When Scholarship Funding Must Be Repaid: Verified Korean Programme Rules
Scholarships are not loans, and repayment is not inferred from a withdrawal, leave or rule breach alone. This collection includes only reviewed records that expressly state repayment or recovery of support. It separates money already paid from future funding that merely stops, and preserves each programme’s own trigger, scope and status.
9 programmes from the published database. Application status as of 2026-10-27 (KST); source review dates are recorded individually. Past calls remain labeled by their year and deadline. A policy without dates is not treated as an open call.
University scholarshipAdditional eligibility conditions
Dongguk University · Seoul; Goyang
SRD-I Scholarship · Science, Engineering or Pharmacy
Restricted field; advisor recommendation; prior academic performance and research obligations
PhD
Full tuition including entrance fee · Up to 6 semesters
Science, Engineering or Pharmacy only. Previous major must be similar or equivalent. Previous degree score at least 80/100 OR class rank in top 40%. Dongguk advisor recommendation and joint research plan required. International-admission nationality, parent-nationality and language criteria apply; these are not replaced by the scholarship. Publish two papers as first author in SCIE Q2 or higher, with a full-time Dongguk advisor as corresponding author. No unconditional award.
Submit scholarship forms and advisor recommendation / joint research plan to the Office of General Graduate School. International admission acceptance is required.
Full tuition including entrance fee · Up to 8 semesters
Science, Engineering or Pharmacy only. Previous major must be similar or equivalent. Previous degree score at least 80/100 OR class rank in top 40%. Dongguk advisor recommendation and joint research plan required. International-admission nationality, parent-nationality and language criteria apply; these are not replaced by the scholarship. Publish three papers as first author in SCIE Q2 or higher, with a full-time Dongguk advisor as corresponding author. No unconditional award.
Submit scholarship forms and advisor recommendation / joint research plan to the Office of General Graduate School. International admission acceptance is required.
Tuition support is conditional. Funding stops if semester GPA falls below 3.5 and may resume when the grade requirement is met. An adverse advisor evaluation can also stop funding after committee review. Degree-specific publication obligations must be completed; withdrawal requires repayment or satisfying the paper obligations.
University scholarshipAdditional eligibility conditions
Dongguk University · Seoul; Goyang
SRD-II Scholarship · Science, Engineering or Pharmacy
Restricted field; advisor recommendation; prior academic performance and research obligations
Master
Full tuition including entrance fee · Up to 4 semesters
Science, Engineering or Pharmacy only. Previous major must be similar or equivalent. Previous degree score at least 80/100 OR class rank in top 40%. Dongguk advisor recommendation and joint research plan required. International-admission nationality, parent-nationality and language criteria apply; these are not replaced by the scholarship. Publish one paper as co-author in SCIE Q2 or higher, with a full-time Dongguk advisor as corresponding author. No unconditional award.
Submit scholarship forms and advisor recommendation / joint research plan to the Office of General Graduate School. International admission acceptance is required.
Tuition support is conditional. Funding stops if semester GPA falls below 3.5 and may resume when the grade requirement is met. An adverse advisor evaluation can also stop funding after committee review. Degree-specific publication obligations must be completed; withdrawal requires repayment or satisfying the paper obligations.
University scholarshipAdditional eligibility conditions
Dongguk University · Seoul; Goyang
SRD-M Scholarship · Medicine or Korean Medicine
Restricted field; advisor recommendation; prior academic performance and research obligations
Master
Full tuition including entrance fee · Up to 4 semesters
Medicine or Korean Medicine only. Previous major must be similar or equivalent. Previous degree score at least 80/100 OR class rank in top 40%. Dongguk advisor recommendation and joint research plan required. International-admission nationality, parent-nationality and language criteria apply; these are not replaced by the scholarship. Publish one paper as co-author in SCIE Q2 or higher, with a full-time Dongguk advisor as corresponding author. No unconditional award.
Submit scholarship forms and advisor recommendation / joint research plan to the Office of General Graduate School. International admission acceptance is required.
Full tuition including entrance fee · Up to 6 semesters
Medicine or Korean Medicine only. Previous major must be similar or equivalent. Previous degree score at least 80/100 OR class rank in top 40%. Dongguk advisor recommendation and joint research plan required. International-admission nationality, parent-nationality and language criteria apply; these are not replaced by the scholarship. Publish two papers as first author in SCIE Q2 or higher, with a full-time Dongguk advisor as corresponding author. No unconditional award.
Submit scholarship forms and advisor recommendation / joint research plan to the Office of General Graduate School. International admission acceptance is required.
Full tuition including entrance fee · Up to 8 semesters
Medicine or Korean Medicine only. Previous major must be similar or equivalent. Previous degree score at least 80/100 OR class rank in top 40%. Dongguk advisor recommendation and joint research plan required. International-admission nationality, parent-nationality and language criteria apply; these are not replaced by the scholarship. Publish three papers as first author in SCIE Q2 or higher, with a full-time Dongguk advisor as corresponding author. No unconditional award.
Submit scholarship forms and advisor recommendation / joint research plan to the Office of General Graduate School. International admission acceptance is required.
Tuition support is conditional. Funding stops if semester GPA falls below 3.5 and may resume when the grade requirement is met. An adverse advisor evaluation can also stop funding after committee review. Degree-specific publication obligations must be completed; withdrawal requires repayment or satisfying the paper obligations.
University scholarshipAdditional eligibility conditions
Dongguk University · Seoul; Goyang
SRD-B Scholarship · International Buddhist Studies
Restricted field; advisor recommendation; prior academic performance and research obligations
Master
Full tuition including entrance fee · Up to 4 semesters
International Buddhist Studies only. Previous major must be similar or equivalent. Previous degree score at least 80/100 OR class rank in top 40%. Dongguk advisor recommendation and joint research plan required. International-admission nationality, parent-nationality and language criteria apply; these are not replaced by the scholarship. Publish one paper as co-author in SSCI-level, with a full-time Dongguk advisor as corresponding author. No unconditional award.
Submit scholarship forms and advisor recommendation / joint research plan to the Office of General Graduate School. International admission acceptance is required.
Full tuition including entrance fee · Up to 6 semesters
International Buddhist Studies only. Previous major must be similar or equivalent. Previous degree score at least 80/100 OR class rank in top 40%. Dongguk advisor recommendation and joint research plan required. International-admission nationality, parent-nationality and language criteria apply; these are not replaced by the scholarship. Publish two papers as first author in SSCI-level, with a full-time Dongguk advisor as corresponding author. No unconditional award.
Submit scholarship forms and advisor recommendation / joint research plan to the Office of General Graduate School. International admission acceptance is required.
Full tuition including entrance fee · Up to 8 semesters
International Buddhist Studies only. Previous major must be similar or equivalent. Previous degree score at least 80/100 OR class rank in top 40%. Dongguk advisor recommendation and joint research plan required. International-admission nationality, parent-nationality and language criteria apply; these are not replaced by the scholarship. Publish three papers as first author in SSCI-level, with a full-time Dongguk advisor as corresponding author. No unconditional award.
Submit scholarship forms and advisor recommendation / joint research plan to the Office of General Graduate School. International admission acceptance is required.
Tuition support is conditional. Funding stops if semester GPA falls below 3.5 and may resume when the grade requirement is met. An adverse advisor evaluation can also stop funding after committee review. Degree-specific publication obligations must be completed; withdrawal requires repayment or satisfying the paper obligations.
Korea Sanhak Foundation · Children of Foreign Workers
Korea Sanhak Foundation
Actual tuition for Fall 2026 only. Paid to the university.
Enrolled students at four-year universities in Korea whose parents are non-Korean citizens and at least one parent is working in Korea. Concurrent private-foundation or parental-employer tuition support is excluded. Academic merit is considered. University nomination and foundation selection are required.
Apply through your university before its student deadline. Each university may recommend one candidate, including its campuses and branches. The university submits the recommendation to the foundation by July 17, 2026; individual applications are not accepted.
One semester: Fall 2026. No automatic support in later semesters. Selection may be cancelled and the award recovered for false documents, leave immediately after selection, or prohibited duplicate tuition support. Attendance at the award ceremony and foundation training activities is mandatory.
University application routes (1)
Incheon National University
Closed Fall 2026 · University route deadline: 2026-07-10 KST · 17:00 KST
Students email the required documents as one PDF to scholarship@inu.ac.kr by July 10, 2026, 17:00 KST. INU selects one nominee and submits an official recommendation to the foundation; individual foundation applications are not accepted.
Enrolled in Spring 2026 and planning a regular Fall 2026 semester. Both parents must be non-Korean nationals, with at least one parent currently working in Korea. Spring 2026 GPA at least 3.5 with 12 or more credits. No other scholarship receipt under the INU nomination notice. INU recommends one candidate; the foundation makes the final selection.
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism / Korea National University of Arts
Full regular-semester tuition; KRW 800,000/month living support (may increase under admission rules); airfare, language training and health insurance. Settlement: KRW 200,000; graduation support: up to KRW 1,000,000.
Applicant and both parents must hold eligible DAC-recipient citizenship, including all dual nationalities. Arts portfolio and Korean proficiency requirements vary by department. Previous Korean government scholarship recipients face reapplication restrictions; consult the guide.
2027 intake closed May 15, 2026. Apply online through K-Arts; selected candidates submit authenticated originals by July 31. Next-intake information is expected in February 2027; this is not an application opening date.
Regular semesters only. Required language training needs 85% attendance; withdrawal after arrival can require repayment. TOPIK 5–6 generally exempts pre-entry training; department exceptions apply.
GS1: full tuition and KRW 1,200,000/month; airfare has separate entry/departure conditions. GS2: full tuition. Optional Fall 2026 evening Korean course tuition may be combined with GS1/GS2.
Foreign SNU graduate degree students, including Fall 2026 entrants, with at least one regular semester remaining. Coursework-completed students and students on/planning leave are excluded. GKS recipients are ineligible.
Apply separately through mySNU with a reason of up to 400 characters. Fall 2026 applications closed July 12, 2026 at 23:00 KST. New students first pay tuition, then receive a refund if selected. Entry airfare is limited to new students arriving within 60 days before notification or afterwards; return airfare requires recipient status, February 2027 graduation and departure before March 1.
One semester only, September 2026–February 2027. Leave after selection ends eligibility and requires repayment. Other scholarships cannot be held concurrently.
University application routes (1)
Seoul National University
Closed Fall 2026 · University route deadline: 2026-07-12 KST · 23:00 KST
Apply separately through mySNU with a reason of up to 400 characters. Fall 2026 applications closed July 12, 2026 at 23:00 KST. New students first pay tuition, then receive a refund if selected. Entry airfare is limited to new students arriving within 60 days before notification or afterwards; return airfare requires recipient status, February 2027 graduation and departure before March 1.
Government scholarshipResearch;PostdoctoralKorean studies abroad
KF Fellowship for Postdoctoral Research
The Korea Foundation
Research stipend and dissertation printing/editing costs. Amount determined individually from the proposal and host region.
Korea-related postdoctoral research at an overseas university or research institution. PhD obtained within five years before the fellowship begins, or completed before the start. Applicants cannot hold a regular full-time lecturer/researcher position or higher at the start. This call excludes host institutions in North America, Europe and Japan; those regions have separate calls. Citizenship or permanent residence outside Korea is required; Korean nationals must have obtained it by August 2026. Research cannot be hosted by the PhD-awarding university. No parental citizenship requirement is stated.
Apply through the KF portal with a research proposal, CV, dissertation materials, academic transcripts, degree/residency proof and correspondence with prospective hosts. Three referees, including the doctoral supervisor, submit letters through KF. Applications closed September 11, 2026 at 18:00 KST; references closed September 16 at 18:00. Documents must be Korean or English, with notarized translations otherwise. Remain in the host country and conduct full-time research throughout the award.
One year starting in Spring or Fall 2027. Paid in installments of 50%, 40% and 10% after agreement, interim and final reports. Interim report at six months; final report within seven days of completion. Revise and publish the dissertation within three years, acknowledge KF and report progress annually for three years. Previous recipients cannot receive this fellowship again. Concurrent Korean-institution support is prohibited and may require full repayment.
Government scholarshipMaster;PhD;ResearchResearch fellowship
AKS Graduate Fellowship
The Academy of Korean Studies · Graduate School of Korean Studies
KRW 750,000 per month for six months; free on-campus dormitory and Korean language courses. Economy return airfare reimbursed at actual cost within the city ceiling, capped at KRW 2,088,000 per person.
As of September 1, 2026: enrolled in a master’s or doctoral programme at an overseas university, or master’s coursework completed with dissertation pending. Doctoral ABD applicants are ineligible. Research must concern Korea/Korean studies. Foreign nationals qualify; Korean nationals must have completed all equivalent primary, secondary and university education outside Korea. Previous AKS Graduate Fellows cannot reapply. Korean proficiency is preferred; no minimum TOPIK/English score is stated. No parental-nationality requirement is stated. This is a non-degree research visit in Korea, not tuition support for enrollment in a Korean degree.
The 2026 call is closed: online application April 27, 2026, 10:00–May 8, 17:00 KST through gradaks.recruiter.co.kr. Name an AKS academic advisor. Upload application, personal statement, research plan, degree/enrollment/coursework certificates, transcripts, passport and photo; valid language certificates are optional. The home-university advisor must email a recommendation from their own account within the same application period. Documents must be Korean or English, or accompanied by notarized translations. Selected fellows submit original documents by post. Up to five fellows; no selection if none qualifies. Insurance is advised at the fellow’s own cost. Final report minimum: 16,000 Korean characters or 5,000 English words, excluding bibliography. Obtain prior approval for exceptional overseas conference travel, acknowledge AKS in publications and provide return-ticket details. No later call dates are announced here.
September 1, 2026–February 28, 2027; no extension. Select an AKS advisor and complete at least one advisor-taught course or independent study with a successful grade. Present findings, submit a final thesis/report and proof of stay in Korea; complete obligations at least two weeks before departure. Academic-status proof was due September 21. Paid work and registration at another Korean institution are prohibited. Delayed arrival, early departure or time abroad reduces the stipend by KRW 25,000 per day. Airfare is paid after completing obligations; certain cases receive one-way fares only. Unsuccessful courses or missing reports/presentations can remove airfare; false information or non-compliance can revoke support and require repayment.
Does every scholarship have to be repaid if I withdraw?
No. The consequence depends on the programme and award agreement. This page includes only explicit repayment or recovery wording; silence is not treated as a repayment rule.
Is losing future funding the same as repaying money already received?
No. A scholarship can stop without the provider reclaiming an earlier payment. Check the exact trigger, amount, timing and written award terms before changing enrollment or funding.