Your guide to studying in Korea
GKS Application Guide
How the Korean-government scholarship works, and how to check whether your GPA clears the bar.
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. Tuition is covered up to KRW 5,000,000, with the university paying anything above that and the admission fee — the 2026 GKS-G guideline states that cap per semester, while the 2027 GKS-U benefits table gives no period. 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.
That figure is all-inclusive: the guidelines fold living costs, health insurance, Korean proficiency grants, the TOPIK application fee, the settlement allowance and the degree completion grant into it. 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.
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 bilateral program, 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: applications go by post to KREF in Tokyo instead of through an embassy portal, the closing date is set by KREF rather than NIIED, and entry is in March rather than September. The 2026 cycle offered 15 undergraduate and 15 graduate places.
Verified 31 August 2026 against KREF and JASSO. Those figures and dates describe the 2026 cycle of that bilateral programme, which is separate from GKS and publishes on its own schedule.
KREF's own page on the programWho is eligible for GKS?
- Nationality
- Applicant & parents non-Korean
- 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
- 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 — 88 General, 61 R-GKS and 7 Overseas Koreans & Adoptees. So the people you are competing with are the other applicants from your own country, not the whole world.
| Country | G | R | O&A | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Angola | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Azerbaijan | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Bahamas | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | — | 3 |
| Bolivia | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Brazil | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Brunei | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Bulgaria | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Cambodia | 2 | 1 | — | 3 |
| Canada | 1 | — | 1 | 2 |
| Chile | 2 | 1 | — | 3 |
| Colombia | 2 | 2 | — | 4 |
| Costa Rica | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Cuba | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Czechia | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Dominican Republic | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Ecuador | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Egypt | 2 | 1 | — | 3 |
| El Salvador | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Ethiopia | 2 | 1 | — | 3 |
| Fiji | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Gabon | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Ghana | 2 | 1 | — | 3 |
| Guatemala | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| India | 2 | 2 | — | 4 |
| Indonesia | 2 | 2 | — | 4 |
| Iran | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Iraq | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Jordan | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Kazakhstan | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Kenya | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Laos | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Madagascar | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Malaysia | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Mexico | 2 | 1 | — | 3 |
| Mongolia | 2 | 2 | — | 4 |
| Morocco | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Mozambique | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Myanmar | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Nepal | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Nigeria | 2 | 2 | — | 4 |
| Pakistan | 2 | 1 | — | 3 |
| Panama | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Paraguay | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Peru | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Philippines | 1 | 2 | — | 3 |
| Poland | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Russia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Rwanda | 2 | 1 | — | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Singapore | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| South Africa | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| South Sudan | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Sweden | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Syria | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Tajikistan | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Tanzania | 1 | 2 | — | 3 |
| Thailand | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Timor-Leste | 1 | 2 | — | 3 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Türkiye | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Turkmenistan | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Uganda | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Uruguay | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Uzbekistan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Venezuela | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Vietnam | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Yemen | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| All countries | 88 | 61 | 7 | 156 |
G = General · R = R-GKS · O&A = Overseas Koreans & Adoptees. An em dash (—) means the country has no places in that programme.
Not on the list? Then your country is not invited to the embassy track this cycle — but that is not the end of it. The University Track's UIC programme is open to every country in the world except Korea and has 100 places of its own, applied for directly to one university.
The guideline attaches one caveat of its own: depending on local circumstances, the Korean embassy in an invited country may decide not to recommend a candidate at all.
Places by country from section I.3 of the 2027 GKS-U guideline. Country names are rendered from standard Unicode locale data, so a spelling may differ from the guideline's English. 2027 GKS-U Application Guidelines p.3 · Last verified
When can you apply?
GKS-U · Undergraduate
Embassy applies 15–30 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 timelineWhat GPA do you need for GKS-G?
Minimum CGPA to meet the 80% baseline
Top 20% rank can be used instead of the 80% CGPA baseline.
These are the published GKS-G baseline figures. Clearing the floor 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: GKS-G Embassy Track uploads to the Study in Korea System, otherwise your first-round embassy or university sets the method
- Start early and prepare carefully
Visa
- D-4 for language year
- D-2 for degree study
- Requirements vary by country
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