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GKS personal statement and study plan: what each form asks
Checked against official sources
The Global Korea Scholarship for graduate degrees (GKS-G) asks for two written documents: a Personal Statement (Form 2) and a Study Plan (Form 3). This guide explains what each one asks, how they are submitted, what is known about length, and how they connect to your university choices and your recommendation letter. One caution first: the item lists below come from the 2024 forms, because the 2026 wording could not be confirmed, so compare them with the current forms before you write.
The two forms at a glance
On the Embassy track, both documents are written in Step 3 of the Study in Korea online system. The 2026 user guide gives a limit of 6,000 characters in Korean or 17,000 in English, including spaces (its English version says word limit). Confirm it in the system.
| Form | Items asked (2024 form) | 2024 paper limit |
|---|---|---|
| Form 2: Personal Statement | Why you are applying; your education; significant experiences; people or events that shaped you; awards, publications or skills; other activities such as volunteering or work | Maximum 3 pages, single-spaced, Times New Roman (or a Korean font), 11 pt |
| Form 3: Study Plan | Your plan to improve the Korean or English you need; your study goals and a detailed study plan; your plans after the GKS programme | Maximum 3 pages, single-spaced, 11 pt |
Proof of claims in the Personal Statement can be attached as numbered other documents. Every claim should therefore be one you can document.
The Personal Statement: motivation, education and experience
The Personal Statement looks back, and splits naturally into two halves.
The first covers motivation and education: why GKS, why graduate study in Korea, and the degree, results and courses most relevant to your plans. Your grades must meet the published thresholds (for example at least 80% on a 100-point scale, top 20% of your class, or a CGPA of at least 2.64/4.0), so what you write must match your transcript.
The second covers experiences, influences and achievements. For influences, the question is what changed in you, not who the person was. Awards, publications, skills, volunteering and work belong here when they relate to your study plans.
The Study Plan: language, study goals and life after GKS
The Study Plan looks forward, in three parts.
Language plan
The master's programme lasts 3 years: 1 year of Korean language followed by 2 years of degree study, unless you are exempt from the language year. Korean or English scores are optional but an advantage. The language part should state your current level with evidence, what you will do before arrival, and how the language year and degree years will build the level you need.
Study goals and detailed plan
Set out what you aim to learn and achieve, then show how: specific courses, professors and resources at the departments you choose, a sequence of coursework and research across the two degree years, and the question your final work may address.
Plans after GKS
State what you will do right after the degree and the longer aim behind it, including who benefits. The 2024 recommendation form looked at potential and future contribution, so your plans and your recommender's letter should point the same way. The Personal Statement and Study Plan Worksheets in the Application Kit for the Global Korea Scholarship (Graduate) give recall questions, a structure planner and a self-check for each of these parts, without sample text.
Fitting the forms to your track and universities
| Track | Universities | Who runs round 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Embassy track | Up to 3 different universities, at least one Type B (guidelines); the online user guide states that Choice 1 must be Type B; no multiple departments at one university | Korean embassy: document review and, at many embassies, an interview for shortlisted applicants |
| University track | 1 university, 1 department | The university, under its own deadline |
Only one GKS-G application is allowed in total, and duplicate applications are excluded. On the Embassy track, round 2 is an NIIED document review with no interview, and in round 3 up to three of your chosen universities review you. Your Study Plan should fit each department you list, and each one should offer your field.
If you are shortlisted for an embassy interview, each embassy sets the format, and the notices checked do not publish whether it is in person or online, its length or the panel, so be ready to explain your statement and plan in your own words. The kit's STAR Evidence Bank and Interview Question Bank help you organise real examples for that.
Rules on accuracy and outside help
The 2026 guidelines contain no AI-specific rule. They do say that NIIED may disqualify you or cancel an award immediately for errors, missing documents or false information, including false recommender details, and may verify facts with governments and universities. Recommender information must be entered accurately and truthfully. The Embassy of Korea in Bangladesh also states that it does not advise applicants on study plans or university choice. Write every sentence yourself and make sure each claim is true and provable.
For the 2026 cycle, the Embassy-track online window ran from 12 February to 25 February 2026 and closed automatically at the stated Korean time. The 2027 dates are not yet published; by pattern, guidelines appear in early February.
General information: this article is general information, not admissions advice. Forms, limits, quotas and dates change between cycles, so always check the current GKS guidelines and your Korean embassy's own notice before you apply.