NRF Bilateral Exchange Program
Supports Korean researchers in building structured exchanges with global counterparts across multiple disciplines.
The NRF Bilateral Exchange Program funds joint research between Korean researchers and counterparts at institutions in partner countries across multiple continents. The program is administered by NRF's International Affairs directorate under MSIT oversight. The total program budget is 8,580 million KRW and projects run for three years. In FY2026, NRF issued more than ten country-specific calls between January and May 2026, covering partnerships with Germany, France (via ANR), Austria (via FWF), Finland, Sweden, China (two tracks: IAR joint research and standard joint research), Spain, and a multi-country bilateral track covering Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, and Vietnam — all posted between 2026-01-07 and 2026-05-06. An EU multilateral call was posted on 2026-03-19.
Eligibility requires a Korean university or research institution lead applicant paired with a confirmed counterpart researcher at an institution in the target partner country. Individual researchers may be named principal investigators, but the application must be hosted by an eligible Korean institution. Each country track is issued as a separate call with its own posting date, application deadline, and award ceiling; per-call amounts are specified in the Korean-language HWP and PDF guideline files attached to each CFP item on the NRF English board. The 8,580 million KRW total budget applies across all bilateral tracks combined, with individual country allocations not publicly disclosed.
To apply, prospective applicants must identify their target country track, confirm their foreign counterpart's eligibility under that track's rules, and submit through the NRF electronic submission system (ernd.nrf.re.kr) before the per-call deadline. NRF evaluates proposals through preliminary qualification review, expert panel assessment, and program committee confirmation. Because each sub-call has an independent deadline, Korean institutions should monitor the NRF English call board throughout Q1-Q3 to identify the relevant country track and its application window.
Funds joint research exchanges between Korean and international researchers across 15-plus country tracks — including Germany, France, China, Spain, and the EU — covering all academic fields in three-year bilateral projects.
Sign up free to see the funding breakdown
Sign up free to see the industries in scope
Sign up free to see the full eligibility
Sign up free to see how to apply
Sign up free to see the timeline
Sign up free to see where teams trip up