In February 2022, I made a bold decision to step away from the familiar and study abroad.

With a stable and well-paying job in India, people around me asked the reason why I wanted to study more. Well, the reason was simple; despite excelling in my career, I yearned for personal growth and change.

Studying abroad had been my dream since childhood and that’s when I thought “If not now, then when??”

And that’s how my journey began. I started with extensive research on scholarships for studying abroad. From a few scholarships that I came across, GKS (Global Korea Scholarship), formerly known as KGSP (Korean Government Scholarship Program) piqued my interest. I also came across a news article highlighting the steady growth of international students in South Korea, making it one of the emerging popular destinations for studying abroad.

So, I decided to give it a go!

After my thorough research and understanding of the GKS scholarship, I decided to apply for GKS-G 2022 to pursue my Master’s Degree in South Korea.

Selecting the University and Major

Finding the university and major that perfectly aligned with my personal goals and career aspirations was the most important part of my application.

I remember shortlisting a few universities that were offering the major I wanted to apply for, and I also checked if the courses will be taught in Korean or English Language. These were my major pointers, apart from checking the curriculum, the faculty information on the university websites and future prospects of the course.

After careful research, I chose to apply to Ajou University for MBA in International Business.

My GKS Application process

The documentation process is what comes next.

As tedious and challenging as it was, I vividly remember writing my study plan and personal statement for the application. Whilst having a full-time job, completing my documentation process truly felt like an achievement in itself.

Another important requirement is to apostille all the academic and professional documents. I was not quite familiar with the apostille process, so I referred to several student blogs and YouTube videos; majorly from Indian students living in Korea, for all tips and guidance. I also connected with a few Indian students from different Korean universities via Instagram and LinkedIn to clear my doubts.

For reference: This is the service I used to apostille my documents in India- IVS GLOBAL SERVICES- https://www.ivsglobal.in/

Personal tips!