On March 13, 2023, the University of Seoul (UOS) invited the dean, faculties, and staff of Syracuse University, a private university in the U.S., to discuss ways to cooperate in various fields such as academics and research. According to the UOS Institute of International Cooperation and Education (IICE), the visit was part of an academic exchange agreement signed in June 2022 between the Departments of Architecture of UOS and Syracuse University. The Departments of Architecture at both universities have since been in active communication, and the undergraduate chair of Syracuse University, who is also a Korean professor, initiated the discussion this year, i.e., 2023. Syracuse University has already planned exchanges with Asian universities; so after deciding to visit various universities in Korea, members were appointed based on the requirement of each university. The first place to visit in Korea was UOS.

   To garner further details about the discussion, The UOS Times interviewed the exchange program coordinator of IICE, Shin Eun-hwa, who is in charge of international exchanges. She has been supervising agreements with overseas universities, protocols to greet guests, dispatches of exchange students, and overall control of outbound programs. “On March 12, seven officials—the president, vice president, dean of Academic Affairs, dean of College of Urban Science, head of Department of Architecture, head of IICE, and I—went to the conference room in the University Center. We signed an agreement to start short-term student exchange programs between the Departments of Architecture during the upcoming summer recess, and also decided to discuss exchanges at the university-wide level. After the meeting, on March 30, Syracuse University sent us an email saying that they would contact us again with a specific plan to interact with UOS after having a debriefing on the entire visit to Korea,” she explained.

   Ms. Shin added, “If we sign a university-wide student exchange program with Syracuse, our students can also study in other countries such as Chile, Italy, and France.” Essentially, if the agreement is made with Syracuse University, it would provide a good opportunity for students to tap various options for their study. Moreover, other programs have been conducted by IICE since 2022. IICE said that according to the US News & World Report, an American media company that publishes news, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis, UOS was ranked 700th. Therefore, IICE selected a list of universities which were ranked higher than UOS, and subsequently chose 365 that have not yet signed an agreement. It began contacting the short-listed colleges since early 2022 and has completed agreements with 60 schools so far, such as the University of Florence (Italy), University of Hamburg (Germany), University of Geneva (Switzerland), University of Liverpool (U.K.), and so on.

   The UOS Times asked Ms. Shin to emphasize what she wanted to convey to the students of UOS. She said, “An exchange student program is one of the best experiences in one’s college years.” Later, students will not be able to participate even if they want to because of time constraints. In particular, students at UOS have a great advantage of studying abroad by paying the tuition fee of UOS. There is a simple statement that students can have an international experience as exchange students, but they also have to adapt themselves to a new environment and form broad networks by meeting friends around the world. She emphasized that, “For students who are worried about the cost of living there, I want to tell them to try it even if they get a part-time job in advance or acquire a loan.”

   However, the number of exchange students in UOS is not balanced. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a drop in the number of students going abroad. Before the pandemic, about 200 students went abroad during the semester, but in the second semester of 2022, there were only about 18 students, the lowest ever. However, the number of students sent overseas is getting closer to pre-pandemic times gradually. About 180 students will be dispatched in the  autumn semester of 2023. In the meantime, the number of foreign students coming to Korea has increased as K-culture has been gaining popularity in recent years. In addition to the influence of the Korean Wave, geopolitically, Korea has never closed its doors, compared with China and Japan, which remained closed for two years. Therefore, many overseas students gathered here, and there are more inbound than outbound. Consequently, to regain balance, more attention from UOS students toward the exchange program is needed.

   “We will further revitalize the exchange program by increasing exchanges with overseas universities,” Wong Yong-kul, president of UOS, said in his inaugural speech. Furthermore, IICE said that it will continue activities such as business trips, overseas conferences, and fairs, and try to make as many contacts as possible if each other’s needs are met. Accordingly, a virtuous cycle in which many students participate is imperative. Accordingly, The UOS Times hopes UOS students take more interest in the exchange program and seize meaningful opportunities to broaden their perspective