Scholarship / Personal Statement for GKS-U 2025 - Business Administration Major [3]

Hi! I will be applying for GKS-U this month and need some advice on my PS as it is my first time writing an essay like this. (Certain personal information has been crossed out for my own comfort)
The essay should include the following items.
- Motivations with which you apply for this program
- Educational background
- Significant experiences you have had; persons or events that have had a significant influence on you
- Extracurricular activities such as club activities, community service activities or work experiences
- If applicable, describe awards you have received, publications you have made, or skills you have acquired, etc

Studying Korean has been one of the greatest decisions I made in my life. Now I want to help *my country* youth and individuals learn the language by starting my own business and developing a language-learning app that would aid others in learning professional and academic Korean. As someone who has wanted to study and work in South Korea for a long time, I can't help but notice the shortage of study resources for people with the same purpose. Hence, the Global Korea Scholarship offers a remarkable opportunity for me to pursue my aspirations. This scholarship will not only provide financial support for my studies but also give me the chance to immerse myself in a new culture and gain valuable international experience. Additionally, it will allow me to build a global network of connections that will benefit me in my future career endeavours.
From a young age, I have been captivated by the world of business. I vividly remember analysing commercials seen on banners while going outside or browsing through various social media platforms. I was thinking about the company's chosen marketing strategy and how it could have been executed more effectively and appealingly. As I grew older, I became increasingly interested in the broader concept of business and management. The dynamic and at times unpredictable nature of the market has significantly intrigued me. I enrolled in numerous business-related lectures on the K-MOOC platform, which shows my genuine interest in entrepreneurship. Furthermore, I became aware of South Korea's tremendous economic growth through my research and observation over the years. This passion, coupled with my ambition to start my own business after graduation, has driven me to choose Business Administration as my intended major. It will lay a solid foundation for my future by providing a range of career paths, which will altogether provide me with the freedom and comfort I need to consider my next steps in life. Through this scholarship, I hope to advance my academic career while also contributing to the strengthening of *my country*-Korean diplomatic relations, as I believe that it is something of great value that should be cared about. Given Korea's prominence in mainstream media due to the Hallyu wave, one of my objectives is to educate people of all ages and genders about the country. Many individuals nowadays are mainly attracted to Korean popular culture, and I aim to introduce them to other aspects of this nation, such as economy, geography, traditional cuisine, and history. I hope that I can make others fall in love with South Korea, just like I did as a child.
I come from a small village with a population of **** and a low-income dysfunctional household, where most family members lack fundamental education and exhibit traits of illiteracy. Because my mother is disabled, my abusive father is the sole source of income for the entire family. Growing up in such harsh circumstances has fuelled my determination to achieve success and pursue my dreams. My family, teachers, and acquaintances have oppressed me and discriminated against me in many ways since I was in elementary school. It felt just like I was left all alone in this world and bound to failure. Although it took several years of truly getting to know myself, I ultimately found my purpose and chose to dedicate myself entirely to studying in South Korea. Since early childhood, I have been fascinated with East Asian culture and architecture. After evaluating Japan, China, and South Korea, I ultimately chose the latter, as I believe South Korea will continue to play an even larger role in the world of commerce and economy, as evidenced by the Miracle on the Han River. I would be pleased to see the country's ongoing expansion firsthand as well as contribute to it. Now that the coronavirus pandemic has calmed down, I believe that we will be able to see rapid growth in a short amount of time.
Speaking of which, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on many people, including myself. It made me feel like I had lost my teenage years, as it started when I was fourteen and the social restrictions were abolished as I was turning seventeen. Being forced to remain in lockdown for an extended period of time had a negative impact on my mental health, but it also provided me with an opportunity to reflect on myself. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to achieve and who I wanted to become. That's also when I realised how much I thoroughly enjoy learning and researching new things. Although these were years of nervousness and uncertainty about what would happen to humanity as a whole, these were also times of profound realisations about myself and my abilities, which I had questioned for most of my life. Not only did I gain confidence, but also an immense amount of hope for the future. I am inspired by every woman who is a startup entrepreneur. However, I'd like to highlight Sophie Kim, the founder and CEO of Kurly, a Korean next-day grocery delivery service company. Her success and innovative business ideas are remarkable, but after watching her interviews and seeing someone who genuinely cares about consumers, she became one of my greatest inspirations. Another influential woman is Shina Chung, who serves as the first female CEO of Kakao, a prominent South Korean Internet conglomerate. Seeing women in such major roles in the workplace inspires me to set ambitious goals and desires for myself.
During high school, I was chosen as one of the winners of an internal drawing competition. Since then, I have been a part of an art group that worked on the design of official school mascots, wrote a short comic series about their origins, and designed school merchandise. This experience helped me with my teamwork abilities. Apart from that, despite graduating from high school and turning eighteen only a few months ago, I was able to receive invitations to job interviews for a few significant Korean companies, including one at *company name* as a sales assistant and another at *one of the biggest chaebols* as a Korean translator. Even though I was unable to secure the aforementioned positions afterwards, it was a big step towards my transition to adulthood and ongoing language-learning journey. This failure, while painful, will serve as a driving force for me to become a better version of myself. I firmly believe in the saying, "It's not how many times you're rejected, but how many times you get up and keep moving forward." Although I faced rejection many times in my life, I never gave up and kept going on to fight for my dreams.
One of my greatest achievements in life is being bilingual and currently mastering a third language, Korean, which has not only expanded my future job opportunities but also deepened my understanding of cultural diversity and global perspectives. To begin with, I have been immersing myself in the English language since I was very young. After many years, I can confidently say that I have achieved language fluency. This can be easily proved by my score of 106 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), giving 26.5 out of 30 points on average in each section. From then on, as a self-taught Korean learner, I never had the resources or chance to learn the language in a classroom or with a native speaker. I grasped the Korean alphabet in elementary school, yet I did not study it further since I was unsure about my future. Later in high school, I came upon the Global Korea Scholarship and decided to take a more serious approach to learning the language. I studied consistently for nearly ten months, often for six hours a day, and eventually achieved level four on the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK). It was a great challenge for me in such a short period of time. Recently, I had the chance to enrol in a lecture-assisted advanced Korean course at the Online King Sejong Institute. Active participation in class has significantly enhanced my Korean speaking skills. Aside from language acquisition, I've been an ambitious student throughout my education. I actively participated in many contests from elementary school through high school, ranging from *native language* or English language contests to art competitions. Although in general, I did not earn victory, I did not feel discouraged and was grateful for the opportunity to compete. Furthermore, in my first year of high school, I was able to obtain a prestigious scholarship from the ***. Thanks to it, I could buy myself a computer and develop new essential skills, such as graphic design and programming.
By studying in South Korea, I aspire to become a successful entrepreneur in the future and help others. I am committed to making the most of this chance and will work hard to succeed. I believe that my life experiences have prepared me well for the challenges ahead. I am determined to achieve my goals and contribute positively to both my country and Korea.