Global Korea Scholarship 2027 for school leavers: documents, authentication, the deadline
Updated on 8 October 2026.
This is the pack behind the GKS video, from Rekoja's desk. It turns the official 2027 guidelines into a plan you can start now for the next window, with every official page linked.
Closed for applications, read 8 October 2026. The next window is expected September 2027, based on last cycle (15 to 30 September 2026).
Which of these is you
- Parent of a child just admitted in Nigeria, checking eligibility
- Ready to apply and need the document list
- Science or engineering student wondering about the other track
- Already past 25 or missing a criterion
What it pays
The scholarship covers tuition for the degree, an economy-class entry flight at actual cost, a one-year Korean language course before the degree, and a monthly living allowance. The allowance is ₩13,560,000 a year during the Korean language year, which is ₩1,130,000 a month or about ₦1.12m, and ₩14,400,000 a year during the degree, which is ₩1,200,000 a month or about ₦1.19m. That allowance is all-inclusive: living expenses, accommodation, health insurance, Korean proficiency grants, the TOPIK application fee, the settlement allowance and the degree completion grants all come out of it, so none of them arrives as a separate payment. On tuition, NIIED pays up to ₩5 million a semester and the university covers anything above it as well as the admission fee; the Korean language programme fee of ₩5.2 million a year is paid for the scholar. Bachelor's scholars receive one year of language training followed by four to six years of degree study. Source: 2027 Global Korea Scholarship for Undergraduate Degrees, official notice, posted 9 September 2026, with the 2027 GKS-U Application Guidelines (English) attached, read 7 October 2026.
The deadline and the rule of three
In the 2027 cycle, embassy track applications were submitted online through the Study in Korea system from 15 September 2026 until 30 September 2026 at 18:00 Korea time, which is 10:00 Nigerian time. Closed for applications, read 8 October 2026. The next window is expected September 2027, based on last cycle. Under the general category you may apply to up to three universities, at least one of them from the Type B (regional) list, and not to more than one department in the same university. The first screening is by the Korean Embassy, the second by NIIED, and the third by the universities you chose. Source: the 2027 guidelines linked above.
Nigeria's embassy-track quota in the 2026 cycle was four undergraduate places (two general, two through the regional-university strand), transcribed from the official 2026 guidelines; the 2027 figure is in the new PDF. Source: GKS quotas by country, 2026 official data.
The four count
| # | Criterion | Your check |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Age | Under 25 at the start of the degree (the exact birth-date cut-off is in the guidelines) |
| 2 | Education | Secondary school completed, or completing before the programme starts; WAEC or NECO certificate |
| 3 | Grades | An average of 80 percent or above, or in the top 20 percent of the class, shown on a transcript |
| 4 | Nationality | Applicant and both parents hold Nigerian citizenship, proven with documents |
Applicants must also be in good health (a medical form is part of the file) and must not already hold a bachelor's degree. Korean is not required; TOPIK level 5 or 6 exempts you from the language year.
The documents and the authentication step
| Document | Note |
|---|---|
| Application form (official template) | Online through Study in Korea |
| Personal statement | Your own English; the embassy interviews you on it |
| Study plan | Why this subject, why these universities, what you will do after |
| Recommendation letter | From a principal or teacher who taught you |
| Secondary school graduation certificate | WAEC or NECO; authenticated (Education ministry, then Foreign Affairs) and confirmed by the Korean Embassy |
| Transcript | All years, with the grading scale explained; the same three stamps |
| Proof of nationality for you and both parents | Passports or birth certificates, plus your NPC birth certificate |
| Medical form | The template in the guidelines |
| Any awards or certificates | Optional |
The guidelines accept either an apostille or consular confirmation. Nigeria is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so a Nigerian document is not apostilled; it is authenticated, then consular-confirmed. For school papers the chain is three stamps: the Federal Ministry of Education authenticates the WAEC certificate and transcript, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja (Legal Services Division) authenticates them, and the Korean Embassy in Abuja confirms them. Start it first, because each stamp takes days and the next window, expected September 2027, will not wait for it. Sources: the 2027 guidelines document list, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria for the authentication process and fee, and the Korean Embassy in Nigeria's notice board for its confirmation instruction.
The university track
Separately from the embassy track, the University Industry Cooperation track selects 100 students for bachelor's or associate degrees in science and engineering fields and is open to applicants from all countries. If your child's subject is engineering, computing or a science, read the university list for that track in the guidelines and note that you must choose one track only; applying through both disqualifies you.
A worked example
Ifeanyi, 19, Enugu, WAEC with A1s and B2s, admitted to a private university at ₦2.4m a year his mother cannot pay. Costs before the next window: authentication and consular fees for two documents, transport, a passport photo, a few tens of thousands of naira in total; the application itself is free. If selected: about ₦1.12m a month in the language year and ₦1.19m a month during the degree, tuition ₦0, flight ₦0. If not selected: the same authenticated transcript and WAEC, the same personal statement, go into the Türkiye, Hungary, Chinese government and Erasmus Mundus files over the next six months. Nothing spent on it is wasted.
Who this is not for
- 25 or older at the start of the degree.
- Already holding a bachelor's degree: the graduate scholarship opens in February; watch our LINKS drop.
- Averages below 80 percent with no top-20-percent letter from the school: the count fails on criterion 3; the plan is a strong first year in Nigeria and a transfer or graduate route later.
What quietly kills applications
- Applying to both tracks.
- Submitting certificates that were never authenticated or confirmed.
- A personal statement written by an agent, exposed at the embassy interview.
- Missing the 10:00 Nigerian-time cut-off on the closing day because you read 18:00 as Nigerian time.
Questions people ask (from the official FAQ)
My country is not in the quota list; can I apply? Only through a track open to all countries, such as the university track.
Can I apply to both tracks? No; doing so disqualifies you.
I graduate after the deadline; can I apply? Only if you will have graduated before the programme starts, with the proof submitted by the date in the guidelines.
Before you go
Closed for applications, read 8 October 2026. The next window is expected September 2027, based on last cycle. The application is free and the stamps cost a fraction of one term's fees. Start with the authentication.
Naira figures on this page use the Central Bank of Nigeria central rate of 7 October 2026 (USD ₦1,331), with KRW converted at 1,342.53 to the dollar (12 September 2026).