Korean GPA to 4.0 scale

A Korean transcript reads 3.8 / 4.5, and the first reaction abroad is that 3.8 must be excellent. It is good — but it is not the 3.8 an American reader is picturing.

The reason is A+ is worth 4.5, not 4.0. Korean universities gave the top grade its own step above A instead of folding it in. So the ceiling moved up and every number below it sits lower against that ceiling.

There is also no A-minus. Where an American scale has A, A-, B+, Korea has A+, A0, B+. Fewer steps, wider gaps — one grade moves your average more than it would in a system with minuses.

So 3.80 out of 4.5 is 3.38 out of 4.0, or 84.4% of the maximum. That is the number to put on a form that only has a 4.0 box.

Proportional is what this page does: divide by 4.5, multiply by 4.0. Simple, reproducible, and the same answer every time.

Regrading is the other way: take each course, map its letter onto the American scale, and average again. An A+ becomes 4.0 instead of 4.5, a B+ becomes 3.3 instead of 3.5.

These give different numbers, and the gap is widest for the strongest students. If most of your grades are A+, proportional conversion keeps that advantage while regrading flattens it — every A+ drops to the same 4.0 as a plain A.

Neither is wrong. They answer different questions, so the number you submit depends on which one the university asked for.

Most applications want the Korean figure as printed. They ask for your GPA and the maximum separately — 3.8 in one box, 4.5 in the other. Admissions offices see Korean transcripts every year and read them without help.

Convert only when there is a single box and no place to say what the maximum was. Writing 3.8 with no scale next to it is the real mistake — it reads as 3.8 out of 4.0, which overstates your record.

If a credential service like WES is evaluating your transcript, they use their own table and their number is the one that counts. Anything you calculate here is for your own planning.

Check the maximum before anything else. Most Korean universities use 4.5, but some use 4.3 with minus grades. The number is printed on the transcript, usually next to the GPA.

Pass/fail courses are excluded. They count toward credits earned but not toward the average, so the credit total and the graded total are different numbers.

A retaken course may show twice. Korean universities differ on whether the old grade stays visible and whether it still counts. If both appear, the transcript legend explains which one entered the average.

Working out sizes or ages while you are here? There is apartment size and Korean age too.