Guide
GKS Undergraduate Scholarship (GKS-U): the complete guide
The Global Korea Scholarship for undergraduate degrees pays your tuition, a monthly living stipend, your flights, and a year of Korean, all the way to a bachelor's or associate degree. Here is the whole thing in one place, with a deep dive on every part.
The Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) is the Korean government's flagship scholarship, run by the National Institute for International Education (NIIED) under the Ministry of Education. This guide is about GKS-U, the undergraduate stream, which funds a full bachelor's or associate degree. If you are applying for a master's or PhD, that is the separate graduate stream (GKS-G), covered in our general GKS guide.
- GKS-U is fully funded. It covers tuition, a monthly living stipend, round-trip airfare, and a funded year of Korean before your degree.
- It is undergraduate only: a bachelor's degree (1 year of Korean + 4 to 6 years) or an associate degree (1 year of Korean + 2 to 3 years).
- There are two application tracks: the embassy track (apply through the Korean embassy in your country, choose up to three universities) and the university track (apply directly to one university, including the UIC engineering program).
- You apply about a year ahead. The cycle runs roughly from autumn, when the guidelines are published, to early January, when final scholars are announced.
- It is competitive but learnable. The eligibility rules, document set, and selection rounds are all spelled out, and this cluster of guides walks through each one.
- Always confirm the current numbers against that year's official guidelines on the NIIED / Study in Korea website, since quotas, dates, and amounts are reissued every cycle.
What GKS-U is, in one minute
GKS-U brings international students to Korea on a full scholarship to earn an undergraduate degree. The most recent cycle funded 280 undergraduate scholars across two tracks. Every scholar starts with a funded year of Korean language study (unless they already hold TOPIK level 5 or 6), then moves into the degree.
| Degree | Length | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's | 1 year of Korean + 4 to 6 years of degree study | High-school graduates, or associate-degree holders |
| Associate | 1 year of Korean + 2 to 3 years of degree study | High-school graduates |
Who can apply
In short: you must be a citizen of a GKS-invited country (and so must your parents, neither of you holding Korean citizenship), under 25, a high-school graduate, with grades above the GKS cutoff. People who studied at a Korean high school, or who already hold a bachelor's degree, cannot apply.
The full rules, the exact GPA cutoffs with a conversion table, and the restrictions that quietly disqualify people are in the GKS-U eligibility guide.
The two application tracks
You apply through one track only. The embassy track runs through the Korean embassy in your country and lets you list up to three universities. The university track is a direct application to a single university, and includes the UIC program built around engineering and the natural sciences. Which one fits you, the quotas, and how Type A and Type B universities work are in the embassy track vs university track guide.
What GKS-U pays
GKS-U is genuinely fully funded: tuition, a monthly living stipend, round-trip economy airfare, a funded year of Korean, plus settlement and completion grants and health insurance. The exact amounts are in the GKS-U benefits guide.
The documents you will need
The application is a set of six forms (including a personal statement and a study plan) plus certificates that usually need an apostille or consular confirmation. The full checklist and the apostille rules are in the GKS-U documents guide.
When to apply
GKS-U runs on a fixed annual calendar: guidelines in autumn, deadlines in October, and final scholars announced in early January. The month-by-month calendar and the selection rounds are in the GKS-U timeline guide.
Which universities you can apply to
On the embassy track, universities are split into Type A and Type B, and you must include at least one Type B among your choices. The lists, the choose-three rule, and the UIC departments are in the GKS-U university list guide.
How to make your application strong
Once you know you qualify, the application itself is where you win or lose. Holding TOPIK level 3 or above adds points, as does applying to a science or engineering department. Your study plan and statement of purpose, your recommendation letter, and (on the embassy track) your interview are the parts you control most.
What to do next
- Run the KoreaAdmit quiz to see whether your profile fits GKS-U and which universities suit you.
- Check the eligibility guide against your grades, age, and citizenship.
- Read the GKS-U scholarship page for a quick-reference summary.
- If GKS is not a fit, the fully funded scholarships guide covers university and foundation options.