKS-U dates are the confirmed 2027 schedule; the GKS-G dates are the typical cycle and are not confirmed. Embassy and university deadlines can differ.
See the full GKS 2027 timelineFrom application to degree: how long does GKS-U take?
A 2027 GKS-U bachelor's scholarship lasts 5 to 7 years: one year of Korean, then 4 to 6 years of degree study. An associate scholarship lasts 3 to 4 years, 2 to 3 of them degree study.
- 1. Apply
- 2027 GKS-U embassy track: online, closed September 30, 2026 at 6:00 PM KST; university track: own dates.
- 2. Selection
- Embassy track: three rounds (embassy, NIIED, universities); university track: two (university, NIIED). Final result expected on January 7, 2027; NIIED emails the invitation letter in January 2027.
- 3. Korean language year
- At your degree university. TOPIK level 3 or higher by the end of that year starts the degree; some universities or departments ask for level 4. To skip the language year: TOPIK 5 or 6 at application, or sent to NIIED by December 24, 2026, starts the degree in March 2027; in the first six months, in September 2027.
From the 2027 GKS-U guideline (VI–VII, FAQ), which prints no language-year start month.
What GPA do you need for GKS-U and GKS-G?
Minimum CGPA to meet the 80% baseline
Top 20% rank can be used instead of the 80% CGPA baseline.
The 2027 GKS-U guideline and the 2026 GKS-G guideline print the same baseline. Clearing it is necessary, not sufficient.
What documents do you need?
- GKS application forms — seven (Form 1–7) for GKS-U, ten (Form 1–10) for GKS-G
- Apostille / consular confirmation
- Certified translation (as required)
- Submission differs by track: the Embassy Track uploads to the Study in Korea system in both GKS-U and GKS-G, while the University Track follows each university's own method
- Start early and prepare carefully
Visa
- D-4 for language year
- D-2 for degree study
- Requirements vary by country
Residence Card, extension and the D-4 to D-2 change
Strategy
- GPA is one gate, not the only factor
- Selection also considers study plan, interview, and fit
- Choose universities and programs carefully
- Plan early and stay organized
Sources 2026 GKS-G · 2027 GKS-U Application GuidelinesLast verified Independentnot affiliated with GKS/NIIED/the Korean governmentconfirm with the published guidelines