CNU Still Has a Long Way to Go for a Reciprocal Exchange
By Park Hye-bin, Cub-Reporter
The first student exchange program of Chonnam National University (CNU) was in 1977 with National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Since then, CNU has made an effort to increase exchange student programs with many foreign universities and many students have studied abroad through these programs. However, Shin Gyong-gu (Professor, Department of English Language and Literature) who, as a former dean of the Office of International Affairs at CNU argued that “In the past, CNU’s student exchange programs were just a unilateral exchange and have diverged from its original purpose, a reciprocal exchange between two universities.” The number of CNU students who study abroad was disproportionately more than foreign students who want study at CNU. However, this trend has changed and recently students who come to CNU from foreign universities have increased. Prof. Shin said that in 2013 the total number of international exchange students at CNU will be about 140. It has almost increased up to the number of CNU students who study abroad. He also added that “This increase of foreign students implies that our student exchange program is achieving its true goal of exchange little by little. However, it still has much to be improved upon. CNU has to provide more support for the Office of International Affairs, especially increasing manpower by the correct evaluation of its accomplishment.”
