'Oppa Is Jeonju Style!'

'Jeonju Style,' a parody of singer Psy's 'Gangnam Style' that has recently attracted great attention, is causing a sensation online.

This video was produced by American students from prestigious U.S. universities who participated in the U.S. Department of State's CLS Program (Critical Language Scholarship Program), a language education program that Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) organized and that ran for eight weeks from June. They created it to commemorate their time at JBNU and in Jeonju.

After completing all program activities and returning home on August 12, their UCC titled 'Jeonju Style' was uploaded to the online video community site YouTube and, as of the 21st, has recorded over 40,000 views. It has also ranked highly on portals such as Naver and is generating attention.

Three American students participated in making the video: John McEwen of the University of North Dakota, Margarethe McDonald (Indiana University), and Molly Resnick (University of Connecticut).

In the video, the foreign students imitate Psy's horse-riding dance at famous locations on JBNU campus and around Jeonju. Scenes where they use local dialect expressions such as '워메, 아따' provoke laughter, while preserving the Korean language and culture they learned at JBNU.

Ye-eun Lee, a third-year student in the Department of Music who also participated in producing the video, said, 'While participating in the Korean language classes and cultural experiences, my American friends found it so much fun and agreed they wanted to leave memories of their life at JBNU, so we decided to make a video. I am very pleased that the video we made with the American friends who shared eight weeks together has become such a big sensation.'

The CLS Program (Critical Language Scholarship Program), in which the students who produced the video studied Korean language and culture for eight weeks at JBNU, is an on-site language education program that began when the U.S. Department of State selected Korean as one of the '13 critical world languages.' In 2010, JBNU was the only institution in Korea selected as a host institution, and this year marks the third year of the program.

This year, 32 students from top U.S. universities selected by the U.S. Department of State — including Stanford University, UC Berkeley, William & Mary, and Fordham University — participated. They used only Korean for eight weeks and devoted themselves to studying the language and experiencing Korean culture. They held a completion ceremony on August 12 and concluded all schedules.

In particular, the students from prestigious American universities studied not only 20 hours per week of Korean language instruction but also Korean history, geography, society, and culture. Outside of class, they learned pungmul and otherwise strived to internalize Korean culture.

Leslie Grothaus (Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology, Stanford University) said, 'While studying at university in the U.S., I developed a strong interest in Korean culture amid the Korean Wave, and it is deeply meaningful to have had such a good opportunity at JBNU. I would like to express my deep gratitude to JBNU for providing an excellent program and optimal educational conditions, and I will do my best to let American students know about Korean culture and JBNU's excellence.'

At the completion ceremony, President Seo Geoseok said, 'JBNU has been able to operate the CLS Program for three consecutive years because of the university's efforts to provide high-quality educational services and the U.S. Department of State's firm belief that it is a top institution for Korean language education,' adding, 'We will not be satisfied with this and will do our best to be recognized as superior to any CLS program in the world.'