[GKS-G 2021] #1 - Introduction + Application

At the time I am writing this blog, the final result of GKS-G 2021 has already been announced and I am proud to say that I am one of the recipients of this scholarship! I will be starting a new chapter in my life in less than 2 months (draft written in June 2021). I must say, for someone that has been out of the academic phase and into the working reality for about 4 years now, going back to studying full time can be a little intimidating. Moreover, moving to a whole new country. Although I have stayed in South Korea for a few months for my Korean Language Program at Seoul National University back in 2017, now, it is a whole different story. I am nervous but most definitely excited for the upcoming new chapter of my life.

Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) is a scholarship provided by the Korean National Institute for International Education (NIIED) to provide international students with opportunities to conduct advanced studies in undergraduate & graduate programs at higher educational institutions in the Republic of Korea to promote international exchanges in education and mutual friendship between countries.

I believe GKS Scholarship is one of the most generous scholarships out there where they provide airfare, resettlement allowance, living allowance, tuition fees fully covered. And if you have a valid TOPIK 5 or 6 during the application, NIIED will provide an extra 100,000KRW monthly!

For more details, kindly visit Studyinkorea website.

At this point, there are a lot of resources on the internet guiding you step by step on the application procedure, therefore in my blog, I would like to add additional remarks/ notes that I believe would give you some additional helpful information that is not so widely recorded.

There are a few ways to apply for scholarships to study in Korean universities.

1. GKS by NIIED (Embassy track / University track)

2. Respective University's scholarship

3. Private Korean company's scholarship

I will share in detail regarding the route that I went through, which is the GKS university track. The main difference between the embassy track and the university track is the application process flow.

Embassy track

Apply through embassy (with 3 university choices) > Document screening > Embassy interview > 1st round Interview result > NIIED Document screening > NIIED screening result > University interview > 2nd round Interview result > Final round result

University track

Apply directly through university (only able to apply to 1 university) > Document screening> University interview > 1st round interview result > NIIED Document screening > NIIED screening result aka final round result

I have chosen to apply to Yonsei University through the university track. Below is the list of documents needed for the application. Although every university will have more or less the same list of documents required for application (both embassy and university track), however, some universities might require a specific type/ extra documents. You will have to look out for it. For example, Yonsei University requires an ORIGINAL/ APPOSTILED/ ATTESTED Certificate of Bachelor Degree & Transcript while most other universities accept notarized copies.

Tips:

1. Application form can be downloaded from the Studyinkorea website every application period. The graduate studies application period usually opens in mid of February. You can take a look at the previous year's application form for some ideas on what you can prepare in advance. I would suggest you start drafting your Personal Statement and Statement of Purpose as early as you can because believe me, you need all the time to reconstruct, rephrase, rearrange your essays along the way. In my opinion, these 2 essays are the most important aspect that will make or break you during the application, it deserves all your time and effort.

2. Letter of Recommendation is also one of the documents that you can and should prepare in advance. It might take a longer time than you have expected to find 2 suitable people to write the letter for you. You should also give ample time to your recommenders to prepare. I would recommend giving at least 2 weeks to 1 month time (longer time if your recommender is living in a different country, considering courier will take around one week to arrive). The lockdown situation in Malaysia made the whole process much longer as we are required to provide physical letters with wet signatures (no emails/ soft copies), so make sure to reach out to your recommenders ahead of time.

If you are currently working or have had working experience, I would recommend you to get your recommendation letter from one (1) your manager/ supervisor who understands your work and who can prove your working ability and one (1) from your previous professors/ lecturers who knows you personally and can prove your academic ability. 

If you are currently a student, you might want to get 2 different professors (of different fields), for example, a Korean language teacher and your thesis supervisor.

3. TOPIK Certificate, English Proficiency Test are not compulsory to submit but in my opinion, it does play a big part during the application to give you the extra advantage among the huge pool of applicants. The TOPIK test sittings in Malaysia were badly affected because of the pandemic, and it was postponed a few times. So make sure you take it as soon as possible to make sure that you can sit for it before the scholarship application opens. 

There are a few English tests that you can sit for, for example, IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC... and each university might or might not have their own preference of test. You will have to check the university's application guidelines. 

I have achieved TOPIK Level 5 previously therefore I did not sit for a TOPIK test for my application (make sure your TOPIK certificate is still valid!). As for English Proficiency Test, I sat for TOEIC and took the test at Test Center Malaysia. The L&R test cost RM270, with an additional RM22 if you require a certificate. You can choose to have your result processed immediately (at an additional cost), or if you are not in a hurry, they will mail your result in a physical copy to you. I opt to get my result on the same day as I do not want to risk my certificate getting damaged or lost on the way. Test Center will not be responsible for it.

4. Certificates and Awards should be original copies. And in the case where you are not able to get an extra original copy of your document, you can make a photocopy of the original documents and get the copies notarized at the nearest Notary Public.

Also, all documents should only be written in either English or Korea. If your certificates/ awards/ any documents are in a language other than English or Korean, you will have to get it:

    1. Professionally translated (can be done together at Notary Public)

    2. Notarized by Notary Public

Malaysian's birth certificate is issued in Bahasa Malaysia, so I had to get it translated to English.

Notarization stamp

Malaysia is not a member of The Hague Apostille Convention, therefore I could not get my documents (Birth Certificate, Degree Certificate & Degree Transcript) apostilled as per Yonsei's requirement. However, Yonsei accepts attestation from the Korean Embassy in Malaysia. 

Note: Yonsei does not accept original copies. You have to get it apostilled or attested. 

Steps to get an attestation stamp:

    1. Notarized by Notary Public

    2. Academic documents - Stamped by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE)

        Birth Certificate - Stamped by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)

    3. Attested by Korean Embassy

Attestation stamp

Breakdown of the cost of getting my documents done:

- Notarization stamp per page: RM10 (the most affordable price I could find)

- Translation stamp per page: RM10

- Stamp by MOHE: FOC

- Stamp by MOFA: Original birth cert RM20, Translated birth cert RM20 (cash only)

- Attestation by Korean Embassy: RM16.40

- Courier by DHL: RM110 (0.5kg and below)

Yonsei's application deadline was on the 8th of April 2021. This is the date where your application document has to reach the university (not the date you should send in your application), make sure you complete all the required documents and post them to your university AT LEAST 1 week before the deadline. Due to the current pandemic situation, courier service may be delayed and you do not want that to cost you your scholarship. My documents took exactly one week to reach South Korea.

That is all for this post, stay tuned for the next stage of my GKS Scholarship experience! 

p/s: I'm currently undergoing my quarantine day 4 in my accommodation here in Seoul. So far so good ^^