Niied to host farewell ceremony for graduating Global Korea Scholarship students

The National Institute for International Education (Niied) announced Thursday that it will host a farewell ceremony for graduating Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) students, while also inviting alumni to Korea for a short trip.

Global Korea Scholarship recipients pose for a photo during last year's farewell ceremony. [NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION]

The National Institute for International Education (Niied) announced Thursday that it will host a farewell ceremony for graduating Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) students, while also inviting alumni to Korea for a short trip.

The farewell ceremony will be hosted at the Niied building in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 28.

A total of 815 GKS scholars from 113 countries will be graduating this year.

Of them, 25 are associate and bachelor's degree students, 706 are master's students, 79 are Ph.D. students and five are research students.

A total of 66.9 percent, or 545, come from Asia, 12.5 percent from Europe, 11 percent from Africa and 9.6 percent from the Americas.

"I would like to extend my gratitude to the Niied staff that helped me despite the difficult situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, which happened when I came to Korea, and the professors and colleagues that helped me graduate," said Janet Chow Siew Mei, a student that graduated from Korea University's master's program.

GKS is a government-funded scholarship that offers full tuition, round-trip airfare and a monthly stipend to international students pursuing bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in Korea. Since 1967, the scholarship has been awarded to 9,108 students from 156 countries.

Niied will also invite 20 GKS alumni from abroad for a short trip to Korea between Sunday and Sept. 2.

Alumni will be visiting their alma mater, touring various business sites and get to experience Korean culture during the trip.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]