Nowadays the number of Uzbek students who are studying at CNU is growing. Most of my university friends ask me, “Why are there lots of Uzbekistan students?” Every time I try to answer them based on my own reason for entering Chonnam National University. I was always interested in South Korea’s economic growth and how Korean people do business. I decided to learn all these things and bring Korean strategies to our country. Day by day I am gaining priceless experiences from my professors. I met many friends from my own country whose goal is the same as mine. Last year we made the first step on the way to a great goal. With other Uzbek students we organized an Uzbekistan Community (UC) at CNU.
One of the main goals of the community is to provide assistance to Uzbek compatriots and help them solve problems that may arise in their daily lives. There are various opportunities in and around the university, and the community regularly introduces them to Uzbek students and informs them about the university and the Korean government scholarships and opportunities available to students. We also offer information on the laws and regulations of South Korea and try to prevent the students from breaking them.
To encourage talented students to succeed in their academic years, develop new ideas and contribute to their further enhancement, UC always gives suggestions and helps them. We even suggested innovative ideas to the Uzbekistan government. Last year the governor of the Fergana region, Sh.Ganiev, visited Gwangju and informed students about the implementation of the ideas. It is also expected that the governor of the Namangan region will visit, and UC would ask them to support some innovative ideas.
Recently we organized a festival to celebrate Navruz holiday, which helped to boost cultural experience and understanding Uzbekistan culture among local Koreans and all other international students. We presented our traditional cuisine, dance and songs. In the coming fall we are planning to organize Uzbekistan Day. On that day, anyone can join and try a variety of activities.
“The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next,” said Abraham Lincoln. I believe that our community will be a bridge which connects cultural, financial and diplomatic links between South Korea and Uzbekistan. I also want to thank my friends for their dedication and hard work, our professors and the Office of International Affairs at CNU for their support.
By Otabek Mamajonov, Junior, Faculty of Business Administration