While walking through the campus, students can see many foreign exchange students around them. As the number of international students has increased, the welfare programs for foreign exchange students are increasing. There are also many programs for CBNU students to encourage them to interact with foreign exchange students. Currently, CBNU has various international exchange programs that provide opportunities for Korean and foreign students to interact with each other.
  First, CBNU has overseas volunteer programs. CBNU sends its students to help foreign students who need help and to promote international exchanges. As representative overseas volunteer programs, CBNU has the Global CBNU Volunteer Corps Program and the Guatemala Education Volunteer Corps Program, and they are hosted by the CBNU Office of International Services and the College of Education respectively. The Global CBNU Volunteer Corps Program is an educational volunteering system that supports education in English, math and science to students in China’s Kilim Province, and volunteers stay there during the program. The Guatemala Education Volunteer Corps Program provides educational services to Central American countries such as Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador by sending CBNU students who major in Education to those countries. Dispatched volunteers teach math, science, IT, and English to elementary and secondary school students, and they conduct various forms of practical training. Both programs operate between semesters.
  The CBNU Volunteer Corps Program was already conducted during this year’s summer vacation, and the Guatemala Education Volunteer Corps will be dispatched during this winter vacation. In particular, the Guatemalan Education Volunteer Corps is making various preparations for the volunteer program in advance. This month, on October 8, the Guatemala Education Volunteer Corps held a bazaar. Revenue from that event will be used to buy educational equipment for the Guatemalan students. The bazaar was held for two days, and it sold donated stationery, toys, clothing, and household goods. The bazaar was held around the Gaesin Cultural Center and attended by CBNU students, foreign exchange students, and local residents. The bazaar’s revenue was about 300,000 won. The revenue might sound small, but it will help to buy educational equipment for Guatemalan students. CBT met Han Jae-young, a professor of Chemistry Education, which hosted the bazaar. He said, “The bazaar was meaningful in that students could enjoy the experiences of promoting the Guatemala Education Volunteer Corps Program as well as participating in the bazaar.” He added that this volunteer program will help increase the professionalism of the pre-teachers and that it will help the students learn to interact with each other more comfortably. He concluded, “Now, I hope everyone will be more generous with donations both domestically and internationally.”
  There are also programs to help CBNU’s foreign exchange students study and adapt well. The Buddy Program and the Korean Student Mentor Program are examples. The Buddy Program is for foreign undergraduates who came to CBNU as exchange students, and Korean students help them throughout their school life or Korean life. Each exchange student is matched with one Korean CBNU student, so both students can mutually benefit from the close relationship. Dariya Makaraba(Belarus National University), who is currently participating in the Buddy Program, said, “I think the Buddy Program is a really good system. Living in Korea apart from family, there are a lot of difficulties due to a lack of language skills. However thanks to my buddy, I can get help if I have problems, and it also is a chance to learn Korean. My German friend also became close to her buddy’s family, so she spent the Korean holidays together with them and referred to her buddy’s mother as “mama.” With these various advantages, I think the Buddy Program is necessary.”
  The Korean Student Mentor Program is for foreign trainees studying at CBNU. Mentor students help foreign trainees navigate Korean life and school life with a variety of activities, such as adaptation to Korea, Korean language education, helping on entrance examinations, and participation in cultural activities. Similar to the Buddy Program, one-on-one matches are provided. Therefore, both programs have the advantage of helping all of those involved experience the positive effects of understanding and interacting with each other through direct cultural exchanges and frequent contact.
  However, some students who participated in the overseas volunteer programs or the Buddy Program said the programs need to be improved, pointing out excessive requests by some students, a lack of proper confirmation in the program’s progress, and the cursory management.
  The international exchange programs are encouraging not only Korean students but also foreign students to try to understand each other better and to foster positive attitudes toward globalization. However, it is important for participants to have mutual respect for personalities, healthy attitudes toward other cultures, and a sincere desire to communicate. Then, in the future, the CBNU International Exchange Programs will operate more efficiently with more satisfying programs.

By Yoo Jin-kyu l jk37@cbnu.ac.kr
By Baek Han-na l backna@cbnu.ac.kr