Top 10 Fully Funded Scholarships in South Korea 2027

South Korea offers two distinct roads to a fully funded degree, and understanding the difference will save you a wasted application season. The first road is the Korean government: the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), run by the National Institute for International Education (NIIED), which pays tuition, airfare, a living allowance, language training and insurance for undergraduate and graduate students at designated universities. The second road is the universities themselves — and in Korea it is unusually strong, because the country’s science and technology institutes (KAIST, GIST, UNIST, DGIST and POSTECH) were built on a model in which admitted graduate students are funded as a matter of policy, and major universities such as Seoul National University and Ewha Womans University run their own full-ride schemes for international students.

This ranked list covers both roads honestly. Where a widely quoted GKS figure conflicts between sources, we explain why: NIIED restructured how GKS living support is presented, and older pages still show the older monthly breakdowns. Where a university package is “full tuition plus a stipend” but the stipend alone would not cover Seoul living costs without the research assistantships that usually accompany it, we say so. And where 2027-cycle dates have not yet been published, we give the established seasonal pattern and label last cycle’s dates as last cycle’s.

Browse all Korean opportunities through our scholarships directory, compare institutions in the universities directory, and read our dedicated guide to the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) 2027 for graduate students alongside this list. The regional comparison in our top 20 fully funded scholarships in Asia for international students 2027 is also worth your time.

Fully Funded Scholarships in South Korea at a Glance

The Top 10 Fully Funded Scholarships in South Korea, Ranked

1. Global Korea Scholarship for Graduate Degrees (GKS-G)

Coverage: Round-trip economy airfare, full tuition (NIIED pays up to KRW 5 million per semester and the university waives the rest at designated institutions), a one-year Korean language programme where required, medical insurance, a settlement allowance, research and thesis support, a Korean proficiency grant for TOPIK 5–6 holders, and living support. On amounts, read carefully: the 2026 GKS-G guidelines present living support as annual study incentives — KRW 14,400,000 per year during the language programme and KRW 16,560,000 per year during degree study, with KRW 20,880,000 for the research programme — while many older summaries still quote the previous monthly figures of around KRW 900,000–1,000,000. Use the annual figures from the current guidelines on the official Study in Korea portal, and check the 2027 guidelines when NIIED publishes them. Eligibility: Non-Korean citizens (applicants and parents) from invited countries, under 40, holding a bachelor’s (master’s applicants) or master’s (doctoral applicants), with a GPA of at least 80% / top 20% or the guideline equivalents (2.64/4.0 and equivalents). Deadline: The graduate window traditionally opens in February, via the Embassy Track (up to three university choices) or the University Track (one university); 2027 dates follow the same pattern unless NIIED announces otherwise.

2. Global Korea Scholarship for Undergraduate Degrees (GKS-U)

Coverage: The same architecture as GKS-G — airfare, full tuition, a year of Korean language training, living support, insurance and settlement — for one year of language study plus four to six years of bachelor’s study depending on the field. Seoul National University’s official undergraduate scholarship page, for example, describes its GKS offer as full tuition exemption for eight semesters, a monthly allowance of KRW 1,200,000 (stated there to include living, study, insurance and TOPIK-related support), one economy round trip and one year of language training, with TOPIK 3 required to proceed into the degree. University pages present the package in their own format, so cross-check both the NIIED guidelines and your university’s page. Eligibility: Non-Korean high-school graduates (or final-year students graduating by the guideline date), under 25 in recent calls, with strong grades. Deadline: Applications traditionally open in September through embassies and designated universities; start a year ahead, because school documents need apostille or consular confirmation.

3. KAIST International Scholarship

Coverage: KAIST funds admitted international students as institutional policy. For undergraduates, KAIST describes a full-ride package of four years of tuition, a monthly stipend and national health insurance for scholarship holders. For graduate students, published KAIST admission guidance puts the basic KAIST Scholarship at full tuition plus KRW 350,000 per month for master’s students and KRW 400,000 per month for doctoral students, with health-insurance support — and, crucially, most graduate students earn substantially more through laboratory research assistantships, which is how KAIST packages work in practice. Competitive tiers sit above the basic tier, including the KAIST Global Presidential Scholarship for highly competitive master’s applicants (full tuition plus KRW 1,000,000 per month for four semesters in published 2027 guidance), awarded on departmental recommendation. Eligibility: International applicants admitted through KAIST’s international admissions; there is no separate scholarship application — you select the funding source in the admission application. Continuation depends on academic performance. Deadline: KAIST’s own admission rounds for spring and fall entry. Our full guide to the KAIST International Scholarship 2027 walks through the tiers in detail.

4. GIST Scholarship — Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

Coverage: Every admitted international graduate student receives the GIST Scholarship without a separate application: full tuition support (GIST lists tuition of KRW 3,607,000 per semester as fully supported), a student allowance of KRW 140,000 per month (master’s) or 295,000 (PhD), a meal allowance of about KRW 100,000 per month, an international-student allowance of KRW 120,000 per month (GPA conditions apply), research assistantship income for students on projects (which is what brings real monthly totals far above the base allowances), support for 60% of National Health Insurance, and reimbursement of a one-way flight to Korea. Note the honest detail most listicles omit: a one-time matriculation fee of KRW 680,000 applies unless waived for financial difficulty on the department chair’s recommendation. Eligibility: International master’s, PhD and integrated applicants in GIST’s science and engineering fields, meeting English requirements (for example TOEFL iBT 80 or IELTS 6.5 in published guidance, with exemptions). Deadline: GIST graduate admission rounds; the Spring 2027 application window was published as 7 September to 7 October 2026.

5. DGIST Graduate Scholarship — Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology

Coverage: DGIST automatically funds admitted international graduate students: a full tuition waiver paired with a guaranteed minimum monthly living stipend that is higher for doctoral than master’s students and differs between DGIST-scholarship and government-scholarship holders, plus access to subsidised on-campus housing in Daegu. Because DGIST revises stipend schedules, treat any single monthly figure on third-party sites as indicative and confirm the current amount in DGIST’s international graduate admissions guide for your intake. Eligibility: International master’s and PhD applicants to a research-driven science and technology institute; credit-completion and good-standing rules govern continuation. Deadline: DGIST’s graduate admission rounds — funding is decided with admission, so the admission deadline is the scholarship deadline.

6. UNIST Scholarship — Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology

Coverage: UNIST, in the industrial city of Ulsan, funds international students across undergraduate and graduate study with full-tuition scholarship packages and stipend support for admitted students, with graduate students typically combining the institutional package with laboratory assistantships. UNIST teaches in English, which removes the language barrier that shapes many Korean applications. Eligibility: International applicants admitted through UNIST’s international admissions, with continuation tied to academic standing. Deadline: UNIST admission rounds for each semester. We deliberately do not print a single UNIST stipend figure here: UNIST publishes its package inside its admissions guides, amounts differ by level and programme, and the current guide — not a scholarship blog — is the document your offer will follow. Check UNIST Admissions before you budget.

7. POSTECH Graduate Scholarship — Pohang University of Science and Technology

Coverage: POSTECH, Korea’s first research university in Pohang, funds its graduate community through tuition support combined with stipend and assistantship funding arranged through departments and laboratories; admitted international graduate students should expect a funding offer to be specified in their admission and departmental documents rather than in one university-wide table. Eligibility: International master’s and PhD applicants with strong research preparation; at POSTECH, the fit with a lab and an advisor matters enormously. Deadline: POSTECH graduate admission rounds. As with UNIST, we flag rather than fabricate: POSTECH’s current graduate admissions guide is the authoritative source for this cycle’s tuition and stipend terms, and you should request the funding breakdown in writing before accepting any offer, at POSTECH or anywhere else.

8. SNU Global Scholarship (GS 1) — Seoul National University

Coverage: Seoul National University’s own graduate scheme comes in two types. In the official Spring 2026 call, Global Scholarship 1 (GS 1) provides a full tuition waiver, a monthly stipend of KRW 1,200,000 and one-time airfare support (arrival airfare for newly admitted students meeting the entry conditions, and departure airfare for scholars who graduate in the specified term); GS 2 provides the full tuition waiver alone; and a Korean-language-training tuition waiver for one evening-class session can be added to either. Eligibility: International students enrolled in, or newly admitted to, an SNU graduate degree programme — non-degree students are not eligible — who apply in the per-semester GS call and follow its announcement exactly. Deadline: Semesterly calls published by SNU’s Office of International Affairs. GS 1 at Korea’s most famous university, in Seoul, is a genuine full ride — which is why the call’s paperwork discipline matters: the announcement itself warns that not reading it thoroughly can lead to disqualification.

9. SNU President Fellowship (SPF)

Coverage: SNU’s most generous graduate award, aimed at a specific and often missed audience: full tuition for up to six semesters, a monthly stipend reported at KRW 1,500,000–2,000,000, round-trip airfare, Korean language training and national health insurance reimbursement in published programme summaries. Eligibility: The fellowship targets faculty members of major universities in developing countries who do not yet hold a PhD and are newly admitted to an SNU doctoral programme. If that is you — a lecturer in Dhaka, Kathmandu, Lagos or Jakarta planning a doctorate — SPF should be at the top of your Korean list; if it is not you, do not spend your application effort here. Deadline: SNU graduate admission rounds; confirm the current SPF notice with SNU’s Office of International Affairs, as semester calls define the exact terms.

10. Ewha Global Partnership Program (EGPP) — Ewha Womans University

Coverage: Ewha’s flagship award for women leaders from developing countries: full tuition including the admission fee, the on-campus dormitory fee and a stipend, for up to eight semesters (undergraduate freshmen), four semesters (master’s) or six semesters (doctoral and combined programmes) in Ewha’s official scholarship tables; some Ewha departmental pages also list airfare within the EGPP package — confirm which version applies to your admission round. Eligibility: Female applicants from developing countries who demonstrate high potential to become women leaders and apply through Ewha’s special admission for international students; a minimum GPA must be maintained to keep the scholarship. Deadline: Ewha’s special international admission rounds — see Ewha’s official international scholarship page for the current tables. EGPP is one of the few full rides in Asia designed explicitly around women’s leadership and return-home impact, and its statement evaluation rewards exactly that story.

Who Is Eligible for Fully Funded Scholarships in South Korea?

Citizenship is the first gate: GKS requires that both the applicant and their parents are non-Korean citizens, and Korean-heritage applicants face additional documentation rules across most schemes. Age is the second: recent GKS calls cap undergraduate applicants at under 25 and graduate applicants at under 40. Grades are the third: GKS sets a clear floor of 80% marks, top-20% standing, or the equivalent GPA thresholds printed in its guidelines, and the science institutes are academically selective in practice regardless of any printed minimum. Health is the fourth: GKS includes a personal medical assessment at application and a formal medical examination later, and a serious condition can end a candidacy at the final stage — answer honestly. Finally, language: you do not need Korean to apply for GKS (the funded language year exists precisely for that reason, though TOPIK 3 is required to enter the degree and TOPIK 5–6 brings a proficiency grant and exemption from the language year), while the English-taught institutes test English directly. Compare Korean universities and programmes on our rankings directory before choosing where to aim.

How to Apply: Step by Step

1. Pick your road. Government (GKS, embassy or university track), institute (KAIST, GIST, UNIST, DGIST, POSTECH) or university scheme (SNU GS/SPF, Ewha EGPP). You can pursue more than one road in the same season — but only one GKS track.
2. Read the current official guidelines end to end. For GKS that means the NIIED guideline PDF on Study in Korea; for institutes, the admission guide for your exact semester. Most rejections are administrative, and the guidelines are where the traps are printed.
3. Prepare documents early, with apostille or consular confirmation where the guidelines demand it. This step, not the essay, is what defeats last-minute applicants.
4. For graduate study, contact prospective advisors at the institutes and research universities. A lab that wants you changes your funding conversation completely.
5. Write the personal statement and study plan for Korea specifically — why this programme, why this country, what you will do with the degree at home. GKS scores this directly.
6. Submit through the correct channel before the earliest deadline — embassy, university and NIIED dates are different dates.
7. Prepare for interviews and the staged selection (first round embassy/university, second round NIIED, third round university for the GKS embassy track), and keep your passport and medical documents ready for the final stage.

Track the parallel calendars with the planners in our tools directory, and use our undergraduate companion, the GKS 2027 undergraduate guide, if you are applying from school rather than from a degree.

Required Documents

• Application form, applicant agreement and consent forms exactly as issued for the current cycle (GKS forms change — never recycle last year’s).
• Personal statement and study plan (graduate applicants add a research proposal; institute applicants should align it with a named lab).
• One or more recommendation letters on the prescribed form, sealed or submitted as the guidelines direct.
• Degree certificates and transcripts for all completed study, with apostille or consular confirmation where required, and certified translations.
• Proof of citizenship for the applicant and parents, and family-relationship documentation (a GKS requirement applicants routinely underestimate).
• Personal medical assessment at application; the official medical examination comes at the final stage.
• Passport copy; TOPIK certificate and English scores (TOEFL/IELTS) where you hold them — optional for GKS, required by several English-taught institutes.
• Awards, publications and other achievement evidence, translated where necessary.

Deadlines and Timeline

These are patterns from recent cycles, published to help you plan backwards. The 2027 GKS guidelines and each university’s 2027 notices are the only authoritative dates, and they had not all been published when this article was checked in October 2026.

How to Improve Your Chances

Choose the track strategically. The GKS Embassy Track lets you name up to three universities; the University Track limits you to one but puts your file directly in front of the university — applicants with a supervisor’s encouragement often do better there. Respect the GPA floor but sell beyond it: research output, olympiads, national awards and relevant work all earn evaluation points in documented categories. Learn some Korean before you apply. Even TOPIK 2–3 signals commitment, higher levels earn bonus points and proficiency grants, and arriving with Korean transforms your first year. For the institutes, write like a researcher: name the lab, the method and the paper trail that led you there; generic statements are instantly visible to faculty reviewers. Make the return-home plan credible and specific — GKS and EGPP both exist to build capacity in partner countries, and vague “global citizen” essays score accordingly. And keep your documents boringly perfect: names spelled identically everywhere, translations certified, every form signed. In Korean admissions, administrative precision is read as a proxy for academic reliability.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Applying to both GKS tracks, or to more universities than your track allows — a disqualifying error, not a strategy.
• Quoting old monthly GKS stipends from blogs instead of the current guidelines’ annual study-incentive figures.
• Missing the citizenship-documentation rules for parents, or submitting unapostilled certificates where the guidelines require confirmation.
• Assuming a basic institute stipend is your total income — or, conversely, assuming assistantship income is guaranteed. Read which components are conditional.
• Ignoring matriculation and other one-time fees (GIST’s, for example) when budgeting your first semester.
• Treating SNU GS as an admission scholarship — it has its own per-semester call and its own announcement discipline.
• Waiting for deadlines to be “announced” on social media. Check Study in Korea and university admissions pages directly and weekly in season.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does GKS actually pay per month in 2027?

The 2027 guidelines had not been published when this article was checked in October 2026. The 2026 GKS-G guidelines present degree-study living support as KRW 16,560,000 per year (KRW 14,400,000 in the language year), separate from tuition, airfare and insurance. Older sources quoting roughly KRW 900,000–1,000,000 per month reflect the previous presentation. Budget from the current guideline PDF, not from summaries — including ours.

Can I apply for GKS and KAIST’s own scholarship at the same time?

Yes — they are different funders. You may pursue KAIST admission with KAIST funding while also applying for GKS (including GKS through another university or the embassy), provided you follow each scheme’s rules and accept only one final award package. Within GKS itself, however, you must choose one track only.

Do I need to speak Korean to win a scholarship in Korea?

No for GKS — the funded language year is built in, though you must reach TOPIK 3 to start the degree and Korean ability earns selection points and grants. The science institutes and many graduate programmes teach in English and test English instead. Daily life, part-time opportunities and post-study employment all reward Korean, so learn it regardless.

Is the KAIST basic stipend enough to live on?

On its own, KRW 350,000–400,000 a month is not a full living budget even in Daejeon — which is why KAIST’s model pairs it with research or teaching assistantships that most graduate students hold. When you receive a KAIST offer, ask the department for the realistic total package for students in your lab, in writing.

What GPA do I need for GKS?

The guidelines require one of: a cumulative score of at least 80%, standing in the top 20% of your class, or GPA equivalents such as 2.64/4.0, 2.80/4.3, 2.91/4.5 or 3.23/5.0 as printed in recent guidelines. Competitive reality is higher for popular universities and fields — the floor gets you evaluated, not selected.

Are there fully funded options in Korea for women specifically?

Yes: Ewha Womans University’s EGPP covers full tuition, dormitory and a stipend for women from developing countries with leadership potential, across undergraduate and graduate levels. Ewha also runs full-tuition International Students Scholarship tiers. Both are awarded through Ewha’s special international admissions.

Can I stay and work in Korea after graduating?

Korea operates points-based and job-seeking visa routes for international graduates, and GKS alumni receive documented support in this system, but no scholarship guarantees a work visa or a job. StudyGraduate is an information portal, not an agency, and cannot promise admission, selection or visa outcomes — check current immigration rules on official Korean government pages when you graduate.

Which is better for a PhD: GKS or a science institute package?

It depends on your field. For laboratory science and engineering, an institute package anchored in a funded lab (KAIST, GIST, DGIST, UNIST, POSTECH) can exceed GKS support and comes with a built-in research home. For humanities, social sciences and fields outside the institutes, GKS at a major comprehensive university is usually the stronger and broader route. Apply to both roads if your field allows it.

Sources & Verification

Checked in October 2026 against: the official Study in Korea portal (studyinkorea.go.kr, NIIED) for GKS structure, tracks and eligibility; the 2026 GKS-G guidelines as published by Korean government education offices (annual study incentives of KRW 14,400,000 / 16,560,000 / 20,880,000, tuition cap of KRW 5 million per semester, GPA thresholds); Seoul National University’s official undergraduate scholarships page (GKS package at SNU) and the SNU Office of International Affairs Global Scholarship call for Spring 2026 (GS 1 tuition waiver, KRW 1,200,000 monthly stipend and airfare conditions); KAIST admission guidance on scholarship tiers (basic stipend KRW 350,000/400,000 and the Global Presidential Scholarship); GIST’s official financial-support information as published for 2026–2027 admissions (tuition KRW 3,607,000 per semester, allowances, 60% health-insurance support, matriculation fee); DGIST international graduate scholarship summaries; and Ewha Womans University’s official scholarship tables (EGPP coverage and durations). Where a figure could not be confirmed on an official page for the current cycle — UNIST and POSTECH stipend schedules in particular — this article says so rather than estimating.

Disclaimer: Scholarship details, amounts and deadlines change every cycle. Always confirm the current figures, eligibility rules and closing dates on the official scholarship or university website before you apply. StudyGraduate is an information portal, not an agency — we never charge for scholarship applications and cannot guarantee selection, admission or a visa.