GKS Korean Language Program
One full year of intensive Korean before your degree starts. Classes typically run 9am to 1pm, five days a week, plus extra sessions. Some scholars love it. Others? “If I had to stay another 6 months, I'd go crazy.”
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
3 min read
Updated Oct 5, 2026
What the language year looks like
Graduate scholars study from September to August; undergraduates from March to February (1 March 2027 to the end of February 2028 for the 2027 intake). You'll attend classes at the Korean language institute of a university. The schedule is intensive and varies by institute, but typically runs 9am to 1pm Monday through Friday, often with extra afternoon sessions for conversation or writing practice.
Institutes usually run levels of about 10 weeks each, with frequent tests along the way. The grading is strict — you need to progress at a steady pace. Fall behind, and catching up is very difficult.
Since 2023, scholars take the language programme at the same university where they'll do their degree, and must live on campus during it, usually with roommates. The exceptions are a handful of graduate schools — DGIST, KAIST, KDI School, the National Cancer Center graduate school, POSTECH, the Academy of Korean Studies and UNIST — whose scholars are sent to another university for the language year.
Who can skip it?
If you already have TOPIK 5 or 6, you skip the language year entirely and go straight to your degree programme. This saves you an entire year. But the bar is high — TOPIK 5 requires solid intermediate-advanced proficiency. Reach Level 5 or 6 within the first 6 months of the language year and you skip the remaining 6 months.
Everyone else does the full year. Even if you studied Korean for years on your own, without TOPIK 5+ certification you're in the language programme. The only other exemptions are for graduate special cases: the research and Global Network programmes, IRTS Korean-language graduates with TOPIK 3+, and current professors in 100% English-taught programmes who apply for exemption.
Difficulty by native language
Korean is easier for speakers of some languages than others. Here's the reality.
Shared vocabulary (Hanja/Kanji), similar grammar structure (Japanese). Chinese speakers learn vocabulary fast. Japanese speakers find grammar intuitive.
Some structural similarities (Altaic language family for Turkic languages, tonal awareness for Vietnamese). Still challenging but manageable in 1 year.
Completely different grammar, vocabulary, and writing system. These speakers are more likely to 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
After the language year, you need TOPIK Level 3 to enter your degree (Level 4 in some departments). Some scholars don't make it (estimates run at 10–20%; NIIED does not publish a figure). A widely cited report says 270 GKS scholars failed to graduate between 2011 and 2015, many because of language and cultural barriers. Read our TOPIK requirement guide for the full picture.
Tips to prepare
- Start learning Hangul (the alphabet) before arriving. It takes a weekend. Seriously, just do it.
- Use TTMIK (Talk To Me In Korean) — free resources. Get to at least basic greetings before landing.
- Find Korean language exchange partners in your home country. Practise speaking early.
- Don't rely on K-drama Korean. Academic Korean is very different from casual speech.
- During the programme, study 2+ hours outside class daily. The scholars who pass easily are the ones who don't stop studying at 1pm.