#studyinkorea

[study-for-hogwarts]

I've been studying at the Hankuk University of foreign studies in Seoul for the past 8 months. We have online classes, but I love doing my assignments in the library. They have a small cafe down here and play soft piano music.🌿🎼💻🕰️

[bonaintan]

A Journey to KGSP/GKS: Self-reflection

It’s been over five years since I started my journey as a KGSP/GKS awardee, four years since I started mentoring people who were preparing for their applications, and two years since I completed the KGSP/GKS program and posted the series of A Journey to KGSP/GKS here, which allows me to reach out to even more people on the same journey. When starting the series, I just thought to give back as much advice and assistance as I received from past awardees and expand their helping hands to more prospective applicants.

Years back, when I got my first offer to be a mentor in a scholarship mentorship program, I was conflicted about whether or not to accept it. Years after, I was still in doubt to openly share my experience here because I’m far from an expert, let alone guarantee anything that will make anyone closer to their dream school in Korea. It’s probably the weight of giving advice and guidance to other people that I am always concerned about (the same reason that led me to change my career path). But, regardless of the difference I could make, I just hope that this little trace of mine could last for a long time.

Thanks to these posts, I connected with people from different sides of the world who DM me on Instagram and offer me to check their essays. I personally don’t think that it’s an easy thing to do, especially to someone you barely know and have never met in person, given that the essay includes the story of your life, the family you grew up with, even some details that you might have never shared with anyone else. But, despite my limited experience and the assistance I can give, they let me into some parts of their lives and even let me give suggestions on how to present them differently in writing. I think it’s an amazing way to cross paths with people you never knew existed and to be part of their life journey, even just for a while.

For me, reading every essay is a privilege, a worth learning place, and a chance to reflect on. It always feels like putting on different eyes to see and experience the world. And, none of my feedback for them will ever be worth the same. So, I just wanted those who have kindly shared their essays with me to know that I never took this privilege lightly nor took it for granted. It’s part of my long life learning experience, which I’ll always be grateful for.

[rasoka]

I moved to South Korea during the pandemic, watch my experience in quarantine there💙

[honeyandchaai]

Hate to admit it but failed to continue to study abroad and came back to my home country to finish my discontinued bachelor’s degree (Development studies & Environmental studies). This is the 8th semester but will be doing an extra semester until the end of this year. Unis in Korea typically have two semesters in a year-Spring one; starts at March and finishes at end of June, Fall one; starts at Sept and finishes at end of Dec.16 weeks per a semester. 

This week is 6th week and midterms start from the next week! I’m taking 

1) Understanding of Pharmaceutical Science(somehow it’s among environmental studies major) 2) Mass media and communication (free elective) 3) International Political Economy (not my major but interested, major elective from Politics) 4) Development and Environment (obviously from my major!). 

The very first mid-term next week is Pharm class! Have to go through big 4 chapters. Nothing too science but I’d been too away from even basic science stuffs so a bit of struggles expected. But not to be too discouraged I wanted to start 70 days of productivity! (just to fit with my academic calendar it’s not 100LOL) 

1/70 days of productivity 13 Apr 2018

[saungkorea]

A new Korean scholarship info is added to our website! It's Kyungnam University Scholarship for Bachelor Degree. Check it out at bit.ly/koreastudy! or click the link on our bio ^^ #ODA #2017 #scholarship #studyinkorea #kyungnamuniversity Info baru tentang beasiswa ke Korea udah ditambahin ke Web kita! Ini beasiswa Kyungnam University buat S1 ya.. Cek infonya di bit.ly/koreastudy atau klik link di bio kita ^^

[bonaintan]

A Journey to KGSP/GKS: Study Plan

After a very long while, I finally managed to post this! This, I guess is my final post on A Journey to KGSP/GKS Series. I’m still considering whether or not to make a post about the interview. I’m not sure I can cover this topic well since my experience is limited to the interview session in the Korean Embassy. Even I heard that each Embassy has its own way of conducting the interview, including the questions given. Anyways, on this post, I’ll be sharing on my experience in writing a study plan (or statement of purpose for the Graduate degrees) for the GKS Application. If you just started preparing the GKS Application, you may want to check my previous posts on the guideline to the application forms and personal statement essay or read my experience in applying for the 2016 KGSP/GKS-G.

So, as we’ve known, a study plan is another important stage to showcase the applicant’s ability in planning his study in Korea. One needs to explain his/her plans before coming to Korea when doing the study in Korea, and after graduating from the Korean university.

Study Plan template (2021 GKS-Undergraduate Application)

Statement of Purpose template (2021 GKS-Graduate Application)

 When preparing for the application back in 2016, I tried to find as many resources as possible. I joined the KGSP Global Applicant Facebook group, searched awardees from Indonesia and other countries online through Facebook and Instagram, and contacted them to discuss their experience and ask for some advice. I then found Mas Nasikun’s blog, a KGSP awardee from Indonesia who did his Master’s degree program at Seoul National University. I was especially very grateful for his posts on how to write a study plan. His posts on KGSP Application are still there and anyone interested in applying for this scholarship will surely find it very useful.

Here I’m making a kind of brief guideline in writing a study plan. I divide them into plans before, during, and after studying in Korea.

Plans before going to Korea. Here, you need to write down things you have been doing and will be doing before going to Korea. This mostly covers Korean language preparation. I believe that ‘taking Korean language courses’ shouldn’t be necessarily on the list. There’s a bunch of fun ways to learn a language, especially the Korean language. What is better than watching Korean TV shows and being whipped by the actors and actresses? (Not watching one?) Okay, if you still doubt whether you should start learning the language by now, I urge you to do so unless you just apply for fun and ‘luckily’ see yourself get a seat at the end. Especially for those who never got anything related to Korea, get yourself used to how Korean language sounds is an important first step that will take you further lightheartedly. I met people who hardly heard the Korean language until they reach the country, and they struggled within one-year language training which I believe could have been less tormenting and fun instead. One year is short if not to say insufficient, trust me.

I was far from fluent when applying for this scholarship program (well, I still am), but I wasn’t unfamiliar with the language either. If there was only one effort in learning the language that I invested the most, it was listening to Korean songs. I wasn’t into K-dramas before coming to Korea, and I could barely make any time to go to a language center. I started learning Hangeul (Korean alphabet) while preparing for the application but just started self-teaching on basic grammars around 2 months before my departure in August. I wasn’t confident in mastering the language in one year, plus my over-anxiety told me to do something to lessen my stress in the future. Still, I knew I should’ve started earlier.

So, you need to explain that any plans during this time are to prepare you for life in Korea and of course the degree program. Here, you also need to mention your goals during the language training program. You may divide it into two semesters; what things you will do and the level of Korean proficiency you aim in the first and second half. There are many programs you can participate in during language training, such as the Buddy program, voluntary work at Korean schools, cultural festivals, etc. You may do your research and mention what you’re mostly expecting to do to improve your Korean skills.

Plans during your study in Korea. This section is a little bit different for GKS-U and GKS-G applicants AND applicants via Embassy and University Track. GKS-U applicants are provided a separate section for this part whereas, for GKS-G applicants, this part is combined with the plan before coming to Korea. Regardless, the best way to deliver this part is by setting a timeline for your plan, either per semester or per academic year.

For GKS-U applicants, I personally think that you can simply mention the number of credits in total to graduate and the average number of credits every semester. As for the course, you can mention some courses you’re particularly interested in and the reason (for example, those courses are in line with the topic interest of your final project/thesis, or they will be beneficial for your future career). These are basic information, so make sure you check the curriculum and graduation requirements! Other things to include are plans on taking short-term courses during summer/winter break and organizations/clubs/other student activities you will want to join (check on the university/department website for reference). Don’t forget to elaborate on why you need these activities (project it to your future goal).

For GKS-G applicants, I recommend writing down your study plan per semester since dividing into two academic years may limit the details. Depending on the major, you may set different goals each semester. Generally, I believe, the first semester would be the time to strengthen your fundamental knowledge regarding your field of study while adapting to the Korean education system. Some may have chances to start consulting with their academic advisor/professor even working in a lab. In the second semester, you may need to start working on your research plans. Here, you may briefly explain the thesis research you want to do. Most Master’s degree programs in Korea require a thesis for graduation so make sure you prepare one. Unless you’re applying for the Research Program, no need to go very detail on this. Three important points to include when explaining your research plan: what the research topic is, why you want to work on it, and why Korea and/or your university choice is the best place to carry out this research. In the third semester, you will probably need to sit for a comprehensive exam and start conducting your research. For social science and humanity students, you should prepare the ethical clearance application by the end of this semester or during the semester break so that you can start conducting your research, especially, collecting the research data, as the new semester begins. Finally, you may wrap up your final semester by completing the thesis and publishing or submitting a research article to a journal (some departments have it as part of graduation requirements).

For Embassy track applicants, I don’t think you need to elaborate on your 3 university and major choices and the reasons behind every choice. You likely apply for similar if not the same major. Despite different names, the focus study should be the same and that’s what you need to elaborate on. What I did back then is briefing the reason I applied for that major (I already mention it in the Personal Statement so I just briefly explain it here) and what topic of study I will focus on my thesis research. For university track applicants, you may explain the reasons for applying to the major and the university of your choice and your study plan followed by the plan each semester.

Plans after graduating from a Korean university. The keyword for this part, I believe, is future career. And the best way to show the reviewer your enthusiasm and your visionary side (regardless of how vague the future life is yet), is to name your future goal. I think telling what kind of job you aspire and some motivations behind it would work. Another important point to include is whether you will return to your home country or stay in Korea after graduation, accompanied by things you will do afterward. Again, this part may seem vague for some, especially for GKS-U applicants. Still, you need to make it as detail as possible, regardless of whether you’ll change it someday in the future or whether it seems unattainable for now. Dream big! If you plan on going directly to a graduate school, briefly explain what motivates you to continue your study and what field of study you’re going for. For GKS-G applicants, I guess their work for this part shouldn’t be too difficult as some are likely to already have a job and/or know where they’ll go after receiving the degree.

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I hope you find this post helpful and may as well be a reference for writing your study plan. Best of luck with your GKS application and your study in Korea.

[bonaintan]

A Journey to KGSP/GKS: Personal Statement

Finally, here is my third post on A Journey to KGSP/GKS Series. Previously, I wrote about my experience in preparing for the KGSP/GKS application back in 2016 and just before this post I wrote about how to fill in the KGSP/GKS Application Forms. This time, I’ll be sharing my two cents on how to write a Personal Statement, one of the essays of the GKS Application. When I prepared my application, it took me around 3 months to finish writing both essays. I remember starting to write as soon as I decided to apply for the scholarship in November, putting it off for a month or so, coming back and forth for the revisions, and finishing it a few days before the application closing date.

The GKS application forms have included the essay template with instructions and points to include which I found very helpful. I always enjoy writing, but writing an essay in English for studies back then was especially hard because English isn’t my first language and I never learned writing academic English properly. Here are some tips that I did and I wish I had known when writing my essays for the GKS Application.  

Personal Statement template (2021 GKS Application)

First, find your application’s identity. “Why do I want to study in Korea and apply for this program? Why should the reviewer choose me among hundreds of applicants?” These questions are the ones that I kept coming back when writing my Personal Statement. As I kept digging the reasons, I somehow found the identity of my application, a statement that will clearly describe me and hopefully will leave an impression for the reviewers.

I see Personal Statement as a stage to promote myself. It tells a story about me, my personal values, and significant events that happened in my life which lead me to aspire to study in Korea and apply for the GKS. The goal is to convey my story in the most impactful way possible that no matter how ordinary it is, the reviewer will still remember me after reading other hundreds of similar or even better stories. To do this, I don’t think I can merely rely on a list of achievements and experiences I have because they probably aren’t so outstanding among other applicants. That is why I need to put an identity into my application, to make my story stronger than my own name.  

In my case, “an applicant majoring in Family Studies” is the identity that I highlighted. Given that Family Studies is not a common field of study especially in Indonesia, regardless of how important it is for our society (don’t get me started into Family Sciences 101. Lol.), I guess it was the strongest point of my application that granted me a seat for an interview in the Korean Embassy. I could be wrong, but the interviewers asked about it during the whole interview session.  

Second, make your essay hook. If you put yourself in the reviewer’s shoes who has to deal with a hundred applications, how will you sort it out? There are sure other considering points such as grades that are quite easy to determine. But, when it comes to essays, how will you rate it and choose from a pool of applicants? Just like its name, a Personal Statement should be personal yet interesting. Personal; it tells who the applicant is, his/her experiences, achievements, values. Interesting; no matter how different every applicant’s life story is, the reasons to study abroad and apply for the scholarship might not be so unique, thus, the way it is written should be fascinating and impactful. That is how an essay hook will make your application stand out and assure the reviewers that you deserve one seat until the final round.

There are many ways to write an essay hook; quotation, question, strong statement, metaphor, etc. You may try many different ways before finding the one that matches the big picture of your essay. An essay hook is aimed to attract the reader since the beginning of your essay. This is also related to the whole picture of the essay and the information in the next paragraphs. As I decided to emphasize my major in Family Studies, I open my essay with the story about my own family and what values I was grown up with. I also wrote about how people used to ask what my major is about and whether it really is necessary to learn about family sciences at university. I keep this point as the whole idea of my essay which helped me to explain why I had to go to a Korean university.

Third, be reflective. Reflecting is such a habit to me. You know, that tendency to lay awake in your bed and replaying what has happened that day in your head and what you could’ve done to make it better, or at least, to make yourself feel better. Well, I learn that doing it isn’t always good. But, when it comes to reflecting on your past experiences and achievements in your Personal Statement, I can never stress enough how important it is. After mentioning all your precious achievements and writing how eventful your life is, you need to explain what lessons learned that you get, what skills you learn, and how they contribute to who you are today. It might sound cliché to write about how your leadership skills have been sharpened through many organizations, but I don’t think it will do you bad to show that you have learned from your experience.

Fifth, make an outline. To me, an outline always does wonder. You might have ever practiced it for school assignments. It’s really as simple as starting from the points mentioned in the essay instruction; (1) family background, (2) latest education, (3) significant and relevant experiences (working, internship, organization, clubs), (4) motivations to study in Korea and apply for the GKS. You can write down ideas for each point and add a few sentences for the explanation. As you develop each point, you may want to write it in 1-2 paragraphs and keep it as your main idea. This will surely help your writing stay on track, lead the plot and transition from one idea/point to another without jumbling up.

Sixth, don’t expect to finish it in one night or even one-seating and then submit it on the next day. Only after giving it some time and re-reading it a few days later that you’ll notice every mistake in your essay, those misspellings-wrong tenses-wrong expressions, even if you’ve been very meticulous especially when it comes to writings. Also, I can never stress enough how you should stop yourself from editing those punctuation marks or misspellings while typing because it will put your idea on hold and take much time to finish your first draft.

Finally, ask someone to proofread your essay and give feedback. I received a lot of help from my English tutor who gave valuable feedback on my essays. Having someone read your essay sort of allows you to get through the pre-review and the nerve-wracking of the application screening process. Also, your essay will look different from someone else’s perspective so it’s important to get their feedback even if it’s as simple as word choices. Especially, because Personal Statement is an essay about ourselves, we can easily understand it but it can be hard to be objective. Your best friend will tell you some confusing parts, things that you should explain better, or simply tell whether the storytelling is interesting enough.

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There are a lot more awesome tips all over the Internet on how to write a great Personal Statement essay. These are basically what I did when I wrote my own for the GKS application. I have no idea exactly which part of my application that granted me the scholarship, but I believe that the Personal Statement had its big share. For another essay, Study Plan/Statement of Purpose, you can check my post about it here.

[bonaintan]

A Journey to KGSP/GKS: Application Forms

I decided to write A Journey to KGSP/GKS series based on my experience as KGSP awardee in 2016. Just like other awardees, I also received a lot of chats and DMs from people asking about KGSP/GKS applications. It’s not that I’m tired and annoyed by answering the same questions over and over again, that I decided to post it online, really. That is practically what I’ve been doing in the past four years which, at some points during my student life in Korea, turned out to help me cope with the situation and keep me on track as I was reminded how far I had come.

Just recently I changed my mind to write and post it online so anyone can read it and I myself can re-read it (for whatever reasons), after joining in a mentorship program (supported by the Indonesian Student Association in South Korea aka Perpika) as a mentor for the Indonesian students and graduates who are interested in studying in Korea and preparing for the scholarship application. I mentored a similar program from MITI Klaster Mahasiswa back in 2017 called Youth Connection but I guess at the time I wasn’t feeling okay enough to share it. Now that I graduated safe and sound, I guess posting it online won’t hurt. So, this is the second post of my ‘A Journey to KGSP/GKS’ series, and I’ll try to post the next ones as soon as possible.

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As I’ve mentioned in my previous post about my journey to KGSP/GKS, I decided to go for this scholarship application the second I learned about this program. One of my thoughts at the time is how simple the application looks. And it is indeed simple, at least for me who had never applied for such a program and dealing with forms in English. The guideline also states everything clearly. Of course, I got a lot of help from KGSP/GKS awardees I met online who were very kind to share their experience. But, I tried to do my share as much as possible by doing my research on the Internet in advance, making sure I didn’t irritate them by asking trivial questions I can easily access on the Internet or even the application guideline, and avoiding the questions which are more on self-preference, such as “Is it okay if my recommendation letter is folded?”

KGSP/GKS-G (for graduate) and KGSP/GKS-U (for undergraduate) Application Forms are all over the Internet. It can be downloaded from various sites, such as Study in Korea, Korean Embassy sites, some Korean university sites, and Topik Guide. Along with the application guideline is a separate file of the application forms (although the complete guideline includes the forms as well), University Information, and FAQs files. These are the first reference and ammunition that no single applicant should ever miss. You might have your sister as a KGSP/GKS awardee and you can easily ask every single detail, but really, that kind of mentality will get in your way someday. So, go get the guideline and read it! (Sorry, I’m being too enthusiast here.)

Thankfully, the application forms stay pretty the same over the years. Minor changes might have been done as well as the regulation changes. But, it does not affect that much to the application procedures, thus making it easy for the applicants to prepare the applications way way way earlier even before the opening period. And that’s what I did back then. I downloaded the application guidelines from the previous years and noticed that the forms stayed the same, so I started to practice filling in the forms and prepare for the required documents.

The first part of the application forms includes the application checklist. Depending on the program you apply to, either Undergraduate or Graduate Degrees, the required documents are slightly different. The application checklist for the Graduate Degree Programs consists of all required documents for three different degree programs (i.e., Master’s, Doctoral, and Research Programs) so the list is a little bit longer. As for the Undergraduate application, three types of documents are required for certain documents (graduation certificate, transcripts, certificate of citizenship, and awards). I might be wrong on this since I had no experience in preparing for the undergraduate application, but here is what I understand about the difference between the original, official notarized translation, and copied documents.

2021 GKS Application checklist (above: Undergraduate; below: Graduate)

The original document, like its name, is the original version of a document that can be written in many different languages depending on the country where it is issued. For Indonesian applicants, the original document of the graduation certificate is the one written in Bahasa Indonesia. In case an applicant only has one copy of the original document, they can submit the certified copy version which is the copy of the original document certified/stamped by the issuing institution (e.g., school). In Bahasa Indonesia, it’s called dokumen legalisir.

Since all documents have to be written in either Korean or English, here comes the second type of the documents to accompany the original document, official notarized translation. As for the graduation/degree certificate and transcripts, some schools might provide the English translation. Otherwise, an applicant needs to have it translated into Korean or English by a sworn translator. From here, the document has to be legalized again by the notary. In the end, the official notarized translation should be a document written in Korean or English and should have 2-3 different stamps: issuing institution, (translating institution), and notary stamps. The last is the copied document which is the photocopied version (black-and-white document).

The number of copies submitted depends on the application track. For those applying via University Track, they should send only the original/certified copy of the documents to the university of their choice. As the screening process is taken place in Korea, the documents should be the very best  legalized version. For countries that require apostille version of the document such as Indonesia, some documents (degree certificate, transcripts, proof of citizenship) have to be apostilled or receive the consular confirmation from the Korean Embassy in the country where the document is issued.

Notes for my Indonesian fellows, here is the procedure to get the documents apostilled: legalized by the notary >> Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham) >> Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu) >> (Korean) Embassy.

If applying via the Korean Embassy, one original/certified copy document, one official notarized translation, and three photocopied documents have to be prepared. Apparently, some Korean Embassies, including the Korean Embassy in Indonesia, may apply different regulations. Korean Embassy in Indonesia requires the applicants to send only one copy of the original document and the copies will be made by the Embassy.

The next part of the application forms is the applicant’s personal information, which is considerably easy to be filled in. As for the applicant’s name, some who do not have a separate family name may find it confusing at first, like in most cases of Indonesians. In such cases, simply write the same as your passport name: first name and middle name (if any) as the given name and last name as surname. For the university and major choices for graduate degrees, some confusions come from the differences between Division, Department, and Major. The best way to solve this is by referring to the University Information file, on the list of majors offered. As for the grades/GPA, use the CGPA conversion table on the guideline to convert various grading systems. If the CGPA conversion table does not apply for the grading system of the applicant’s school, the information on how to do the conversion should be attached.

Applicant’s Personal Information (above: Undergraduate; below: Graduate)

For awards and published papers, I believe there is no limit number but I personally mentioned the best two. You may want to mention the rest, if they are quite significant for you, in the Personal Statement. For published papers written in language other than Korean or English, the original title and other details (e.g., journal name) can be mentioned first, followed by the English title in parentheses.

The next forms to be filled are Personal Statement and Statement of Purpose/Study Plan. Instructions have been provided clearly on each part, so I believe it comes back to the applicant’s writing ability to come up with the best way of storytelling which hopefully will impress the reviewers. I have made a post for some tips to write Personal Statement and Statement of Purpose/Study Plan based on my experience.

Recommendation letters are another important required document for KGSP/GKS applications. An applicant should receive two recommendation letters from two recommenders. The letter template has been prepared in the application, but the recommenders may attach their own template. Just make sure that they understand what points should be included and that everything should be written in either Korean or English. This letter is confidential, so you may want to clarify beforehand as to who will translate the document if your recommender writes it in other languages.

The last is self-medical assessment/personal medical assessment which is a brief medical history of the applicant. It can be filled in independently by the applicant without going to the hospital or any healthcare center and should be filled in all honesty because you shouldn’t let any wrong information stated in the application forms get in your way in the later selection process of the medical check-up where pretty much everything will be revealed.

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That is the end of the KGSP/GKS application forms. This is crazily long I know, but I hope you will somehow find this post helpful. 

This post has been updated following the 2021 Application Guidelines. Please do let me know if you find incorrect information that I stated here. And I strongly encourage all applicants to read the guidelines by heart as it has much more detailed information.