Global Korea Scholarship Application Through the Canadian Embassy
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Sep 25, 2024 • Scholarships & Funding, Canadians Studying Abroad
The Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) embassy track means you apply through the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Canada instead of a university directly, and the embassy screens and nominates candidates before Korea's National Institute for International Education (NIIED) places them.
📩 Apply to the embassy, not the university, using the embassy's own internal deadline, set earlier than NIIED's overall deadline.
🎓 Undergraduate and graduate GKS run as separate annual cycles with separate document lists.
You and your parents must not hold Korean citizenship to stay eligible.
Most awardees start with a Korean language program before their degree begins.
⏱️ Confirm exact dates, quotas, and award values on the embassy's current notice each cycle, since these change year to year.
What the embassy track is
The Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), run by Korea's National Institute for International Education (NIIED) under the Ministry of Education, offers two separate application paths. The university track has you apply straight to a participating Korean university, which nominates you to NIIED. The embassy track has you apply through the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in your home country, which screens applicants and nominates its own quota before NIIED assigns nominees to a university.
For a Canadian applicant, the embassy track runs through the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Ottawa rather than a specific school, so you do not need an offer from a Korean university before you apply.
Step by step: the embassy track from Canada
Check the embassy's own GKS notice for the current cycle. The embassy sets and publishes its own internal deadline, which falls before NIIED's overall program deadline, so start well ahead of the general dates on the Study in Korea portal .
Confirm which track fits you: undergraduate or graduate. The two run on separate annual cycles with separate document lists and separate age and academic eligibility rules.
Gather your documents: application form, personal statement, study plan, academic transcripts, diplomas, and recommendation letters, plus a health check where required. Have transcripts and diplomas ready for notarization or apostille, since Korean institutions expect authenticated copies.
Submit your full application package to the embassy by its internal deadline. A missing document at this stage usually stops your file from moving forward to the interview or test stage.
Complete any embassy-run written test or interview. The embassy uses this stage to rank its nominees before forwarding a shortlist to NIIED.
Wait for NIIED's placement decision. NIIED matches nominated candidates to a university and program based on your stated preferences and each school's capacity.
Once placed, apply for your Korean student visa using the certificate of admission from your assigned university.
Embassy track vs university track
| Embassy track | University track | |
|---|---|---|
| First application goes to | Korean Embassy in Canada | The Korean university itself |
| University choice | Decided by NIIED after nomination | You choose the university upfront |
| Screening | Embassy review, possible test or interview | University admissions review |
| Best fit for | Applicants without a fixed university preference | Applicants set on a specific school |
Eligibility basics to check before you apply
GKS eligibility rules exclude applicants, and for most categories their parents, who hold Korean citizenship. Undergraduate applicants generally need to have completed or be completing secondary school, and graduate applicants need a completed degree at the level below the one they are applying for. Age caps, GPA minimums, and document lists change by cycle, so read the current NIIED guidelines in full rather than relying on a past year's rules.
Undergraduate and graduate cycles run separately
NIIED and the embassy run the undergraduate and graduate tracks as two separate annual cycles, each with its own opening date, document checklist, and test format. An undergraduate deadline does not tell you the graduate deadline, so check the current calendar for both if you are weighing either path.
What the award covers
GKS awards historically bundle full tuition, a monthly stipend, one round-trip airfare, a settlement allowance on arrival, medical insurance, and a Korean language course of about a year for students who are not already proficient before their degree starts. Award values and the exact stipend amount change by cycle and appear in the current NIIED and embassy notices, so confirm the figures for the year you apply rather than budgeting off an old number.
If the embassy does not nominate you
Embassy track quotas are limited, and a strong application does not guarantee nomination. If you are not selected, the university track stays open in the same or a later cycle. Check NIIED's current guidance on whether you apply to both tracks in the same cycle before you submit two applications, since the rule on that changes.
Timing your application
The embassy's internal deadline runs ahead of NIIED's overall deadline, and document authentication (notarization, apostille, translation) takes time. Start collecting your paperwork several months before the embassy's posted deadline, and contact the embassy directly if any document requirement is unclear, since embassy staff process your file before it reaches NIIED.