What the Language Year Looks Like
From September to August, you'll attend classes at a Korean language institute attached to a university. The schedule is intensive: 9am to 1pm Monday through Friday, with 2 additional sessions per week (usually afternoon conversation or writing practice).
You'll go through 4-6 levels, each about 10 weeks. Exams happen every 5 weeks, often with minimal advance notice. The grading is strict — you need to progress at a steady pace. Fall behind, and catching up is very difficult.
The university where you study Korean may not be the same university where you'll do your degree. NIIED assigns language program placement separately.
Who Can Skip It?
TOPIK Level 5 or 6 holders
If you already have TOPIK 5 or 6, you can skip the language year entirely and go straight to your degree program. This saves you an entire year. But the bar is high — TOPIK 5 requires solid intermediate-advanced proficiency.
Everyone else does the full year. No exceptions. Even if you studied Korean for years on your own, without TOPIK 5+ certification, you're in the language program.
Difficulty by Native Language
Korean is easier for speakers of some languages than others. Here's the reality.
Chinese, Japanese
Shared vocabulary (Hanja/Kanji), similar grammar structure (Japanese). Chinese speakers learn vocabulary fast. Japanese speakers find grammar intuitive.
Mongolian, Turkish, Uzbek, Vietnamese
Some structural similarities (Altaic language family for Turkic languages, tonal awareness for Vietnamese). Still challenging but manageable in 1 year.
Arabic, Spanish, French, English, Swahili
Completely different grammar, vocabulary, and writing system. These speakers make up the 10-20% who struggle to reach TOPIK 3. Extra study outside class is essential.
The Honest Experience
"The language year was the best year of my life. I made lifelong friends from 30 different countries. We studied together, cooked together, explored Korea together. I actually miss it."
— GKS scholar from Vietnam (Chinese speaker)
"If I had to stay another 6 months, I'd go crazy. The daily grind of 4 hours of Korean, plus homework, plus trying to navigate life in a country where you can barely read street signs. Two scholars in my cohort dropped out within 6 months."
— GKS scholar from Brazil
"I studied Korean for 2 years before coming. I thought I'd breeze through. I was wrong. Academic Korean is nothing like what you learn from dramas or apps. The writing requirements alone were brutal."
— GKS scholar from India
The Stakes: TOPIK 3 Required
After the language year, you need TOPIK Level 3 to enter your degree. 10-20% of scholars don't make it. Between 2011-2015, 270 GKS scholars failed to graduate — many because of language issues. Read our TOPIK requirement guide for the full picture.
Tips to Prepare
- 1. Start learning Hangul (the alphabet) before arriving. It takes a weekend. Seriously, just do it.
- 2. Use TTMIK (Talk To Me In Korean) — free resources. Get to at least basic greetings before landing.
- 3. Find Korean language exchange partners in your home country. Practice speaking early.
- 4. Don't rely on K-drama Korean. Academic Korean is very different from casual speech.
- 5. During the program, study 2+ hours outside class daily. The scholars who pass easily are the ones who don't stop studying at 1pm.