Korean GPA to 4.0
Convert a Korean GPA on the 4.5 or 4.3 scale to the US 4.0 scale.
3.80 out of 4.5 is 84.4% of the maximum, which is 3.38 out of 4.0.
This is the proportional method that most application portals ask for. Some universities and credential evaluators publish their own non-linear tables, which can give a slightly different figure — use theirs when one is specified.
Divide your Korean GPA by your university’s maximum and multiply by 4. A 3.80 on the 4.5 scale is 3.80 ÷ 4.5 × 4 = 3.38 on the US 4.0 scale. On the 4.3 scale the same 3.80 becomes 3.53, because the ceiling is lower.
Two Korean scales, one US scale
Korean universities award letter grades in half steps — A+, A0, B+, B0, C+, C0, D+, D0, F — but they do not all attach the same numbers to them. Most institutions, including Seoul National University, Korea University, Hanyang, and Sogang, run a 4.5 scale where A+ is 4.5 and A0 is 4.0. Others, among them Yonsei, KAIST, Sungkyunkwan, Ewha, and POSTECH, use a 4.3 scale where A+ is 4.3.
That difference matters when converting. The same printed 3.80 represents a stronger record at a 4.3-scale university than at a 4.5-scale one, because it sits closer to the ceiling. Any conversion therefore has to start by identifying which maximum your transcript uses — it is normally stated on the document itself.
The proportional method
The conversion most application portals ask for is simply proportional: your GPA as a fraction of the maximum, rescaled to 4.0. It is transparent, reproducible, and the method Korean students are most often instructed to use when a form asks for a 4.0-scale figure.
The maximum is 4.5 at most Korean universities and 4.3 at some. Check the scale printed on your transcript before converting.
Worked example
Converting a 3.80 on the 4.5 scale.
- 1 Find your university’s maximum. The transcript states the scale — 4.5 here. Most Korean universities use 4.5; some use 4.3.
- 2 Divide your GPA by the maximum. 3.80 ÷ 4.5 = 0.8444, meaning you achieved about 84.4% of the possible grade points.
- 3 Multiply by 4.0. 0.8444 × 4.0 = 3.38 on the US 4.0 scale.
- 4 State the original alongside it. Report it as “3.80 / 4.5 (≈ 3.38 / 4.0)” so the reader can see the scale you started from.
Korean letter grades on each scale
Grade points by letter. The 4.5 and 4.3 scales differ only at the top of the range; both are widely used.
| Letter | 4.5 scale | 4.3 scale | Approximate mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | 4.5 | 4.3 | 95–100 |
| A0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 90–94 |
| B+ | 3.5 | 3.3 | 85–89 |
| B0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 80–84 |
| C+ | 2.5 | 2.3 | 75–79 |
| C0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 70–74 |
| D+ | 1.5 | 1.3 | 65–69 |
| D0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 60–64 |
| F | 0.0 | 0.0 | Below 60 |
Where the simple conversion falls short
Proportional rescaling treats the scale as evenly spaced, which it is not quite: the gap between A+ and A0 is half a point on the 4.5 scale but only 0.3 on the 4.3 scale, while every lower step differs too. Some universities publish their own non-linear tables that map 4.5 to 4.0, 4.0 to 3.7, 3.5 to 3.3, and so on — closer to how US grade points actually work.
Korean grading is also relative at many institutions, with a fixed proportion of A grades per class. Credential evaluators are aware of this and may read a Korean transcript more generously than the arithmetic alone suggests. Where a receiving institution names a conversion method or requires a WES report, use theirs rather than a self-calculated figure.