Gwangju News

Opinion

As there appears to be a boom in Korean universities looking to attract international students, so the number of such students has grown rapidly. According to official statistics, there are more than 60,000 international students nationwide due to government’s effort and relatively inexpensive budget than one for studying in States or Europe. Especially, 93% of [...]

By  Ahn Hong-pyo
Hong-pyo is a senior student at Chonnam National University

As there appears to be a boom in Korean universities looking to attract international students, so the number of such students has grown rapidly. According to official statistics, there are more than 60,000 international students nationwide due to government’s effort and relatively inexpensive budget than one for studying in States or Europe. Especially, 93% of international students have come from Asian countries. They came to Korea to earn degrees, to appreciate Korean culture and learn how to speak Korean.

However, living and studying abroad is not always easy. From time to time, students can feel homesick, or that it’s difficult to catch up on classes given in Korean and hard to make Korean friends. While there are successful students who achieve their dreams, students who struggle with the language or culture are less motivated and can often fall behind. What and how an international student does are not solely affected from personal characteristics and life styles. Several policies from school can also affect them. As an example, Chonnam National University (CNU) recently published a guidebook for international students in Korean, English and Chinese, so that they can easily find some information they might need at any time or place in languages other than Korean. An international student at CNU told me that “it is very helpful to me, since all I need is this book which is easy to carry.”

To have a broader sight regarding the issue, Gwangju News interviewed both an international student here in Gwangju, and a school officer who deals with undergraduate students at the Office of International Affairs, CNU.

Firstly, I spoke with Ahmed, an international student from Bangladesh studying at CNU.

Hong-pyo (HP): Thanks for talking with us. Please give us a brief personal introduction.
Ahmed (Ah): I am Tauhid Ahmed, and was born in 1983 at Tangail District in Bangladesh. My father is engaged with agribusiness and my mother is a housewife. Being raised in such a family, I always love to smile and try to do good for people around me with my understanding and ability. I am interested in voluntary activities, community social service, traveling, playing cricket and photography. I do always take a positive and welcoming approach to deal any activities and remain adhere until finish it completely. My personal motto is “a dutiful man is a beautiful man”.

HP: What have you found to be the most enjoyable aspect of studying in Korea?
Ah: The different activities of CNU to become more global. CNU is trying to meet global environment pushing and offering many programs, global and domestic, student activities, making friends, mentoring programs, etc. I am always very positive to participate in such kind of activities. I also participated in one overseas program in University of Missouri-Columbia, U.S. with other Korean students over the last winter vacation. That was one of the dream study trip ever in my life.

Also I enjoy the campus study environment. The university’s study environment is really nice, no active student politics exist on campus, but in my country student politics does exist on campus which I hate very much. But here, I just see students study, do research and get along with their friends. I feel really good to see this environment.

HP: What are some things that you hope to be changed?
Ah: To be more global, students need to change their mind-set a little bit. What I want to say is that maybe 20% of CNU students are OK to meet foreign students and their cultures, but the rest of the students look not welcoming to foreign students and culture; actually they don’t mix with foreign students or international activities in CNU campus. I don’t think that they don’t want to meet; definitely they want but may be they can’t mix because of their fear, shyness, or foreigner’s strange looks.

I have to say that university authority is very positive to make CNU globally innovating and offers many programs to students. But school authorities should try to help foreign students to practice their own cultures sometimes in CNU campus while they learn Korean culture. It would be wonderful for both sides. And Korean students will also have the valuable chance to learn foreign cultures while living inside CNU campus.

HP: Are there any other things you may want to mention?
Ah: What GIC is doing for foreign people is really appreciable. They are very much committed to keep foreign people’s life easy, here in Gwangju. I am really touched seeing what GIC is doing for foreigners. I appreciate and thank GIC and the people who are associated with GIC team. I regret that I can’t go to GIC these days but I did go there frequently when I was newcomer in Gwangju.

Secondly, I spoke with Jang Mi-ri, who is in charge of undergraduate students at CNU

HP: Where does CNU stand in terms of international student affairs?
Jang Mi-ri (JMr): As the flagship university in the region, Chonnam National University has 726 international students in total and 455 are seeking their undergraduate degrees. The majority of them come from China. Students from Mongol and Vietnam take up some portion of them, but their numbers are way behind than that of Chinese. Many universities in Korea had only focused on increasing the number of international students. However, there were so many cases of illegal part-time employments and other visa related issues that Korean government strengthened requirements for studying in university, such as allowing visa for only those who have acquired 4th level TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean). Now, universities also try to have qualified students with well-developed programs that will help their accommodation into studying in Korea. CNU now manages Korean culture introduction programs, 1+1 Buddy-Buddy program and grant scholarship for those who need to improve their Korean abilities. Such efforts worked out and many international students achieve good grades from classes which are solely delivered in Korean, make Korean friends who not only provide language help but also became someone they can rely on, and have opportunities to look around Gwangju and Jeollanam-do area.

HP: What are some things CNU hope that its international students would keep in mind?
JMr: CNU and I, as a person in charge of undergraduate international students wish that they can achieve their goals of earning degrees in Korea without many difficulties. We, at the Office of International Affairs at CNU, understand that it is not easy to study abroad with all hardships, but we hope you remember that the first and foremost goals you have now are study well and stay fine. There are many students who neglect or are not aware of obligatory reporting procedure that you make before having a part-time job. Doing so can result in serious matters such as being imposed with heavy fine, which normally exceeds the amount of money that you earn from the job, and suffering from being worried about those affairs. In short, costs outweigh the benefits.

It is clear that international students are minorities in Korea, and have very different cultural backgrounds, but their time here is crucial to them to achieve their academic goals and further their visions. Their success heavily depends on their strong willingness and effort; however the roles of Korean students, universities and local community to embrace them cannot be underestimated.

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