If you are selected for KGSP, and do not yet have TOPIK 5 or 6, you may be curious about where you will study Korean for your language year.
The answer is not so easy.
The first thing that I can say is that you will not study Korean in the same region as your degree school. This is definite. They do this on purpose so that you can experience different parts of Korea.
Personally, I think this is a good thing. Different parts of Korea have different dialects and cuisine etc, so getting to know them is enriching for you as a Korean traveler. Another advantage, especially for those ending up in Seoul, is that whatever region you end up in is likely to be cheaper to live in than Seoul. A year to save up is not a bad thing.
Of course if you already have a home someplace in Korea (like me), or you have a spouse somewhere in Korea (like me) this may not be the most convenient arrangement. I was lucky in that I am still close to where my husband is, so I can go home for weekends if I choose, but I may just be lucky (or they may have done it on purpose. I don’t know.)
The next thing I can say is that you cannot choose where you will study Korean, nor can you change schools once they have decided for you. You can’t do it, it doesn’t happen, end of story.
So then what are the possible places you could be sent?
The answer to this question varies by year.
This year (2014 selectees) there are ten schools, but last year (2013 selectees) there were twelve schools. In addition to a reduction of the number of schools, there were also some changes to the schools.
They can be broken down roughly into 5 regions. Seoul, Northern Region, Central (West) Region, South Western Region, and South Eastern Region. (The colors below refer to the map at the bottom.)
- Seoul/Red – These three universities were used for 2013 selectees, but for 2014 there are no schools in Seoul proper.
- Kyunghee University (2013)
- Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) (2013)
- Sungkyunkwan* (There are Seoul and Suwon campuses. Suwon is just south of Seoul.) (2013)
- Northern Region/Blue
- Inha University, Incheon (2013/2014)
- Kangwon National University, Chuncheon (2014)
- Hallym University, Chuncheon (2013)
- Central (West) Region/Green
- Sunmoon University, Asan (2013/2014)
- Chungnam National University, Daejeon (2013/2014)
- Pai Chai University, Daejeon (2014)
- South Western Region/Orange
- Jeonju University, Jeonju (2013/2014)
- Chonnam University, Gwangju (2013/2014)
- South Eastern Region/Purple
- Keimyung University, Daegu (2013/2014)
- Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan (2014)
- Dongseo University, Busan (2014)
- Silla University, Busan (2013)
- Pusan National University (2013)
On the map below you can see approximately where everything is. The highlighted areas are special designated metropolitan areas. These are Korea’s bigger cities (Seoul is pink, Incheon is blue, Daejeon is green, Gwangju is yellow/orange, Daegu is the inland purple, and Busan is the coastal purple). The stars are smaller cities.
You’ll notice that even when they’ve changed schools, they’ve generally added a school in the same general area, for every school they’ve taken away (with the exception of Seoul).
As for how they choose which schools to send people to, that is a mystery. One thing you will notice is that none of the old, well established schools are on the list; such as Yonsei, Korea U, SNU, Sogang, Ehwa, etc. Part of the goal of KGSP is not only to raise the level of Korean among foreigners, but to also raise the level of Korean language education in Korea. Well established language programs have little trouble filling spots, and can constantly work on improving their programs with student feedback and results. Smaller programs like the ones KGSP uses need more help. Beyond that, I’m not sure what motivates NIIED to drop one school, keep another, and add yet another. The group of schools for 2015 and beyond may be similar, or totally different, but they will probably be in the vicinity of existing schools.
From Rising Sun To Morning Calm 
