KOREAN NET

Chungbuk Hakdang (Academy) in Vietnam seeks to attract international students to Chungcheongbuk-do Province. Shown is a scene from last year's Chungbuk Job Fair for International Students on Oct. 31, 2024. (Chungcheongbuk-do Province)

By Kim Seon Ah

Chungbuk Global Center, also known as Chungbuk Hakdang (Chungcheongbuk-do Province Academy) has opened in Vietnam as a base to help people there who wish to study in Korea.

The opening ceremony for the facility is scheduled for March 13 at the University of Labour and Social Affairs in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, Chungcheongbuk-do Province said on March 10.

The academy is an overseas base for the province's task of attracting international students.

Run by the Chungbuk Global Cooperation Group, which comprises the universities of Chungbuk National, Chung Cheong and Gangdong, the center has as its main task to form the basis to attract outstanding talent through on-site Korean-language education and help international students prepare for studying in Korea.

The center will not only promote universities in the province and a related system for international students there, but also attract such students through consultations based on each school's traits and customized activities per each region's industrial demand to attract such pupils.

The international student system will also offer job and educational opportunities to economically disadvantaged foreign students so that they can study and work at the same time.

As of late last year, Chungcheongbuk-do had 8,175 international students at 18 universities.

The plan is to raise the number of international students to 10,000 by year's end through the system.

"We will link projects for international student recruitment and support for their settlement to continuously expand Chungbuk Academy throughout Asia," a Chungcheongbuk-do official said. "Attracting international students is an important investment to raise Chungcheongbuk-do's future competitiveness."

sofiakim218@korea.kr