The Ministry of Education and the National Institute for International Education on Sept. 4 announced the application period for the 2026 Global Korea Scholarship for undergraduates from Sept. 15 to Oct. 31. Shown is a scene on Aug. 29 from the graduation ceremony of Yonsei University in Seoul's Seodaemun-gu District. (Lee Jeongwoo)

By Margareth Theresia

The Ministry of Education and the National Institute for International Education on Sept. 4 announced the application period for the 2026 Global Korea Scholarship for undergraduates from Sept. 15 to Oct. 31.

Next year's program will select 280 scholarship recipients from 71 countries.

Applicants must have at least a high school diploma or be on track to graduate. They and their parents must be foreign nationals, and the maximum age is 25 as of March 1, 2026.

Those who possess a bachelor's or higher degree are ineligible.

GKS applicants can either go for the embassy or university track. The former includes the general program open to all Korean universities, another for ethnic Koreans overseas and "R-GKS," which focuses on regional schools.

The university section is divided into the customized curriculum for industrial-academic cooperation and the associate degree program focused on junior or technical colleges.

Scholarship recipients will receive benefits such as full tuition, Korean-language course fees, roundtrip airfare, settlement support and academic incentives. They can receive another KRW 300,000 if they pass Level 5 or higher in the speaking section of Test of Proficiency in Korean.

The application process was also changed. From the next academic semester, applications can be filled out and sent online through Study in Korea's official website (www.studyinkorea.go.kr), instead of submitting them in person at a Korean embassy or mailing them to a Korean university.

The list of countries eligible for the GKS and details on the application process are also on the Study in Korea website. The results will be announced in January.

The growingly popular and competitive GKS offers outstanding students from around the world the chance to pursue higher education in Korea. Launched in 1967, it has offered degree programs to 19,502 students from 161 countries.

margareth@korea.kr