Vietnamese undergraduate GKS student talks competition for scholarship spots
Published: 13 Jan. 2026, 11:25
Updated: 13 Jan. 2026, 17:50
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- LEE TAE-HEE
- [email protected]
![Ariel Do, a 2022 undergraduate Global Korea Scholarship recipient, takes a photo during the Korea-Yonsei Games. [ARIEL DO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/13/0af788f0-7f39-44bb-b8c4-de6ca49188af.jpg)
Ariel Do, a 2022 undergraduate Global Korea Scholarship recipient, takes a photo during the Korea-Yonsei Games. [ARIEL DO]
Vietnam is one of the countries with a large number of students studying in Korea or aspiring to do so, and getting the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) through Vietnam's Embassy Track can be a competitive journey.
Ariel Do was one of the Vietnamese students who applied for the undergraduate GKS in 2022 through the Embassy Track, which has a set quota assigned to each country. Based on accounts shared after the application process, she found that more than 130 students competed for the six slots allocated to Vietnam’s northern region through the Korean Education Center in Hanoi.
The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Ho Chi Minh, responsible for screening applicants in the southern area, was assigned three spots, and the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Danang was assigned one spot.
Despite the competitive process, she was selected as an undergraduate GKS scholar and is currently in her senior year at Korea University's Department of Media and Communication.
"GKS is already very well known in Vietnam and is considered one of the most prestigious scholarships,” Do said. “I think my selection came down to a mix of everything. I did a lot of extracurricular activities in high school, I was good in both Korean and English and my cumulative grade-point average (CGPA) was also quite high.”
Having a Topik score isn't a requirement and is something that GKS scholars can develop during a one-year language study period. But for Vietnam, many applicants come with high Topik scores, typically level 5 or 6.
"I've met many Vietnamese students who were selected for GKS after me, and they are all really good at Korean," said Do. "The application process is really competitive, and if you have Korean proficiency, you have a better chance."
GKS is a scholarship offered by the Korean government that provides full tuition, a monthly stipend, language study support, health insurance fees and round-trip airfare. Students can apply for the scholarship via two tracks: the University Track, which allows students to apply to one university of their choice, and the Embassy Track, which has a quota for each country and allows students to take their shot at three universities.
While GKS for undergraduate programs accepts applications around September and October, GKS for graduate programs opens applications around February.
For those interested in graduate GKS applications, K-campus, a platform for international students run by the Korea JoongAng Daily, will be hosting the "GKS 101 with K-campus" webinar on Feb. 9. Details about early bird tickets can be found on K-campus.
To discuss the scholarship in more detail, Do sat down with the Korea JoongAng Daily to talk about how she earned the scholarship and what helped her stand out.
Below are edited excerpts from the interview, edited for length and clarity.
![Students study at Korea University's library in Seongbuk District, central Seoul [KOREA UNIVERSITY]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/13/fa898a72-2f76-44fb-865c-2df15ec9118e.jpg)
Students study at Korea University's library in Seongbuk District, central Seoul [KOREA UNIVERSITY]
Q. What factor in the GKS selection process do you think is most important, especially for Vietnamese Embassy Track applicants?
A. If I go through the factors by a process of elimination, first of all, I’d say it’s not CGPA that's the most important. I’ve actually had friends with relatively low CGPAs who were still selected. It’s also not extracurriculars, and not just about Topik scores either. I think what matters the most is the personal statement and how effectively you tell your story.
If you look at the GKS application guideline, it states that the scholarship aims to promote cultural exchange and public diplomacy. When you write the personal statement, it’s important to explain how you can contribute to strengthening diplomatic ties between your country and Korea.
Korean isn’t a requirement for the GKS, but many Vietnamese students are already proficient in Korean. For Vietnam Embassy Track applicants, what level of Korean proficiency do you think is recommended?
I applied to the GKS with Topik level 6, and I had studied Korean for three years in high school. For us, I think it might even be one of the deciding factors. From when I applied afterward, scholars (selected through Vietnam's Embassy Track) always had Topik level 5 or higher.
How did you decide to apply via the Embassy Track, and how did you choose your three universities?
I chose the Embassy Track because, at the time, the University Track deadline came about a month after the Embassy Track deadline. You could apply to both, and I thought, why not try both? The timing worked well back then, but now I think it could be a bit tight if you were to try both.
You can choose two from the Track A universities and one from the Track B universities when selecting your three options, and I researched all of the universities in Track A. Among them, I found that Korea University and Kyung Hee University had the best media programs, and I went for the two. But for Track B, I honestly just chose a university at random.
What's one experience you focused on in your personal statement?
I was part of lots of school clubs, which I did write in the personal statement. But one of the main experiences I wrote about was when I worked as a designer outside school. I study media now, and those two are fields that can connect. So I wrote about how I designed for school clubs, then went outside high school and actually made money with my skills as a designer and how that journey led me to want to study media. I think it's important to have a coherent story, telling the reviewers that you had a taste of what studying the chosen field would be like, and also assuring them that you will be good at learning it.
How long did it take you to write the personal statement, and how did you develop it?
I think it took around a month. I kept getting stuck for the first two weeks, and after having a draft, I kept fixing it for the two weeks after that. I first tried fixing it on my own and then sent my personal statement to previous GKS scholars I found online. I also emailed them to ask if they could share their personal statement, although I did this very politely, and looked at personal statements shared online by others. I even asked my previous Korean teachers. If you do have a mentor, it's always good to ask them to review your personal statement.
Was your personal statement specific to all three universities you applied to? Or was it a general one?
I wrote it to be general. I did mention the universities briefly, but I didn't write anything specific about them.
In what language was your interview conducted, and how long did it take?
It was in English, but with a few attempts to switch to Korean. The interviewer asked some questions in Korean, but I chose to reply in English, and you could definitely choose.
My interview took 11 minutes and 40 seconds. There was a group of applicants who got to the interview, and we actually compared how long our interviews were among ourselves. Some had interviews that lasted up to 19 minutes, 17 minutes, 10 minutes and even seven minutes. So it really varies.
What were some of the interview questions you were asked?
For the first part of the interview, they asked a lot about my experience, like what I did during my extracurricular activities, why I did them and what I learned. The second part was mostly about how I was going to study in Korea, such as what my plans were.
I got a few questions that I should prepare for from people who did the interview the previous year, and I practiced those questions with a teacher I knew. Interview skills are difficult to master, and it's important to appear confident.
Was there something about the application process you thought would be easy, but turned out not to be?
Preparing application documents took much longer than I expected. You need to get documents notarized and then get consular confirmation, which was also a confusing process. Overall, the process took around two months, when I expected it to take around a week. I think the process also tends to be longer in Vietnam because the embassy can be a bit slow. I asked friends who are GKS scholars, and was surprised when some said the document preparation process was actually easy for them.
Since you had Topik level 6, you could skip the one-year language study period. What was it like going straight into classes?
I first started by taking English-taught classes offered at Korea University, because I knew I could handle those. Then I took some Korean classes in the remaining period of my first and second years, and the classes that I had to work in teams and talk with Korean students were very hard. But by my third year, the classes became easier because I had already lived here for two years and spent a lot of time learning the language. Our department does offer English courses, but many of the important ones are in Korean. For instance, of the major requirement courses, two are available in English, but one is in Korean.
Are there any tips you want to give to GKS applicants?
Be confident, and I think that's what the reviewers look for. They want to find students who can further diplomatic relations between Korea and your home country. For someone to do that, you have to be confident in yourself and lead the exchange between two countries. So I think confidence is a key characteristic that's looked for when screening documents and doing interviews.
BY LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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