Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP)
The Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) now known as the Global Korea Scholarship is a fully funded scholarship instituted by the Korean Government to give international students the opportunity to study Bachelors’ (undergraduate degree), Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Korean Universities.
The scholarship recipients are required to undergo 1 year of intensive Korean language training before proceeding to study their choice of programs ( those with TOPIK level 5 and above are exempted)
As a KGSP scholar, I decided to share with you the complete application procedure of this prestigious scholarship in my post.
NB: No application fee required so you lose Nothing applying
Application procedure:
There are two application tracks for both undergraduate and graduate degree applications. These are the embassy track and the university track. For embassy track, applicants are required to directly visit the Korean embassy in their countries and submit the forms. The other option, which is the university track, is where applicants submit the application form through just one university. Both tracks have advantages and disadvantages.
Undergraduate:
The scholarship application forms for the undergraduate studies are released every September in the year prior to planned studies in Korea. From October to November, both Embassies and universities recommend their selected candidates to the National Institute for International Education (NIIED) for further assessment and the results are released in January the following year. Around late February, successful applicant receive their air tickets and arrive in Korea for their planned studies.
Timeline
Undergraduate
Announcement released
September each year
Recommendation by embassies and universities
October- November
Results released
January the following year
Arrival in Korea
Late February
Graduate (Masters, PhD:
The scholarship application forms for the undergraduate studies are released every February in the year prior to planned studies in Korea. From March to April, both Embassies and universities recommend their selected candidates to the National Institute for International Education (NIIED) for further assessment and the results are released in June. Around late August, successful applicant receive their air tickets and arrive in Korea for their planned studies.
Timeline
Graduate
Announcement released
February each year
Recommendation by embassies and universities
March- April
Results released
June
Arrival in Korea
Late August
Scholarship Benefit
The prestigious Korean Government Scholarship is a Fully Funded and provides successful candidates all the needed resources to leave their country, arrive and live in Korea without cost to the beneficiary. These benefits include, living allowance, medical insurance, language courses, tuition fees, award for excellent Korean language proficiency, printing costs, airfare and others.
Categories
Amount
Tuition fees
100% (5 million KRW Max.)
Award for excellent Korean Language Proficiency
100,000 KRW
Research Support
200,000 KRW
Resettlement allowance
200,000 KRW
Airfare
Full cost from your country
Living allowance
800,000 KRW Undergraduate
900,000 KRW Graduate
Printing costs
500,000-800,000 KRW
Completion grant
100,000 KRW
Medical Insurance
20,000 KRW per month
Language Courses
800,000 KRW per quarter
Scholarship Quota
The total number of successful applicant accepted into the Korean Government Program varies each year. For instance in 2019, roughly 840 international students were accepted from over 150 countries for both Undergraduate and Ph.D. Studies
Scholarship qualification
· Both an applicant and his/her parents must be citizens of their country of origin (should not hold Korean citizenship).
· Applicants should be mentally and physically fit to stay in a foreign country.
· Under age 25 years at the date of entrance for Undergraduates or under age 40 years at the date of entrance for Graduates
· Must have finished or be scheduled to finish formal education of all elementary, middle, high school courses by the date of arrival. (Undergraduate)
· Possess a grade point average (G.P.A.) above 80% from the last educational institution attended.
· Applicants must also hold a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree by the date of arrival for graduates.
· Applicants who have previously achieved in any undergraduate program, master’s program, or doctoral program in Korea cannot apply for this program.
However, a former or current KGSP scholar who holds the overall grade of 90% or above can reapply to this program once either through the embassy or university track.
Eligible countries:
China, Japan, Russia, Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, , France, Dominica, Chile, Iran, Canada, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Pakistan, Gabon, Romania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, Turkey, USA, Ethiopia, Colombia, Nepal, Senegal, Bangladesh, Ukraine, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Egypt, Tanzania, Germany.
Venezuela, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Brazil, Brunei, Serbia, Seychelles, Sudan, Sweden, Slovenia, Armenia, Argentina, Haïti, Ireland, Afghanistan, Angola, Oman, Austria, Uruguay, Iraq, Israel, Zambia, Cameroon, Qatar, Kenya, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Panama, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Fiji, Hungary, Australia, Jordan, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Czech, Guatemala, Ecuador, Algeria, Yemen, Uganda, Belize, Honduras, Italy, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Poland, Ghana, Georgia, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Republic of South Africa, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Rwanda, Libya, Lithuania, Moldavia, Bahrain, Barbados, Bahamas
The Korean Government Scholarships Application Form can be downloaded from the Government’s main website http://www.studyinkorea.go.kr/null/main.do;jsessionid=FF8C0E5DA977316EA89753A8AE5D0E4C.node_20
Watch the video below on how to find the application online
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqMIFjcHx-E&t=886s
Please those with questions can comment below.
Finally, undergraduate students are expected to arrive in Korea by Late February, while Graduate Students are expected to arrive in Korea in Late August.