Korean Government Scholarship Program: Facts and Figures Explained

» Last updated on June 12th, 2021 at 12:34 am

Korean Government set a preeminent goal even planning higher to attract 200000  international students by 2023. Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) is part of their ongoing focus on internationalization severe on the graduate. Up to 125,000 international students, more than 150 countries studied in Korea currently. However, in this article, I am going to explain the facts and figures of KGSP through which international students will get the opportunity of higher education in Korea for free. Stay tuned until the end to know about the whole program.

Brief Acquaintance

The Korean Government Scholarship Program, or KGSP, is an academic scholarship funded and managed by the National Institute for International Education (NIIED), a branch of the Ministry of Education in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Generally, NIIED invites the Korean Embassy in the invited country or a domestic university to recommend potential candidates for KGSP. NIIED runs the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) which covers various types of support programs for academic exchanges between the Republic of Korea (South Korea) as well as international countries. Since its conception in 1967, over 3,000 students from 148 countries have successfully completed the scholarship program.

Scheme Intent

This scheme outlines for inviting international talent to South Korea and integrating the scholars into Korean culture and society. This grant is provided to international students with opportunities to conduct advanced studies in undergraduate & graduate programs at higher educational institutions in the Republic of Korea. Moreover, one of the core intents of this scholarship is to promote international exchanges in education and mutual friendship between countries.

Available Degree

• Undergraduate course: 4-year courses at designated universities. (Note: Transferring between universities is not allowed)
• Graduate course: Masters or Ph.D. courses at general graduate schools of Korean universities.

Total Recipients

• 170 persons (undergraduate course)
• 700 persons (graduate course)

Amenities

• An economy class plane ticket for arrival in Korea. Further, economy class return flight tickets for KGSP Scholars to return to their homeland from Korea. The return flight is only for KGSP Scholars who have successfully completed their degree course.
• KRW 200,000 for resettlement allowance. Undergraduates will receive KRW 800,000 and Graduates will receive KRW 900,000 as a living allowance.
• Scholarship recipients will get KRW 20,000 (per month) for medical insurance. Health insurance covers students for major accidents and illnesses during the scholarship period.
• NIIED and the language institute bears the full cost for 1-year Korean language training. The stipend amount is KRW 800,000 per quarter.
• 5 million KRW per semester as tuition fees.
• KRW100,000 rewards for excellent Korean language proficiency.
• KRW 210,000 – 240,000 per semester as research support allowance.
• In addition, one time grant of KRW 500,000 – 800,000 for the dissertation printing cost.
• Scholarship winners will receive 100,000 KRW as a scholarship completion grant once.

Eligibility

• Both an applicant and his/her parents must be citizens of their country of origin. Applicants should not hold Korean citizenship.
• Applicants should have adequate health, both mentally and physically, to stay in a foreign country for a long time.
• Undergraduates should be under 25 years of age at the date of entrance. Moreover, they must have finished or be scheduled to finish formal education of all elementary, middle, high school courses by the date of arrival. Possess a grade point average (G.P.A.) above 80% from the last educational institution attended.
• Graduates should be under 40 years of age limit at the date of entrance. They are supposed to hold a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree by the date of arrival.
• 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 an overall grade of 90% or above can reapply to this program once either through the embassy or university track.

Application Procedure

Applicants should submit all documents related to their scholarship application to the Korean Embassy in their country of residence or the domestic university concerned. The Korean Embassy or the domestic university sends proper candidates to NIIED with the required documents. NIIED evaluates potential candidates and notifies the Korean Embassy of the final selected KGSP grantees.

Deadline: September in the year prior to planned studies in Korea for undergraduates.

February in the year prior to planned studies in Korea for graduates.

For more information about Korean Government Scholarship Program, please visit the official website. Further, If you want to get updates such as scholarship information keep your eyes on our website. Do not forget to share your insights in the comment box below. Wishing you luck!