The Korean Honor Scholarship

            The Korean Honor Scholarship Committee extends an invitation to Korean and Korean-American undergraduate and graduate students to compete for the 2016 Korean Honor Scholarship.

          This Scholarship was first established in 1981 with a gift of US $1 million dollars donated by the government of the Republic of Korea to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic relations between Korea and the United States.  Over the next several years, an additional US$1.75 million was added to the fund by the Korean Government and now the fund totals $2.90 million.  This scholarship is awarded to outstanding students of Korean heritage to encourage high achievement of   academic performance and the development of leadership qualities for their future professional careers.

         The Korean Honor Scholarship Committee has awarded 3,043 scholarships to outstanding Korean and Korean-American students over the past 36 years.  To be eligible for consideration, applicants must be attending college or university in the United States and must have an overall grade point average of 3.5 or higher. In addition to academic achievement, the Scholarship Committee also considers an essay, a letter of recommendation, awards, honors, performances and extracurricular activities when making selections.  Approximately 35 scholarships will be awarded this year.

1. The Korean Honor Scholarship Committee and Selection Committees

□ The Korean Honor Scholarship Committee

○  Chairman  Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the U.S.A.

○  Members  Deputy Chief of Mission, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.

                                                              Regional Consul Generals (in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago,

Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Atlanta, Houston,

and Honolulu) 

□ Selection Committees

○ Regional Selection Committees: Korean Consulate Education Center in San Francisco

○ Central Selection Committee:  Korean Embassy in Washington D.C.           

2. Important Dates for Year 2017 Contest

  ○ Application period(Deadline): April 10, 2017 ~ June 16, 2017 by 4pm

  ○ First round evaluation at regional consular offices: June 19, 2017 ~ June 23, 2017

  ○ Final round evaluation by Central Selection Committee: July 3, 2017 ~ July 7, 2017

  ○ Scholarship Award presentation: September 18, 2017 ~ September 22, 2017

3. Amount of Scholarship: Highest Honor Scholarship - $ 2,500 (2 student or so)

Honor Scholarship - $1,000 (38* students or so)

                         Best Essay Award - $ 500 in addition to Honor Scholarship

                                            (2~4 students)

                    * included Canadian students

4. Allocation of Awards                                       

          Will be subject to change according to the number of applications in each category and

the amount of funds available.

5. Qualifications

(1)   At the time of application, an applicant must be a full time 4-year college or graduate student who has achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or higher(For music and art students, the GPA must be 3.0 or higher) at least for the previous one academic year(Fall, 2016 ~ Spring*, 2017)

* If not available, Spring(2016) is also accepted.

※ The GPA should be on a 4.0 basis (Pass or Fail is not acceptable).

(2) Any students whose parents are Korean (either one or both) or any legally adopted Korean-American students are welcome to apply.

(3) Scholarship will not be awarded more than once per each student.  Please do not apply if you were already awarded the scholarship before.

6. Required Documents

              (1) Application form: available at http://usa.mofa.go.kr

              (2) Official school transcript, including the 2016-2017 academic year

※ If the transcript GPA is not on a 4.0 basis or if letter grades are given, the applicant

     must convert the grades into those of a 4.0 basis. Submit both the converted grades record and the official original school transcript.

(3) A letter of recommendation from a professor at the applicant's institution

             (4) An Essay written in English by the applicant: up to 600 words (point 12, double spaced)

    ※ Applicants must write under the following title (choose one) :

     - My experience and future perspective as a Korean descendent in the globalized world

 - What challenges have you faced as a Korean-American? How will you develop those  experiences to your community and both countries?

(5) Résumé (including records of awards, extracurricular and volunteer activities,          leadership, etc.)

※ Graduate students should list research publications and presentations in their résumé.

(6) Applicants of music or art field only: either one of the followings

※ Art student must submit a CD that 10 pieces of his/her original works are recorded in (The size and medium of works and the year when works were created must be specified in each work image).

※ Music student must submit a DVD that a 20-minute long his/her own performance is recorded in. (Video or cassette tape will NOT be accepted.)

 ※ Both CD and DVD must be submitted by one of the following recording types:

 Windows Media Player, QuickTime Player, and GOM Player.

(7) Handicapped students only: Documents to prove disability (such as copy of applicant's

driver's license, recommendation letter by related organization, other supporting documents)

(8) Only for Korean-American students who did not graduate middle and/or high school in Korea: either one of the followings (if applicable)

※ School transcript for the Korean language course(s) taken at a high school in the U.S.A. and foreign countries except Korea (B+ or higher)

                  ※ SAT II Korean test score (700 point or higher)

※ "Certificate of Proficiency in Korean (Grade 5 or 6)", available by taking TOPIK (Test of

Proficiency in Korean) administered by National Institute for International Education or Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation .(http://www.topik.go.kr).

7. Selection Process

□ Scholarship for regular students (AC, AG, KC, KG) and handicapped students (HS)

              ○ Submit applications to the regional consular office near your college or university.

                           ※ Applicants from the Washington D.C. area (DC, MD, VA, WV) must submit the

                    applications directly to the Office of Education Minister Counselor at the Embassy of

                    Korea, Washington, D.C.

 → First round evaluation at regional consular offices

 → Final evaluation at Central Selection Committee

 → Approval by the Korean Honor Scholarship (KHS) Committee Chairman

→ Finalized

□ Scholarships for students in music and arts

                ○ Submit applications directly to the Office of Education Minister Counselor at the

Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Washington, D.C.

→ Evaluation at Central Selection Committee → Approval by the Korean Honor Scholarship Committee Chairman → Finalized

  □ Highest Honor Scholarship and Best Essay Award

                    ○ Central Selection Committee recommends the candidates among the applicants.

→ Approval by the Korean Honor Scholarship Committee Chairman → Finalized

8. Other Information

            ○ Applications will NOT be returned.

              ○ Unqualified applicants will NOT be reviewed and the evaluation process is confidential.

            ○ Applications must be submitted to the regional consular office CLOSEST TO YOUR

  HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

○ Where to send the form?: "KECSF" 3500 Clay st SF CA94118

          ○ For further information or any inquiries: sfkoreanedu2@gmail.com, 415-921-2251

 Attachment. 1. 선발요강 2. Guideline 3. Application Form