Korean students support development of "The Representative Office of St Petersburg University at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies" project

Valeriia Malomuzh, Acting Deputy Rector for International Affairs, expressed gratitude to Kim Hyun Taek, Vice President of the Korea Russia Arts and Culture Society, Honorary Professor in the Department of Russian Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and his students Lee Ha Seon, Jo Soo Ha, Lee Soo Jin, Lim Ye Dong and Kseniia Petrova for the help, support and willingness to promote "The Representative Office of St Petersburg University at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies" project. Valeriia Malomuzh emphasised that in 2022 the University is planning to boost the activity of all the representative offices abroad.

To this end, a plan of events was developed taking into account the experience of interaction with Korean partners. It was proposed to discuss the vision and implementation of the plan at the meeting. For example, already today the University is ready to organise classes devoted to Russian literature for the students of philology. One of them is a course of lectures by Nikolai Guskov, Associate Professor in the Department of the History of Russian Literature: ‘The Path from "The Green Lamp" to "The Diamond Crown" devoted to the 125th anniversary from the birthday of Valentin Kataev’. It was suggested that teachers and experts in other research fields be invited to give presentations and lectures. Specialists in Asian and African studies at St Petersburg University can tell the participants about the translation process from Korean and achievements in the field of Middle Eastern studies, studies of religion and culture. Lectures about the museums of St Petersburg University in English can also be delivered.

As a result of the constructive discussion, it was decided to organise an annual contest in the Russian language among students of Korean universities in May-June 2022. The contest will be devoted to the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Vladimir Arsenyev, an ethnographer, writer and specialist in African and Asian studies. During the same time period, "The Day of St Petersburg University in Korea" will take place. The programme will feature presentations by the University representatives, who will tell the participants about the admission process, contests, Olympiads and intellectual competitions.

Winners of the Russian language contest in the Republic of Korea announced

Both sides also planned to prepare short videos about everyday life of students in Russia and the Republic of Korea, their studies at the universities and preparations for the student exchange trips.

Korean students expressed readiness to take part in the meeting of the Russian—Korean speaking club together with Russian students. They expressed interest in the proposed lectures on the Renaissance and the Russian culture and offered support in providing the information materials on St Petersburg University to the Korean school specialising in the Russian language and culture.

The participants in the meeting also discussed a new possibility for Korean students to take part in: the creation of the news section on the website of the Representative Office of St Petersburg University; and the work of the Korea—Russia Dialogue Forum of civil societies.

Despite a wide variety of promising fields for joint activity, the sides came to an understanding that it is important to take into account examination and vacation time when planning. It is also crucial to implement the events "taking small steps from simple to more complicated ones".