chinguneun seongjeogi johaseo ibeone janghakgeumeul badasseo.

는 marks 친구 as the topic of the sentence.

So 친구는 means something like:

• as for my friend
• my friend, ...
• speaking of my friend, ...

It does not necessarily mean strong contrast here, although 는 can sometimes suggest contrast in other contexts. In this sentence, it mainly introduces who the sentence is about.

A very natural English-like way to feel it is:

• My friend got a scholarship this time because their grades were good.

Korean often uses a topic marker where English would simply use the subject.

Because 좋다 is a descriptive verb/adjective-like word, and with 좋다, the thing that is good is usually marked with 이/가.

So:

• 성적이 좋다 = the grades are good
• not 성적을 좋다

Here, 성적 is not a direct object. It is the thing being described as good, so 이/가 is the natural particle.

This pattern is common:

• 날씨가 좋아요 = The weather is good.
• 기분이 좋아요 = I feel good / My mood is good.
• 성적이 좋아요 = The grades are good.

성적 usually means grades, school marks, or academic performance.

In this sentence, it refers to the friend's academic results, not personality or effort in a general sense. So 성적이 좋아서 means:

• because their grades were good
• because they had good academic performance

Depending on context, 성적 can also mean results or performance in a broader sense, but in everyday student-related Korean, it very often means grades.

-아서/-어서 connects two clauses and often means because, so, or simply links events in sequence.

Here:

• 성적이 좋아서 = because the grades were good
• 장학금을 받았어 = (they) received a scholarship

So the whole structure is:

• Because my friend’s grades were good, they received a scholarship this time.

With descriptive verbs like 좋다, 좋아서 is formed from 좋- + 아서.

This ending often sounds natural and neutral when giving a reason.

Yes, 좋으니까 is possible, but the nuance changes a bit.

• 좋아서 sounds more neutral and matter-of-fact.
• 좋으니까 can sound a little more like since or because, you know, and may feel more explanatory, assertive, or speaker-involved.

Compare:

• 성적이 좋아서 장학금을 받았어.
  = They got a scholarship because their grades were good.
  → neutral statement of reason

• 성적이 좋으니까 장학금을 받았어.
  = Since their grades were good, they got a scholarship.
  → slightly more emphatic or explanatory

For a plain statement like this, 좋아서 is very natural.

이번에 means this time, on this occasion, or in this round.

In this sentence, it suggests that the scholarship was received:

• during this semester
• this time around
• on this particular occasion or selection cycle

So it adds a sense of timing, not just a general fact.

Examples of the feeling:

• 이번에 시험 잘 봤어. = I did well on the exam this time.
• 이번에 장학금을 받았어. = I got a scholarship this time.

It often refers to the current or most recent instance of something.

Because 장학금 is the direct object of 받다.

• 장학금 = scholarship
• 받다 = to receive

So:

• 장학금을 받다 = to receive a scholarship

This is a very standard object-marking pattern:

• 선물을 받다 = to receive a gift
• 도움을 받다 = to receive help
• 장학금을 받다 = to receive a scholarship

받았어 is the past tense casual/informal form of 받다.

Breakdown:

• 받다 = to receive
• 받았어 = received / got

It is casual speech, so it would be used with:

• friends
• younger people
• people you are close to

The polite version would be:

• 받았어요

So the sentence in polite style would be:

• 친구는 성적이 좋아서 이번에 장학금을 받았어요.

This is very normal in Korean.

좋아서 does not need to be put into past tense just because the main event is in the past. It describes the state that served as the reason at that time:

• the grades were good
• so the friend received a scholarship

Korean often uses the descriptive verb in this linked form without separately marking it as past when the timing is already clear from context and the final verb.

So 성적이 좋아서 장학금을 받았어 naturally means:

• Because the grades were good, they got a scholarship.

If needed, Korean can mark past in the reason too, but in ordinary sentences like this, 좋아서 is the natural form.

Usually, yes. In natural English translation, 친구 here would often be understood as my friend or a friend, depending on context.

Korean often leaves out possessives like my, his, or her when they are obvious from context.

So 친구는 could mean:

• my friend
• the friend
• a friend of mine

The sentence itself does not specify whether the friend is male or female.

Yes. Korean word order is flexible as long as the particles and meaning stay clear.

For example, these are all possible:

• 친구는 성적이 좋아서 이번에 장학금을 받았어.
• 친구는 이번에 성적이 좋아서 장학금을 받았어.
• 이번에 친구는 성적이 좋아서 장학금을 받았어.

However, the most natural position depends on what you want to emphasize.

In your original sentence, 이번에 is placed right before 장학금을 받았어, so it most naturally modifies the receiving event:

• received a scholarship this time

That placement is very natural.

Yes. Korean often omits subjects when they are clear from context.

In:

• 친구는 성적이 좋아서 이번에 장학금을 받았어

the understood subject of 받았어 is still 친구.

So the full underlying idea is:

• My friend’s grades were good, so my friend received a scholarship this time.

But repeating 친구가/친구는 again would sound unnecessary in normal Korean.

No. Here 좋다 means to be good, not to like.

This is an important distinction:

• 좋다 = to be good
• 좋아하다 = to like

So:

• 성적이 좋다 = grades are good
• 성적을 좋아하다 = to like grades/test scores, which would be a very different and unusual meaning

In your sentence, 좋아서 clearly means because the grades were good.