Opportunity
Global Korea Scholarship
The Global Korea Scholarship pays for international students, Cambodians among them, to earn master's and doctoral degrees in South Korea.[1] The Government of Korea funds it, and for 2026 it planned to bring 2,000 graduate students to the country.[2] Applicants from Cambodia can go through the Korean embassy in Phnom Penh or apply straight to a Korean university.[3]
Sponsorship
The Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) is run by the GKS Center of the National Institute for International Education (NIIED), which posts each year's call on the government's Study in Korea website.[2] Its stated aim is to let students from abroad take degrees at Korean universities, widen exchange in education and build friendship between Korea and the countries taking part.[1]
There are two routes in. The Embassy Track had 800 places in 2026, nearly all of them general places spread over 143 countries, with a small share kept for overseas Koreans and adoptees.[1] The University Track had 1,200 places, filled by the universities themselves in several programs, among them one for regional universities.[1] The embassy or the university holds the first round of selection, so questions about papers go to them.[2]
Award and support
A master's scholarship lasts three years: one year of Korean language study, then two years of degree work.[1] A doctoral scholarship lasts four years, with three years of degree work after the language year, and a research program lasts six months or one year.[1] Students must reach level 3 of the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) to move on to their degree.[1]
Under the 2026 guidelines, every recipient received an economy flight to Korea and a monthly allowance, subject to the budget. The allowance came to 14,400,000 South Korean won (KRW) a year during language study, 16,560,000 KRW a year during the degree and 20,880,000 KRW a year in the research program.[1] The scholarship paid tuition of up to 5 million KRW, with the university covering the admission fee, and 5.2 million KRW for the year of language training.[1] Students who already hold TOPIK level 5 or 6 skip the language year and receive an extra grant instead.[1] Research students do not receive tuition or language fees.[1] A recipient who leaves within three months of starting at the university must pay back everything received.[1]
Recipients may study any subject offered by a participating university, but not night, short-term or online programs.[1]
Eligibility
For the 2026 call, applicants had to be citizens of an invited country, and neither they nor their parents could hold Korean citizenship.[1] Cambodia was one of the invited countries.[1] Master's applicants needed a bachelor's degree and doctoral applicants a master's, or had to be due to graduate by July 31, 2026.[1] Grades had to place them in the top 20% of their class, at 80% or more, or at a grade point average of at least 2.64 on a 4.0 scale (with matching marks on other scales).[1]
Applicants had to be under 40, born after September 1, 1986, though professors from countries that receive official development aid could apply up to age 45.[1] They also had to be in good physical and mental health.[1] Anyone who had finished, or was about to finish, a Korean high school or university could not apply, and neither could most people who had already held a Korean government scholarship for degree study.[1] Applicants with TOPIK level 3 or higher earn extra points, as does descent from a foreign veteran of the Korean War; science and engineering applicants get a smaller bonus.[1]
Application
The Korean embassy in Cambodia had 12 Embassy Track places for 2026.[3] Its call ran from 9:00 a.m. on February 12, 2026 to 4:00 p.m. on February 25, 2026, Phnom Penh time.[3] From 2026, applicants sent every document online through Study in Korea. The embassy also wanted one paper copy, left with its guard post or mailed with "GKS" on the envelope, to reach it by February 25.[3] Embassy Track applicants chose up to three universities, at least one of them from the list of regional universities (Type B).[1]
The embassy planned to post its shortlist on March 9, interview applicants in person on March 12 and name its nominees on March 13, 2026.[3] Only those who passed the interview had to send originals of their certificates with consular confirmation, by March 26.[3] NIIED then reviewed the nominees in May, the universities held a third round in early June, and the final list was due in late June 2026.[3]
Cambodia also had 26 University Track places in 2026: five general places and 21 at regional universities.[1] These applicants applied to the university directly, by the deadline it set.[1] NIIED announced the final results on July 1, 2026, by candidate number; it does not publish the full names of recipients.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 National Institute for International Education, 2026 Global Korea Scholarship Application Guidelines for Graduate Degrees (2026)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Study in Korea, 2026 Application Guidelines of Global Korea Scholarship for Graduate Degrees (GKS-G) (2026)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Kingdom of Cambodia, 2026 GKS Program for Graduate Degrees (2026)
- ↑ Study in Korea, 2026 GKS-G Final Result Announcement (2026)