SUNGKYUNKWAN UNIVERSITY (SKKU), SEOUL, KOREA
This winter, the first International Freshmen Welcome Program (IFWP) for incoming 2019 Spring Semester students is in session. The program is two months long from January 7th to February 25th. It is open to both undergraduate and graduate school students. Over fifty students joined from eleven nations, including China, Singapore, Finland, Norway, Malawi, Spain, and the USA.
The purpose of the program is to help students acclimate to life in Korea and at SKKU. The participating students are taking preparatory Korean classes from Monday to Thursday at the academic level to help them adjust to their classes after the semester begins. To meet the students' needs, different levels of Korean classes from basic to advanced are offered. There are cultural activities every Friday for students to experience different aspects of Korea; they include ice fishing, a NANTA non-verbal action-comedy performance, and a trip to Lotte World amusement park as well as visits to the Tteok (Rice Cake) Museum, the DMZ, a traditional Korean hanok village, and SMTOWN Museum.
Pan Zhong, undergraduate freshman at the College of Engineering, joined the program to improve his Korean language skills and make new friends before the semester begins. When asked which aspects of the program he liked the most, he answered, "I enjoyed the cultural activities, especially Lotte World, the most. Also, the Korean classes have certainly been very useful in preparing me for my first semester, and getting to know other freshman has been invaluable." Tabish Ali, graduate freshman at Civil, Architectural and Environmental System Engineering, also remarked, "I joined the IFWP to get used to the Korean language, culture and environment. It not only helped me learn basic Korean, which made my daily activities so easy at this new place but guided me about all the necessary things."
The program has been particularly special for the sophomore and junior students who joined as mentors to the incoming students. The seven mentors have been assisting the freshmen students during the program in settling in Korea as well as advising them on campus life.
Nomin-Erden Tsogtbileg, junior at the School of Business, remarked, "I want to share what I have learned with the new students to help them plan their studies and the four years they will spend at SKKU. I can understand their excitement in starting a journey to study and learn abroad, since I felt that way when I first came to Korea too." She added, "As a mentor who has a bit more experience, I hope to keep in touch with the students even after the program ends to advise and encourage them during their studies."
