Samsung Global Sungkyun Scholarship Scholar Vinicius Bastos de Sousa from Brazil Shares His Journey of Securing a Fully Funded Bachelor's at Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea

I’m Vinicius Bastos de Sousa, 25 years old, and I was born and raised in Brazil my whole life. In February 2021, I went to South Korea to pursue my bachelor’s degree in Global Business Administration. It was a four-year course, fully in English at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. The Global Business Administration course is one of the flagship courses at SKKU due to its nature of being fully taught in English, with many opportunities to visit industry conferences, career tours, and a mandatory 1-semester exchange semester to expand the global view of students enrolled. Also, this program has a special project during the third year, where we integrate 4 different business classes into a corporate case study from a Korean company (the project is called i-Core).

In sum, I decided to pursue this course because back in High School in Brazil, I was already taking part in a special program where I graduated with a technician degree in Business Administration. My plan at first was to apply to universities only in the USA and Europe, but after a friend convinced me to give a shot at Korean universities, I did it, and it was a great decision!

Samsung Global Sungkyun Scholarship Details

The scholarship is called the Samsung Global Sungkyun Scholarship, and it is for International students. The university itself is the provider (Sungkyunkwan University). It covered the tuition for all 8 semesters, the dormitory fee, and KRW 570,000 per month for living costs.

Were You Offered Any Other Scholarships?

Not at SKKU. I got a scholarship from the university I went to in Japan. The university is called Ritsumeikan University, and the scholarship is called RUSSES Scholarship. The amount was 40,000 JPY per month for my exchange semester, and it is a merit-based scholarship provided by the institution itself.

Educational Background

I only got my High School degree + the technician course in Business Administration. I believe that helped my application since it showed something extra apart from High school itself, which is the standard path for Brazilian students. I can’t really remember my GPA, but it was around 3.8/4.0 or so.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to Sungkyunkwan University?

I first learned about the possibility of studying abroad after a man called Nicolas Van Veen went to my high school to promote his social program, where he helped students to prepare for studying abroad for a symbolic fee.

At his institution, I prepared for tests such as the SAT and TOEFL with lessons there and practice with other students. I used to study every day for around 6 hours, 3 for each test, for around 2 and a half years before I got accepted to SKKU. I did apply to some American universities in my first year of training, but the scholarships were not enough for my financial situation.

How Did You Find Information About the Samsung Global Sungkyun Scholarship and Sungkyunkwan University?

Mostly from online search after getting mentored by Nicolas at Instituto Van Veen. I used some Brazilian websites like Estudar Fora, but also just searched online for scholarships at the university's websites.

How Did You Prepare to Apply for the Samsung Global Sungkyun Scholarship?

Mostly studied English for essays and exams, and mathematics for the SAT. I studied online from free sources like YouTube and bought a few books for the TOEFL and SAT. I used to spend the 6 hours a day I mentioned studying all that, and every day I focused on different things depending on how I was feeling, my skills were developing. But always focusing on TOEFL, SAT, and writing essays.

How is Your Experience at Sungkyunkwan University?

It was pretty good! I wish that SKKU offered free Korean courses to international students or at least pointed us to the free sources that the city of Seoul provided. I only knew about those after my second year. Nevertheless, I had an amazing time there. The campus is great, people are kind, and the quality of education is pretty solid.

How Do You Rate Sungkyunkwan University Academically?

I would rate it maybe an 8/10. Most teachers are extremely well-qualified, but the Korean education system focuses a lot on exams and memorizing the content, not really learning and applying in real situations. My program itself was maybe better since we have the i-Core project and the opportunity to study abroad during our course.

How Does Sungkyunkwan University Support International Students?

SKKU, at the time I was there, had a regular student support network. They did have a department dedicated to that, but I didn’t feel like they were really proactive in making us feel included in Korea or on campus. It was not bad, though! You just really had to be proactive and go ask them for things.

Are Your Classes Conducted in English or Korean?

Totally in English.

What Did You Pursue After the Samsung Global Sungkyun Scholarship?

Work! I got an internship in Seoul for around 6 months in a company called Hopae, and after that, I couldn’t find another opportunity, unfortunately! But I want to go back to Korea. Right now, I am working in Brazil at Wise PLC.

Would Potential Students Have Any Problems Not Knowing Korean?

If they go to a course in English, not really. But I extremely recommend learning Korean. It makes your life a lot easier, and you can make lots of friends there. However, if the course is in Korean, I believe you should be as fluent as possible to enjoy most of the course.

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

I guess my technician course from High School and my volunteer projects. I got a brief description of the project on my LinkedIn. It is called Future Seeds.

What Would You Have Done Differently if You Were Going Through the Process Again?

Definitely learning Korean. I believe I would still be there if I were fluent and had made even more friends!

What Advice Would You Give Those Looking to Apply for a Similar Scholarship?

For my specific scholarship, one must be nominated by a Korean government body in their country. In my case, I applied to GKS via the Korean embassy in Brazil. Unfortunately, I was rejected after the interview stage, but a week later, they called me and offered to nominate me to SKKU for my scholarship. I went through the interview process with the vice-president of SKKU and was gladly chosen among another 2 Brazilians who were nominated. So I recommend people to try applying to GKS since it is an amazing scholarship, and if they think SKKU is a good fit, they can choose SKKU among their universities for GKS, so there is a small chance they can be nominated too!

Above all, if people think about studying in Korea, I would really encourage them. Korea is an amazing country, full of kind people, and you will have lots of fun. I recommend them to study Korean too in order to make the most out of the experience!