Yeungnam University holds the Global Culture Festival on Tuesday at the Cheonma Jimun area on campus. [Yeungnam University]
Yeungnam University holds the Global Culture Festival on Tuesday at the Cheonma Jimun area on campus. [Yeungnam University]

Yeungnam University held the Global Culture Festival for international students on Tuesday at the Cheonma Jimun area on campus, organized by the International Affairs Office's International Student Employment and Settlement Team.

The event was designed to help international students settle in the region and to strengthen ties with the local community.

This year's festival focused on "regional settlement" — encouraging international students to remain in the area after graduation, find employment and build their lives there. The event brought together in one place a full range of support services, from academic and lifestyle counseling to job placement, corporate networking and settlement consulting.

About 3,000 people attended, including student associations representing Chinese, Vietnamese, Mongolian and Central Asian students enrolled at Yeungnam University, the Park Chung-hee Saemaul Graduate School international student association, and representatives from the Korea Environment Corporation's Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province office, the National Health Insurance Service's Daegu regional office and the Gyeongsan Family Center.

The festival grounds, spanning the Cheonma Jimun area including the main gate's electronic tower and clock tower, were organized into 12 zones with a total of 60 booths.

The academic, lifestyle and settlement counseling zone offered consultations on undergraduate academic affairs, legal matters for foreigners and psychological support, as well as guidance on visas, living in Gyeongsan, international student insurance and national health screenings.

The employment, corporate and settlement networking zone featured hiring consultations and company introductions from local firms, including a Chinese company and regional businesses such as CU Medical, Hanul Co., SL Corporation and Lubcam Korea.

Additional booths drew strong interest from students, offering employment and settlement consulting for foreign students, personal color analysis, and K-beauty and medical experience consultations.

Cultural exchange programs were also plentiful.

Yeungnam University Museum ran hanbok (traditional Korean dress) and traditional tea ceremony experiences, along with pottery craft demonstrations and a Chinese traditional tea experience. The Korea Environment Corporation's Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province office hosted a job fair, an eco-experience activity and an environmental charity market.

Student associations from each country also opened booths to introduce their home cultures, drawing considerable attention from attendees.

Vice President for International Academic Affairs Lee Chun-young, a professor in the Chinese language and culture department, said the festival "provided an opportunity for international and Korean students to come together, understand each other's cultures and communicate."


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com