#kgsp2016

Informing close friends and family about my departure to Korea in less than a month’s time have led to a series of questions that keep coming up, almost in the same order, again and again. While I love to answer these questions, I thought it best to have a FAQ list to answer them all at once, heh. Hope this helps to give greater clarity. 

What is KGSP? 

KGSP stands for the Korean Government Scholarship Programme. Essentially the Korean government would like to encourage people from other countries to go to Korea for their undergraduate and/or graduate studies, and this scholarship is offered to many people around the world - for graduate studies, there are about 700+ people from 50+ countries. The scholarship covers full tuition fees, one round-trip airfare, Korean language programme fees, monthly allowance, research grants, etc. So yeah, pretty generous, and the best part of it all? No Bond :D

How did you find out about this? 

Well, last year when I was in Busan for exchange, I enjoyed myself so much that I started googling what kind of graduate programmes they had, and I chanced upon a brief write up about the KGSP on one of the university websites. At that point of time, I saw that KGSP was not open to people who had been on the D2 visa before, which included exchange students, and I was quite disappointed to know that I would not be able to apply. 

However, this year as I was scrolling through Facebook, I saw a post by the Korean embassy in Singapore informing everyone that KGSP was now open for applications - and students who had been on exchange in Korea before could now apply. I was really drawn towards applying, but was quite hesitant about it, and so I brushed it aside. But a few days later, SMU also sent an email to all of us with the full details of the programme, and I was reminded of that inclination I had. So I thought - “hey, why not? just try la, won’t die also”. And the rest is History. 

Are you the only Singaporean? Are there other Singaporeans in this programme? 

Yeah, there are four of us in total. Only one of them is in the same university as me, but different university course. Nope, I do not know any of them, unfortunately. Hopefully, we’ll make friends~

What course are you actually taking? 

The major I will be taking is International Cooperation. To be exact, I should be graduating with a Master of International Studies (International Cooperation) - MIS (International Cooperation) for short. In essence, I will be studying the development of countries - socially, economically, politically, culturally, and its effects on the citizens of the countries.

Which university?

I will be doing the course at Seoul National University, which is one of the top, if not the top, university in South Korea. This major is under the Graduate School of International Studies. Initially I was choosing between Ewha, which supposedly has the best GSIS in South Korea, and SNU, which is definitely more renowned in its world reputation, but upon the advice of one of my SMU Political Science Professors, I decided to choose SNU instead. He told me: rather than the modules that you take for the Master’s, it is more important to have a mentor/professor with whom you want to research with specifically. I did a quick check on the faculty from Ewha, Yonsei and SNU, and found a specific professor in SNU whose research looked similar to my research interests, and decided to choose SNU GSIS. 

So you will be based in Seoul? 

For my Master’s programme, yes. But there is a mandatory one-year Korean language programme for all scholars - and I will be based in Daegu, which is a city off Busan, and also the fourth largest city in Korea.

Huh, why did you choose Daegu, and not Seoul, for the language programme? 

I didn’t choose Daegu, it was assigned to me. I’ve heard that if you are going to the north of South Korea (i.e. Incheon, Seoul) for your graduate programme, they’ll assign you a university down south (i.e. Daegu, Busan, Daejeon) for your KLP. The reverse is true as well. So, since SNU is in Seoul, I was assigned a university in Daegu. 

I am quite happy about Daegu though. In fact, I was hoping that I will be assigned to Busan or Daegu. Busan because I had my undergraduate student exchange there just last year, and Daegu because I had visited Daegu before, and have a close friend whose hometown is Daegu, so I would at least have a local I can ask my questions to and hang out with when I head there. 

There are two problems with studying KLP at Daegu University though (or so I’ve heard) - the satoori accent is exceptionally strong in Daegu, more strong than even Busan; and Daegu University is apparently one-hour away from downtown Daegu. I guess I will be very focused on learning Korean as I can’t go out eating/shopping very easily, and... I will have an adorable satoori accent at the end of it. I doubt the accent though, I was in Busan for four months and didn’t get any accent out of it. 

Huh! Your university course is going to be taught in Korean??

No, thankfully. I doubt I would have had the boldness to apply for this course if it was taught in Korean. However, even though my GSIS course is taught in the English language, I must learn the Korean language for one year. It’s part of the programme and part of the deal. And I honestly don’t mind, because I’ve already been learning the Korean language for about two years on and off, so this is a great opportunity to really get serious with the language and speak it fluently. 

From what I notice though, the other Singaporeans in the programme seem to be choosing Korean-language based university courses (Industrial Engineering, Biology and Film). I admire them for their courage, it’s really quite commendable to do all that research in Korean. 

Wait, so how long will you be away for? 

It’s a two-years Master’s programme, but due to the mandatory one-year Korean language programme for all scholars, I will be away for three years in total. Even though my course is taught in English, I am not allowed to skip the one year of language programme, so there we go, three years in total.

Huh, then what about your boyfriend? 

Well. Yeah. That was a big concern, but he’s been amazingly supportive and really sweet about it. I had told him before that I would like to go overseas to study, and he replied that he would support me no matter what. So thankful <3

We have spoken to our pastor about it, and have laid out some arrangements to keep in close contact on a daily basis. We’re not going into a LDR with rose-tinted glasses, so don’t worry. 

But are you sure you want to do this straight after graduating from university? Why don’t you do your Master’s after some years of working? 

Very valid concern, and that was initially my belief as well. But I thought about it and there really is no other opportune time than now. Right now, my family is healthy and happy, while I’m still unmarried and unemployed. If I wait some years, when I have a comfy salary and a family in tow, it’s gonna be even harder to put down everything and do my graduate studies. So. Why not now? 

Why Korea, though? Can’t you do this programme in other countries, including Singapore? 

Yes, other countries do have such programmes. But no, not in Singapore. Well, Singapore does have something similar, but it’s more geared toward Area Studies e.g. Southeast Asian studies or Middle East studies. That sort of programme. Not so much the emphasis or focus on Development, which is what I am more interested in. 

Other countries do have such programmes with an emphasis on development, in particular in UK and US. But... the school fees are really intimidating, and I’ve always had a soft spot for Northeast Asia. China and Japan do have such programmes as well, but since I’ve already been learning Korean, and am quite comfortable in Korean society, I thought it best to go back to Korea (plus there’s a scholarship that covers full tuition fees, whut?!).

What do you hope to do after coming back? What can you do with this degree? 

More research related jobs. My ideal job is to do research in a thinktank. But there are many other research-related roles available outside thinktanks, and experience in Korea, and fluency in Korean, will definitely be a plus if I want to work in Korean companies in the future. 

How’s preparation going? 

FINAL RESULTS ARE OUT FINALLY!! AND THIS IS IT! I’M OFFICIALLY GOING TO KOREA!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

Well my language university is Dongseo Univ, all the way in Busan but nevertheless! I’m HAPPY!! This has been my dream for 9 years!!! OMG!! 

Finally got all the responses from my unis. 2/3. I failed Seoultech but got acceptance from Soongsil and Kookmin unis. R.I.P. my Seoultech dreams. I chose Kookmin though (Already submitted my documents to NIIED) because they basically gave me an offer I can’t refuse lol. (Who will pass up free dorms and W400,000 extra per month while living in Seoul? Not this girl!)