The one-year Korean course: who is exempt, what is required
Almost all GKS scholars study Korean for one year (4 terms) before starting their degree โ at the language institute (์ดํ๋น) of a university assigned by NIIED, often not your own university and in another city. Tuition is paid in full by NIIED and the stipend continues (slightly lower than during the degree). It is not an optional extra but a mandatory part of the programme.
Those holding a valid TOPIK 5 or 6 at the time of application are exempt from the language year and start the degree directly (so GKS lasts 3 years, not 4 โ or 2 for a master's). Those admitted to English-taught programmes ALSO do the language year โ an English-medium programme does not waive the language requirement; only TOPIK 5+ does.
At the end of the language year you MUST obtain TOPIK 3 (or higher) โ otherwise you cannot start the degree. Those who fall short extend the language course by 6 months; if TOPIK 3 is still not reached, the scholarship is terminated. In practice most scholars who start from zero reach TOPIK 3โ4 within the year, thanks to 4 hours of class a day plus a Korean environment. But arriving with Hangul and TOPIK 1 already in hand makes the first two terms much easier.
Scholars who obtain TOPIK 5 or 6 during the degree receive an extra โฉ100,000 per month โ from the month they submit the certificate to the university. Over four years that is 4โ5 million won, so do not drop TOPIK after the language year. Most universities require TOPIK 4 to graduate from a bachelor's degree (a university rule, not a GKS one). You can prepare during the language year with the past papers in the app โ round 64 and newer include the Writing paper.