Korean Foundation is accepting applications for the 2025 KF Fellowship program for field research on Korea-related research. Annually, the Korea Foundation offers a fellowship program for Korea-related field research to contribute to advancing foreign research in the country.

Aimed at promoting overseas research in Korean studies, the Korea Foundation renders program support for the Fellowship for Field Research, which provides prominent overseas Korean studies scholars and experts in relevant fields with the opportunity to undertake onsite field research in Korea and enjoy relevant resource materials.

Details of the program

• Application Deadline: September 1, 2025, 6:00 p.m. (Korea Standard Time)
• Result Announcement Dates: December 2025
• Fellowship Period: January 1 to December 31, 2026
• Funding Type: Fellowship/Grant
• Organizer/Host Institution: Korea Foundation
• Eligible Countries: All but Korea
• Eligible Gender: Male/Female
• Target Group: Doctoral candidates and faculty members
• Field: Korean studies, humanities, social sciences, and related fields
• Study Level: Doctoral candidates, full-time lecturers, researchers, assistants, associate, or full professors
• Number of Opportunities: Approximately 30 fellowships per year
• Duration: 1 to 6 months
• Program Language: Korean or English
• Host Country: South Korea

Benefits and Financial Aids

The fellows will benefit from the program as follows:

• Monthly Stipend:
  • Type A (Doctoral Candidates): KRW 2,300,000
  • Type B (PhD Holders): KRW 3,000,000
• Miscellaneous Support:
  • Travel Insurance Coverage
  • Entry Expenses:
    • Doctoral candidates: KRW 500,000
    • PhD holders: KRW 1,000,000
    • Tenured professors: KRW 1,500,000
  • Round-trip Airfare: Provided for fellows from DAC-listed countries on the OECD’s list of ODA recipients.

Eligibility Rquirements

Applicants must meet these requirements:

• The application is open to applicants worldwide.
• Applicants must be able to carry out their research in Korean or English.
  Foreign researchers who are undertaking comparative or case studies in the field of Korean studies or in Korea-related areas in the fields of humanities or social sciences can apply or
• Applicants who are focusing on research topics that are closely linked to Korea and known as important new fields of study and fall under one of the following criteria, can apply:

Who cannot apply?

Individuals under the following circumstances are NOT qualified for consideration:

• Those who presently study or conduct research in Korea
• Applicants who seek to improve their Korean language knowledge or to become a regular student at a university in Korea
• Individuals who received a KF Field Research Fellowship or research donations for field research from other Korean public institutions within the previous three years

Further conditions

A- Fellows’ responsibilities

After the fellowship period has ended, all fellows must submit a final report on their research to the Foundation (in accordance with the standard research form provided by the KF) two weeks after the completion of the fellowship period.

The fellowship period approved by the KF’s revision committee may vary from the applicants’ proposed schedule.

B- Facility arrangement

Accommodations and research facilities should be arranged by the fellows in cooperation with their associated research institute.

How to Apply?

Applications for this program are online and should be submitted via the KF Online Application Portal using the link below.

Apply Now

Important reminders

Please make sure to complete the following steps within your application:

– You must first register as a member before applying.

– One PDF file may be uploaded per the attachment category.

– Only scanned files (in PDF format) are valid. Image files will be invalid.

The application form and all documents must be submitted in English or Korean. If they are not in English, please submit both the original file and a verbatim translation.

Letters of reference: When the applicant presses the submit button, a link to download the reference form and upload the completed form will be sent to the referees.

Please note that letters of reference can be submitted via fellowship email within a week, even after the deadline.

Required documents for submission (please note that in preparing the documents, you have to consider both types of applicants (A &B) as classified above.

Documents to be submitted by the Applicants’ Type of

Type A

1. Application form
2. Curriculum vitae (including the applicant’s signature)
3. Research proposal (free format, 5-10 pages)
4. Proposal for collaborative research with a Korean scholar

– Written by the Korean scholar, submitted by the applicant.

– Please insert the Korean scholar’s signature

5. Two letters of reference

– Head of the applicant’s institution (university president, dean, department head, institute director, etc.)

– Dissertation supervisor in the applicant’s home country

6. Proof of current employment or enrollment (official letter or certificate)
7. Graduate school transcripts (MA & Ph.D.)
8. Copy of the most recently acquired academic degree
9. Certificate of coursework completion (official letter written by the department head or supervisor)

Type B

Also, for type B, all documents are the same as type A, except the following:

An individual capable of evaluating the applicant’s research proposal (expert or professor of the applicant’s country of origin)

For inquiries regarding the online application portal, please contact helpdesk@kf.or.kr

For further information about the fellowship program, visit the KF Field Research fellowship program.

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