Global Korea Scholarship (GKS): Full Guide & CSC Comparison
By CSC Path Editorial, checked against official CSC and university sources.
GKS is South Korea's fully funded government scholarship: full tuition, a monthly allowance around 1.1 million KRW, airfare both ways, and a funded Korean language year. Applications run via embassy or university track, with the graduate round each February and the undergraduate round each September.
1.What does GKS actually cover?
Per the official NIIED 2026 guidelines: full tuition (NIIED pays up to 5,000,000 KRW per semester and the university waives the rest plus the admission fee), the 1-year Korean language training fee (5,200,000 KRW), and economy airfare on entry and final departure (official 2026 guidelines PDF; original notice on studyinkorea.go.kr). From 2026 the undergraduate allowance is a bundled annual payment: 12,840,000 KRW during the language year (about 1,070,000 KRW per month) and 13,680,000 KRW during the degree (about 1,140,000 KRW per month), which now includes living costs, health insurance, TOPIK fees, settlement and degree-completion grants. Graduate allowances are higher; NIIED publishes exact amounts in each year's guidelines.
2.Who is eligible?
You AND both parents must be non-Korean citizens; holding dual Korean citizenship disqualifies you. Age limits: under 25 for undergraduate (born after 1 March 2001 for the 2026 cycle), under 40 for graduate (born on or after 1 September 1986). Grades: CGPA of at least 80/100 or top 20% of your class, which equates to 2.64/4.0, 2.80/4.3, 2.91/4.5 or 3.23/5.0 (official 2026 guidelines PDF; Korean consulate notice). About 2,000 graduate places were planned for 2026 (studyinkorea.go.kr notice).
3.When are the deadlines, and what are the two tracks?
Like CSC's Type A and Type B, GKS has an Embassy Track (apply through the Korean embassy in your country) and a University Track (apply directly to one university). The 2026 graduate round ran 12 to 25 February 2026, fully online via studyinkorea.go.kr for the first time (Korean embassy notice); expect the 2027 round in mid-February 2027 (not yet announced). The undergraduate round runs each September: the 2026 window was 15 to 30 September 2025, so plan for around September 2026 for the 2027 intake (Korean embassy notice). Embassy Track applicants choose up to 3 universities, and General Embassy Track picks must include at least one regional (Type B) university (consulate notice).
4.Do I need Korean?
Not to apply, but nearly all scholars complete a mandatory, fully funded 1-year Korean language program and must reach TOPIK level 3 before starting the degree; many departments require TOPIK 4. Holders of TOPIK 5-6 skip the language year and receive an extra proficiency grant (official 2026 guidelines PDF). This is the biggest structural difference from China's CSC, where many degree programs are fully English-taught with no Chinese-year requirement.
5.Common mistakes that get applications rejected
From the official guidelines and embassy notices: missing the Type B university rule (at least one regional university among your 3 embassy-track choices); using free-format recommendation letters instead of the official form, signed and uploaded correctly; and renouncing the award after final selection, which permanently bars you from reapplying and reduces your country's future quota (official 2026 guidelines PDF; consulate notice). NIIED publishes no official acceptance rate; the 3-5% figures you see online are unofficial estimates.
6.GKS vs CSC: which should you choose?
GKS pays a noticeably higher monthly allowance than CSC's roughly 2,500-3,500 CNY and adds round-trip airfare, but it requires committing to a Korean language year and TOPIK 3+, while CSC offers hundreds of English-taught programs with no language year. CSC also spans far more universities (274+ partner institutions). If you qualify for both, apply to both: the cycles barely overlap (CSC opens around October, GKS graduate round in February). See our CSC vs GKS vs Türkiye vs Stipendium comparison and the CSC 2027-2028 guide for the China timeline. Unsure where you stand? Try the free eligibility assessment.
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