Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) and Busan University of Foreign Studies jointly opened the Southeast Asian Language Camp with an opening ceremony on the 18th and began a two-week program.

The Southeast Asian Language Camp, held alternately at JBNU and Busan University of Foreign Studies each year, has offered the chance to study languages that are not commonly accessible—such as Vietnamese, Malay‑Indonesian, Thai, and Filipino—free of charge, and has received strong support.

This year, Arabic and Italian have been added to the curriculum. Special lectures on Southeast Asia, film screenings, and graduate school information sessions for related fields will also be held.

A total of 64 participants from 16 universities nationwide, including JBNU students, are taking part in the program. JBNU is providing housing and other conveniences to participants who came from outside the Jeonju area.

Aside from the language courses offered through advance registration, the special lectures on understanding the Southeast Asian region are open to everyone.

Beginning with a special lecture on “Universal Health Coverage in Southeast Asia” by Professor Seo Bo-kyung of the Department of Cultural Anthropology, Yonsei University, at 4:00 p.m. on the 19th, at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 21, researcher Woo Chun-hee of the University of Massachusetts will deliver a special lecture on “The Human Rights Situation of Cambodian Agricultural Migrant Workers.”

In addition, at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, July 26, Kim Hee-sook, Research Fellow at the Jeonbuk National University Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, will give a special lecture on “The Korean Community in Myanmar.” All lectures will take place in Room 201 of the Humanities and Social Sciences Building at JBNU.

Jeon Je-seong Director of the Jeonbuk National University Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, said, “I am pleased that the Southeast Asian Language Camp, held during vacations for the past three years, can be held again this summer with strong support,” and encouraged participants to “take beginner language courses at JBNU in the summer and then attend intermediate classes at Busan University of Foreign Studies in the winter.”