Jeonbuk National University Scholarships for International Students 2026

Most JBNU scholarships are designed around being an enrolled degree student (tuition exemptions, research scholarships, and performance-based awards), so they’re typically tied to on-campus enrollment rather than “online-only” study.

In practice, scholarship pathways students described were in-person. For example, Putri Miranti explained she was “currently enrolled in a Korean language institution” before the degree starts, which is a common scholarship setup that requires being in Korea.

Both exist, but most degree programs in Korea are primarily taught in Korean, while JBNU also runs many English-taught classes (and sometimes English-heavy tracks depending on the department). JBNU even publishes a regularly updated list of “Courses Taught in English” with examples across sciences, engineering, and social sciences.

Many scholarship recipients planned for both languages: Wina Oktalia Cahyadi entered Computer Science with IELTS preparation, while Putri Miranti pursued Korean-language education and used TOPIK for her pathway. A practical approach is: choose an English-friendly department + still invest in Korean for campus life and major requirements.

JBNU’s internal tuition-exemption scholarships generally focus on academic status (new student vs current student, GPA, TOPIK improvement, advisor recommendation) and don’t usually advertise a strict age cap on the university scholarship pages.

However, major external scholarships commonly used for JBNU, especially government scholarships like GKS, often include age eligibility rules that can change by year and by track (undergraduate vs graduate). As a real example of eligibility, Putri Miranti shared: “I’m 24 years old” as a GKS Graduate awardee.

JBNU scholarships are commonly “general” (not limited to one subject) and apply across many colleges, STEM, engineering, business, and humanities, because they’re often structured as tuition exemptions or performance-based awards for admitted/enrolled international students.

Medicine: JBNU offers medicine-related programs (and related professional fields like dentistry/veterinary in its broader offerings), but international eligibility depends heavily on the specific program/track and practical constraints (language, licensing, departmental rules). If you’re aiming for medicine as an international student, double-check whether the exact medicine track is open to international applicants that year and what language level is expected.

Engineering / STEM / Business / Humanities: You can pursue scholarships in engineering and STEM (e.g., engineering and natural science majors commonly show up in scholarship pathways), business fields (like Business Administration, Accounting, International Trade), and humanities/social sciences as well, especially where JBNU provides tuition-exemption scholarships tied to language scores or academic performance.

JBNU’s university-level “international student” scholarships are generally open to a wide range of nationalities, as long as you meet the international applicant definition used in the admission guide (commonly based on citizenship status for the applicant and parents).

External scholarships can be more nationality-specific. For example, GKS typically operates with country quotas/eligible-country lists that vary by year and track. In the recipient stories, all three featured winners for JBNU on GlobalScholarships are Indonesian (see Dwina, Putri, Wina).

It depends on the program and the admission route. Many departments expect you to be able to study in Korean or English, and admissions commonly list accepted language tests with validity rules. In practice, you should plan for at least one: TOPIK (for Korean-taught study) or IELTS/TOEFL (for English-taught study), because it strengthens both admissions and scholarship competitiveness.

For external scholarships, language scores are often directly rewarded but are not explicitly required for most. JBNU’s undergraduate scholarship page, for example, ties tuition exemption levels to TOPIK level and/or IELTS score for some “Academic Excellence” scholarship types. On the graduate side, JBNU also lists a TOPIK-based scholarship that rewards improvement after admission.

For example, Putri Miranti relied strongly on TOPIK for her GKS path; Wina Oktalia Cahyadi prepared IELTS; and Dwina Rahmaniar Hapsari listed TOPIK plus an English score (TOEIC) in her profile.

JBNU doesn’t have one single “minimum GPA” that applies to every major and every applicant worldwide; departments evaluate applicants holistically (academics + fit + documents), and competitiveness varies by major.

That said, scholarships and major external programs often do set grade thresholds. GKS, for instance, uses GPA/grade rules in its eligibility criteria. And inside JBNU, some continuing-student scholarship types are explicitly tied to prior-semester grades (e.g., graduate academic excellence selection based on a previous-semester average).

Real recipient data points show what “competitive” looked like for them: Wina Oktalia Cahyadi said she “maintained an excellent grade average of 92/100,” while Putri Miranti reported a 3.8/4.0 bachelor’s GPA and Dwina Rahmaniar Hapsari reported a 3.85/4.00 bachelor’s GPA.

A strong academic record and a clear narrative is the common pattern: solid GPA/rank, relevant coursework, evidence you can handle the language of instruction, and a coherent goal that matches the department.

For example, Wina leaned on strong science preparation and consistent ranking plus early essay preparation; Putri built a story around Korean-language teaching experience (online and on-site) to match her master’s field; and Dwina strengthened her profile with exchange experience, extracurricular leadership, and language scores.

The exact list varies by degree level and department, but commonly you should expect: application form, personal statement and study plan (and sometimes a research proposal for graduate applicants), recommendation letters, academic transcripts, graduation/degree certificates, passport/ID, and proof of citizenship.

Document handling details matter a lot for scholarships: recipients repeatedly emphasized careful prep and official processing. For example, Dwina described apostilling key documents (like transcripts and proof of citizenship) and submitting via post for the university-track route. Putri highlighted that recommendations, official certificates, and transcripts were central parts of her packet, and she also prepared items like passport and TOPIK certification.

JBNU offers a wide spread of fields across its colleges. On the undergraduate side, JBNU lists colleges such as Business and Economics, Engineering, Humanities, Natural Science, Social Science, Education, Arts, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, and also professional fields like Medicine and Dentistry (availability for international applicants depends on the specific track).

Within business alone, JBNU publicly lists departments like Business Administration, International Trade, Accounting, and Economics-related units. Across STEM, offerings span engineering and natural sciences, and JBNU also publishes semester-by-semester English-taught course lists (useful if you want to mix English-taught classes into a Korean-based degree).

Yes, JBNU admissions typically involve an application fee, and the amount and payment method can differ by level (undergraduate vs graduate) and by the current admission round.

As a concrete example from JBNU’s graduate admission guide, the graduate application fee is listed as 80,000 KRW (with payment instructions and non-refund rules described in the same guide). Always verify the exact fee for your intake in the current application notice.