How I Became a GKS Scholar

Hello everyone! I'm back with another post, and this time, we're going all the way back to the beginning. In this post, I'll share how I came to study in South Korea on a full scholarship and how this whole journey started.

Learning Korean Changed Everything

During my college years, I began learning the Korean language, and since that moment, my life changed entirely. It's fascinating how a single decision can alter your life in unexpected ways.

Even back then, I wanted to study abroad, but unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to do so. Still, that dream of studying abroad never completely disappeared. I am extremely grateful to be studying abroad, especially in a country that has become such an important part of my life.

Everything officially began in late August 2024. Even before that, I spent a lot of time thinking about whether I should take this path and give it a try. Eventually, I made what turned out to be one of the biggest decisions of my life.

As many of you know, my major in both high school and college was Graphic Design, and for a long time, I assumed I would continue down that path, academically speaking. However, having many passions and interests, I felt my intuition pulling me towards Korean Studies. I was fascinated by Korea, its culture, language, history, society, development, etc., and I wanted to gain a deeper understanding through real academic study rather than just through YouTube videos or internet articles.

Discovering the GKS Scholarship

I had learned about this scholarship during my college years, but honestly, back then it felt so distant. It seemed like one of those opportunities that happens to other people, not to me. The scholarship is highly competitive, and at the time it felt almost impossible to imagine myself actually being selected.

For me to step out of my comfort zone, apply for this program, and ultimately succeed still feels unbelievable, haha. It also made me take more pride in myself. If even I could do something like this, then perhaps many things that seem unattainable really aren't, as long as we are brave enough to try. 😉

What Exactly Is GKS?

For those who may not be familiar with it, GKS is a fully funded scholarship program run by the Korean government. It enables international students to pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees in Korea. The best part is that it covers full tuition, airfare, and provides a monthly stipend for living expenses.

Now, before I continue with my own story, I want to explain how the scholarship process actually works, because it is quite confusing.

There are two possible ways to apply: through the University Track or the Embassy Track. However, not every country offers both options. Serbia, for example, only offers the Embassy Track, which is the route I applied through.

What does this mean? Essentially, either the university or the Korean embassy in your country conducts the first round of selection, depending on the track you choose.

The scholarship process consists of several rounds. Too many, If you ask me...😪

And it is a suuuper long process. And there are A LOOT of documents. Haha.

Since I applied through the Embassy Track, I'll explain how my application process looked.

First Round – Step 1:
Gather all required documents and submit them to the Korean Embassy in Serbia for document screening.

First Round – Step 2:
If you pass the document screening stage, you are invited to attend an interview at the embassy.

Second Round – Step 1:
If you successfully pass the interview, the embassy recommends you as a potential candidate to NIIED. ( NIIED stands for the National Institute for International Education, which is the organization responsible for managing the scholarship program. )

Second Round – Step 2:
NIIED reviews the recommended candidates and decides who moves on to the final round.

Third Round – Step 1:
NIIED sends approved candidates to the universities they selected in their application. At this stage, universities review your application and either send an acceptance or rejection decision. In some cases, they may also conduct an additional interview.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, I was one of the people who had to do an additional interview with one of the universities.😪 Haha.

Third Round – Step 2:
Embassy Track applicants apply to three universities. If at least one university accepts you, congratulations, you have successfully received the scholarship!

Whew…doesn’t it sound like too much??

From the initial document screening to the final decision, the entire process took around three months, from February 20th until June 5th. It may not sound very long, but when you are waiting for such an important thing, every single day feels like a century.

Piles of Paperwork

Another thing worth mentioning is that each country has a specific quota of scholarship recipients. For Serbia, that number was four. Only four! Which sounds super scary, right?? So this kind of explains how competitive this scholarship is. And to think that I was one of the 4 chosen ones, I was so happy and grateful! Of course, before reaching that point, there were piles of paperwork waiting for me..

I would say that the most tedious and time-consuming aspect of the entire application process was preparing all of the required documents. There were many documents to collect and submit: diplomas, transcripts, recommendation letters, proof of citizenship, and various optional additions such as awards, certificates, language certificates, and other achievements.

However, in my opinion, the two most important documents were the Personal Statement and the Study Plan.

These documents are essentially your opportunity to introduce yourself and explain who you are, what motivates you, why you chose your field of study, and why you deserve the scholarship. Because of that, I spent an enormous amount of time writing, rewriting, editing, and polishing so that I can strengthen my application.

At the same time, I was also continuing my Korean language studies and preparing for the TOEFL English proficiency exam. ( An English Proficiency certificate was needed for my major )

There were also many problems throughout the preparation period that I won't go into detail about. One of the biggest challenges was obtaining my diploma in time.. But, I don’t want to remember that period.. On top of that, there was the entire process of obtaining Apostilles and arranging official English translations for every required document. Definitely not a cheap process.. 💸

The Embassy Interview

After months of collecting documents, obtaining translations and Apostilles, and polishing my application essays, it was finally time for the embassy interview. After passing the document screening stage, I was invited to an interview at the Korean Embassy in Serbia. I was SO nervous.

I spent a lot of time preparing possible answers and reviewing my application documents. Since I had spent so much time writing my Personal Statement and Study Plan, I wanted to make sure I could be prepared for anything they might ask about it.

The interview was conducted in English and they asked me questions such as: How did you find out about this program? Do you think you will have some difficulties adjusting to life in Korea? What are your future plans? Etc. ( They also asked me If I could introduce myself in Korean )

Since I was nervous through the roof, after the interview finished, my mind went blank and I couldn’t even remember what happened and how I answered their questions, haha. The interview was only for like 8 minutes, and my heart was racing the entire time, since that interview was so so important.

The Long Wait

After all the documents were submitted and interview completed, the waiting period began. This might have been the most stressful part of all. There was nothing left to do except anxiously wait for emails and hope for good news. I even made my email notification a distinctive sound so I would immediately know if something important had arrived. Every stage gave me a little relief, but every stage followed immediately by a new reason to worry, about the next stage.

There were definitely moments when I doubted myself. The scholarship is extremely competitive, and knowing that only four candidates from Serbia would ultimately be selected sometimes made me question whether I really had a chance. Still, all I could do was wait and hope for the best.

Another Interview?!

Eventually, I successfully passed the embassy stages, NIIED stages, and moved on to university evaluation. Just when I thought I was done with interviews, one of the universities requested an additional interview. I was like: "Oh no, not another interview." Haha." The interview was with Hanyang University through Zoom, and it was conducted in English. It lasted about 10 minutes and the professors asked questions about my academic background, my interest in Korean Studies, my trip to Korea, and my future goals. Although I was nervous, the interview ended up being much less intimidating than I had imagined. Probably because I had experience doing the interview with the Embassy.

With the other two universities I selected, I didn't have interviews, so there was nothing left to do but wait… Endless waiting!!

Results Day 🎉

Finally, June 5th, the results day was coming closer..

Since nobody knew exactly what time the universities would send their emails, I couldn't really prepare myself. On top of that, there was the time difference. I remember the night before June 5th. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't sleep properly at all. I kept waking up every 10 minutes and checking my email.

Then I received the first email!!!

It was from Dong-A University, that I had passed the third stage and been accepted!!

It was around 3 a.m., and I just wanted to scream from happiness!! Even though Dong-A University wasn't my first choice, 1 out of 3 acceptances meant that I had succeeded. I was officially a GKS Scholar!! I was so happy that I cried. Haha. About two hours later, I received an acceptance from Hanyang University.

Then, a few hours after that, I received an acceptance from Yonsei University, which was my first choice.

At that point, I honestly couldn't believe what I was reading. For so many months, my life had revolved around preparing documents, studying, attending interviews, waiting for emails, manifesting good news and hoping things would work out. And then it was finally over, I had been accepted, by all three universities I applied to!!! Even now, thinking about that day makes my heart beat faster.

Looking back now, it's amazing to think that this entire journey started because I decided to learn Korean during college. One decision eventually led me all the way across the world and into a completely new chapter of my life.