How shy Cambodian student became AI developer in Korea through GKS

Studying, finding employment and settling down in a foreign country is rarely a smooth process — even for recipients of the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), a government-funded program that covers tuition, living costs and language training for outstanding international students. What it cannot guarantee is that they stay. Sereimony Sek, a GKS alumna who arrived from Cambodia at 17 and now works as an artificial intelligence (AI) developer at a Seoul telecommunications company, says the difference often comes down to something simpler: whether students ask for help. “I think it’s important to seek help when we need it because I’ve seen some GKS students give up their scholarships and return home for various reasons,” she told The Korea Times in a recent interview. “Because we come here through the GKS program, we already have a strong support network around us, so students shouldn’t be afraid to reach out to others or ask for help.” Sek believes that such support systems and alumni networks can play an important role in helping international students adapt to life in Korea