Jeonbuk National University (JBNU), led by President Yang O-bong, recently returned after promoting JBNU's excellence to local students through a winter cultural exchange program in Vietnam.

JBNU announced on the 29th that it dispatched a 43-member overseas cultural exchange team to Quy Nhon City, Vietnam from January 3 for a three-week schedule, holding educational volunteer activities, university introductions, and admissions information sessions that received strong responses.

Through the Glocal University 30 Project, JBNU is expanding cooperation with overseas universities and institutions to recruit 5,000 international students. JBNU reorganized the nature of its overseas volunteer activities to move beyond the conventional educational volunteer format, exchange outstanding Korean culture, and raise awareness of JBNU's excellence to create a virtuous cycle leading to international student recruitment.

During the activities, the cultural exchange team carried out various cultural outreach activities and educational support for middle and high school students connected through Quy Nhon City's local government. In particular, they held a cultural concert for local residents, which drew an enthusiastic response from those highly interested in Korean culture.

In particular, JBNU's Division of Student Support (Director Kim Jong-seok) donated bookshelves, desks, and chairs to Le Quy Dong High School, a specialized high school in Quy Nhon City, establishing an outdoor library. The high school's reading club placed about 1,000 books of various genres there for shared use.

Taking this activity as an opportunity, JBNU and Quy Nhon City plan to sign an official agreement around March — the first among national public universities nationwide — to pledge sustainable Korea–Vietnam friendship. The agreement is expected to provide a foundation for the cultural exchange team's activities to lead to concrete international student recruitment.

Director Kim Jong-seok said, "We expect the ongoing solidarity among the overseas cultural exchange team and key high schools, universities, and institutions to make a significant contribution to recruiting 5,000 international students," adding, "Through the forthcoming official agreement, we will create conditions that allow outstanding Vietnamese students who wish to study in Korea to come to JBNU and continue their studies."