2027 GKS-U and 2026 GKS-G Benefits: Tuition, Academic Allowance, and Airfare

> Reference date: September 21, 2026

Treating GKS simply as a one-line “full scholarship” can blur separate benefit items and eligibility conditions in an actual budget. The latest undergraduate notice is 2027 GKS-U, while the latest graduate notice is 2026 GKS-G. Both notices list tuition, Korean-language training fees, airfare, and academic allowances as separate items, but the amounts and applicable programs are not the same.

Accordingly, undergraduate applicants should read the 2027 GKS-U guidelines, while applicants to master’s, doctoral, and research programs should read the 2026 GKS-G guidelines. This article does not merge different recruitment years into a single scheme; instead, it compares the latest official tables published for each program as of September 21, 2026. Annual amounts are not arbitrarily divided into monthly payments, and all rows are not added together for one recipient.

2027 GKS-U changed the name and amount of the academic allowance

The official 2027 GKS-U notice and its revised Korean guidelines dated September 14 set tuition at up to KRW 5,000,000 per semester and Korean-language training at KRW 1,300,000 per quarter. The host university covers the admission fee, and inbound and outbound airfare is reimbursed at actual ticket cost.

The 2027 GKS-U guidelines explain that the academic allowance is an integrated amount covering living expenses, including accommodation costs, health-insurance premiums, the Korean Proficiency Grant, TOPIK test fees, settlement support, and return support, among other components. They state that an additional academic allowance is planned for students exempted from Korean-language training and that scholarship amounts may change depending on program operating conditions. Adding those components again to the annual total would double-count them.

2026 GKS-G breaks the academic allowance down by program

The revised 2026 GKS-G notice links to the revised package dated February 20. The revised guidelines package separates the academic allowance into KRW 14,400,000 per year for the language course, KRW 16,560,000 per year for degree programs, and KRW 20,880,000 per year for research programs. A note states that amounts may change depending on the budget.

Research programs receive neither tuition support nor Korean-language training fees. Scholars in the Global Network Program and in English-track departments of the R&D Program also do not receive the Korean-language training fee. A currently employed professor who applies to a department taught 100% in English and requests exemption from Korean-language training is also listed as excluded from the training fee. Therefore, the rows in the benefits table should not all be added together for one applicant.

The KRW 5,000,000 tuition figure is a payment cap and also reflects university responsibility

In both the 2027 GKS-U and 2026 GKS-G detailed tables, tuition is capped at KRW 5,000,000 per semester. The host university covers the admission fee. Reading KRW 5,000,000 as a fixed cash payment made directly to each recipient, or converting it into an annual cap, would change the official unit and meaning.

First check whether the university’s official tuition is below or above the cap, whether an admission fee is separate, and whether the category has no tuition item at all, as with research programs. Then connect this with the GKS university information file to confirm that the university and department are actually included in the recruitment list. Any calculation that adds ordinary university scholarship discounts to the GKS table should be considered only after checking that university’s rules on combining benefits.

The Korean-language training fee is also separate from an individual’s living expenses. The 2027 GKS-U table shows KRW 1,300,000 per quarter, while 2026 GKS-G shows KRW 5,200,000 for 4 payments. A living-cost budget should not put the training fee and personal living expenditure in the same cell.

Do not turn an included health-insurance premium into a claim of full medical-cost coverage

2027 GKS-U presents the annual total under academic allowance and lists health-insurance premiums as one of its integrated components. This means the premium is included in the academic-allowance package. It is not a medical-benefit table stating that every consultation, medicine, non-covered service, or patient copayment is separately reimbursed in full.

The 2026 GKS-G scholarship table does not state a separate medical-support amount. Therefore, the integrated-component explanation in the 2027 undergraduate table should not simply be transferred to graduate recipients. At the actual residence stage, recipients should check the applicable timing and copayment structure in recipient guidance, the university international office’s instructions, and National Health Insurance enrollment and payment guidance.

Read airfare together with actual-cost wording and exclusion conditions

The 2027 GKS-U and 2026 GKS-G tables present airfare as actual ticket cost. However, 2027 GKS-U does not provide inbound airfare to anyone residing in Korea as of the final-result announcement date. It also does not cover transportation within the home country, insurance during the entry process, or visa-issuance and entry expenses incurred in a country other than the home country.

2026 GKS-G likewise excludes from inbound-airfare support both recipients residing in Korea as of the final-result announcement date and recipients entering from a third country. For entry support, the university is instructed to purchase a one-way economy-class electronic ticket. Non-air transportation expenses within Korea or the home country and insurance costs during the entry process are also not covered, and the guidelines state that scholars from China and the Czech Republic do not receive airfare under intergovernmental agreements.

Whether the ticket is purchased directly or through a designated procedure, as well as departure/return timing and proof requirements, should be checked in recipient guidance after selection. Under 2027 GKS-U, a recipient who withdraws within 3 months after enrollment must repay the full scholarship amount, including inbound airfare. The benefit categories in the guidelines and the actual reservation procedure belong to different document stages.

Check the benefit table and official sources before applying

1. Choose your program among GKS-U, GKS-G degree, and GKS-G research.
2. Record the latest notice for that program, such as 2027 GKS-U for undergraduate study and 2026 GKS-G for graduate study.
3. Separate the tuition cap, university responsibility, and admission-fee row, and use only the academic-allowance row for your own program.
4. Separate actual airfare cost, current-residence and departure-country conditions, and personal transportation expenses.
5. Do not expand health-insurance wording into a medical-cost table; continue to the recipient guidance for confirmation.

Frequently asked questions

Is GKS tuition paid as the same cash amount regardless of a university’s actual tuition?

The detailed 2027 GKS-U and 2026 GKS-G tables set tuition at up to KRW 5,000,000 per semester and separately state that the host university covers the admission fee. This does not mean the same fixed cash amount is paid directly to every individual, so the tuition row and responsible payer for the selected university and program should be checked together.

Is health insurance added separately to the KRW 14,400,000 annual academic allowance for the 2027 GKS-U degree program?

The KRW 14,400,000 annual amount for the degree program is the integrated academic allowance, and the guidelines list health-insurance premiums as one of its components. Do not add the same component again as a separate amount.

Do tuition and Korean-language training fees also apply to 2026 GKS-G research programs?

The February 20 revised guidelines distinguish research programs as receiving neither tuition nor Korean-language training fees. The KRW 20,880,000 annual academic allowance for research programs should not be combined with the tuition and training-fee rows for other programs.