전주대학교

JJ International Students Visit Local Farms "Helping Rural Workers"

Understanding Korean Agricultural Culture through Volunteer Activities for International Students

On the 28th, Jeonju University (President Park Jin-bae) visited farms in Jang-dong, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, and volunteered to help farms that lacked workers.

Twenty-five international students from China, Vietnam, and Myanmar, who completed the midterm exam for the first semester, joined the event to help farmers by planting sweet potatoes and pepper seedlings. During lunch time, international students ate food prepared by farmers in the field for the first time in their lives and listened to explanations about Korea's rural life and farming methods. This became an opportunity to experience rural culture.

ZHONG YUE (China, Department of Artificial Intelligence), who participated in this activity, said, "I felt grateful for the sincerity and sweat of farmers until we got to our table by sowing seeds in the field." He also said, "The elderly here welcomed international students so much that I thought of my grandmother in my hometown and wanted to help the farming work harder."

Professor Je Hye-geum (Department of Business Administration), the head of the international exchange center who participated in the volunteer work, said, "I hope that international students will experience how much joy they have in helping others through participation in volunteer activities and become global talents who utilize the volunteer system they learned in Korea when they return to their homeland in the future."

Park Yong-cheol (69), who has been farming here, expressed his gratitude, saying, "I was in a hurry to plant crops because there was news of welcome rain, but it was easy this year because international students came and helped cover with plastic in the fields and plant crops."