Exchange Programs
Exchange programs allow Koreans and Americans to form lasting relationships in areas of shared interest and concern. Bonds of friendship and mutual respect are also strengthened through alumni activities. (Contact Information: PDSeoulExchanges@state.gov)
Professional Exchange Programs
Fulbright Commission in Korea: The governments of the U.S. and South Korea support the Korean-American Educational Commission (KAEC) in its operation of the Fulbright program and other activities set by the KAEC Board. One of these programs, the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) program brings more than 100 Fulbright grantees each year to Korea to teach English in public schools across the country, focusing on regional areas outside of Seoul.
The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program in which current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields experience the United States firsthand and cultivate lasting relationships with their American counterparts. U.S. Embassy personnel nominate candidates for the IVLP.
IVLP on Demand provides small groups of South Korean participants the opportunity to meet and confer with their professional counterparts in the United States. U.S. Embassy personnel nominate candidates for the IVLP on Demand program. Please contact the Office of Exchanges and Alumni for more information about Embassy Seoul’s exchange programs.
Student Exchange Programs
The Work, English Study, Travel Program is an innovative exchange program in which more than 3,700 university students and recent university graduates from South Korea have gone to the United States to study English, participate in internships, and travel. WEST is run by the Korean Ministry of Education with support from the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassy Seoul.
Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD) provides semester and academic-year scholarships to outstanding undergraduate students from under-represented sectors in East Asia, Eurasia and Central Asia, the Near East and South Asia and the Western Hemisphere for non-degree full-time study in the United States combined with community service, and cultural enrichment.
U.S. Congress-ROK National Assembly Youth Exchange Program (CYX) is a unique program designed to broaden the perspectives of South Korean and American young people on the legislative process, the history of U.S. – Korean relations, and current economic, political, and security aspects of the bilateral relationship. The program also provides the U.S. and Korean participants with firsthand experience of each other’s people and culture and creates opportunities for participants to form long-lasting personal contacts. Korean delegates are selected by members of the ROK National Assembly through a competitive application process. The American delegates are selected by members of the U.S Congress through a similar process.
The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program promotes critical language learning among American youth. NSLI-Y awards merit-based scholarships to high school students for participation in summer and academic year immersion programs in locations where the eight NSLI-Y languages are spoken, South Korean being one of the languages. NSLI-Y immerses participants in the cultural life of the host country, giving them formal and informal language practice.
The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is an intensive overseas language and cultural immersion program for American students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities. Students spend eight to ten weeks abroad studying one of 15 critical languages, which includes South Korean. The program includes intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains.
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program provides scholarships to American undergraduate students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, providing them with skills critical to national security and economic prosperity. The program aims to encourage students to study and intern in a diverse array of countries and world regions. The program also encourages students to study critical need languages, which includes South Korean.
