Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) 2026: Fully Funded Undergraduate and Graduate Study in South Korea

Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) 2026: Fully Funded Undergraduate and Graduate Study in South Korea

The 2026 Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) cycle is closed. This page is now a historical reference for the government-funded program administered by the National Institute for International Education (NIIED), an agency of the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Education. NIIED’s official Study in Korea site published separate 2026 calls for undergraduate degrees (GKS-U) and graduate degrees (GKS-G), followed by selection-result notices. The official notice board reviewed for this update contains the 2026 materials and results; it does not announce a 2027 call. Do not treat this page as an open application.

GKS is a degree scholarship for international students who want to study at designated Korean universities. It has two main applicant routes: the Embassy Track, which begins with the Korean embassy in the applicant’s country of citizenship, and the University Track, which begins with a designated Korean university. The two tracks are not interchangeable, and a country, university, or degree level may have its own quota and document instructions. The official GKS program overview and the separate 2026 GKS-U notice and 2026 GKS-G notice are the authoritative starting points for a later cycle.

2026 status and dates

The front-matter deadline is set to 2026-02-25, the published closing date for the principal 2026 GKS-G online application window. It is an archive date, not a live deadline. The undergraduate and graduate programs did not share one worldwide closing date, so applicants in the 2026 cycle had to follow the local embassy or university instructions as well as NIIED’s central guidance.

For GKS-U Embassy Track, the initial 2026 schedule opened on 2025-09-15 and closed on 2025-09-30 at the Korean Standard Time cutoff in the published embassy notices. A fire and related outage affecting the Korean government information systems then led NIIED to revise the process in some countries. In those locations, applicants had to resubmit offline to the embassy during a revised window such as 2025-10-06 through 2025-10-17. That change is why a generic statement that every undergraduate applicant submitted online is incomplete.

For GKS-G Embassy Track, the official 2026 online window ran from 2026-02-12 through 2026-02-25, with the exact hour expressed in Korean Standard Time. University Track applicants followed the deadline announced by their designated university, which could fall later than the embassy window. In either track, the first-round organization was responsible for the practical submission instructions. NIIED posted the 2026 graduate final result on 2026-07-01. The 2026 undergraduate results were also posted earlier in the selection cycle. Those notices confirm that the 2026 intake has moved beyond application and selection.

What GKS funded in 2026

The official Study in Korea overview identifies the core support as airfare, Korean-language training costs, tuition, and study allowances. The 2026 degree-specific materials also describe the associated settlement, insurance, and completion support that applicants commonly call a fully funded package. The package is designed around the full scholarship period rather than a single cash award: a scholar may receive travel support, education costs, living support, and program-specific allowances under the applicable guidelines.

There is no single monthly amount that should be placed on a combined GKS-U and GKS-G listing. The old page used approximate figures of KRW 900,000 for undergraduates and KRW 1,000,000 for graduate students as if they were universal 2026 values. That summary is removed here. NIIED’s degree-specific guideline controls the payment structure, and the undergraduate and graduate documents organize benefits differently. Some support can also depend on the scholarship stage, field, research status, Korean-language result, or other conditions. Applicants should read the current guideline rather than budget from a historical blog or from the amount field on this archive entry.

The reliable benefits summary for the 2026 cycle is therefore:

• Tuition support under the applicable GKS rules and designated-university arrangement.
• Round-trip economy airfare or the travel support described in the relevant guideline.
• Korean-language training costs where the program requires the language year.
• A study or living allowance whose amount and payment conditions are set by the degree-specific notice.
• Settlement, medical-insurance, completion, research, thesis, or Korean-proficiency support where the relevant 2026 guideline provides it.

The language year is important. GKS-U generally combines one year of Korean-language training with an associate or bachelor’s degree period. GKS-G generally combines one year of Korean-language training with a master’s or doctoral degree, though specialized graduate programs can have different structures. A high TOPIK result may affect the language-training requirement or trigger a language-related benefit under the current rules. That does not mean every awardee receives the same duration or every possible allowance.

Who was eligible for the 2026 cycle

The first citizenship test was strict: the applicant and both parents had to hold non-Korean citizenship. Applicants with Korean citizenship, including cases covered by the guideline’s dual-nationality rules, could not rely on a foreign passport alone. Each applicant also had to satisfy the age, education, academic, health, and prior-award rules for the degree level and track. Country quotas and the list of participating universities further limited who could apply through a particular route.

For undergraduate applicants, the official GKS overview states an age limit under 25 and requires completion of the relevant secondary or associate-level education. The 2026 notices also allowed applicants who were still finishing the required qualification to apply with an expected-graduation certificate, subject to the date and final-document conditions in the guideline. Academic performance had to meet the published standard, generally a cumulative GPA or grade equivalent of at least 80 percent in the most recent educational program. The exact conversion method mattered: a percentage, a 4.0-scale GPA, a 4.5-scale GPA, and a class-rank record had to be presented in the form accepted by NIIED.

For graduate applicants, the official overview states that applicants had to be under 40 and have completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree appropriate to the intended program. A master’s applicant normally needed a bachelor’s degree, while a doctoral applicant normally needed a master’s degree. The 2026 GKS-G materials permitted certain expected graduates to apply if they could provide the final graduation certificate and transcript by the deadline in the guideline. The academic threshold was again at least 80 percent or the accepted equivalent from the most recent degree program. Some special cases, such as eligible university faculty from designated countries, have their own age treatment; those exceptions should never be generalized to every graduate applicant.

Applicants also had to be fit to study in Korea and comply with NIIED’s previous-scholarship restrictions. A previous GKS or Korean government scholarship could affect eligibility, and a candidate who submitted false or incomplete information could be removed later in the process. The requirements were not satisfied merely by being admitted to a Korean university: GKS eligibility and university admission were related but separate decisions.

Embassy Track and University Track

Embassy Track applicants began with the Korean embassy in their country of citizenship. In 2026, GKS-U and GKS-G Embassy Track applications used the Study in Korea account and online system at the central stage when the system was available. Each embassy published its own quota, local time, screening schedule, interview method, and instructions for any originals or certified copies. After the first round, nominated candidates moved to NIIED review and, for the relevant undergraduate or graduate route, university consideration.

University Track applicants submitted directly to one of the designated universities, following that institution’s deadline and document rules. A university could require additional material such as a portfolio, a research proposal, a department form, or a separate admission submission. The University Track did not mean that NIIED rules disappeared; the university’s first-round review was followed by the NIIED stage described in the annual guideline.

Applicants generally had to choose one track for the cycle. Embassy-track choices could include several designated universities under the applicable program rules, while a university-track application centered on the institution receiving the submission. The permitted number of university choices, Type A or Type B restrictions, and specialized programs varied by degree and track. Candidates should never submit duplicate applications simply to increase their chances.

What the application required

The 2026 application was document-heavy. Typical materials included the official application form, a personal statement, a study plan, academic transcripts, graduation or expected-graduation certificates, proof of the applicant’s citizenship, proof of both parents’ citizenship, and a recommendation letter. Graduate candidates could also need a research plan or other field-specific documents. A designated university could ask for an additional admission form or portfolio.

Authentication was a major practical issue. Depending on the issuing country, education and family documents needed an apostille or consular confirmation, and documents not written in Korean or English generally required an accepted translation. The correct number of copies, signatures, seals, scan quality, and file format mattered. An applicant who passed an initial review could still be asked to submit original or authenticated documents for the next round.

The 2026 GKS-U call initially required applicants to create a Study in Korea membership account, complete the online form, and upload the required files. After the government information-system outage, some embassies changed to physical delivery and required applicants who had already uploaded files to submit again. The 2026 GKS-G Embassy Track also required an online account and online document submission during the central window; selected candidates then followed the embassy’s instructions for the next-round originals. University Track candidates used the designated university’s submission channel instead.

How to use this page for a future cycle

Do not reuse the 2026 dates or assume that the next call will use the same system. When NIIED announces a new cycle, start with the new GKS notice for the correct degree level. Then check the embassy in the country of citizenship or the target university. Compare the application window, local cutoff time, quota, university list, document format, and authentication instructions. Read the benefits table in the new guideline before estimating living costs, because the payment categories and amounts can change.

A sensible preparation sequence is to confirm citizenship and age first, then check the academic conversion rule, then select a track and eligible universities. Request transcripts and recommendations early. Identify which documents need apostille or consular confirmation, arrange accepted translations, and keep a clean digital folder with consistent spellings of names and dates. Draft the personal statement and study plan around a real academic plan: why the field matters, why the chosen Korean program fits, what you will study, and how the degree connects to your next step.

The official GKS notice board is the place to confirm whether a future cycle has opened. The 2026 GKS-G final-result notice is included here to make the archive status clear. Until NIIED publishes a new call, this page should be read as a record of the 2026 program, not as an invitation to apply.