외국인학생과 함께 한 캠퍼스 투어
<#307 Special Report>
New International Students: Let’s Experience Campus!
By Kang Min-hee, Student Editor & Seo Jung-eun, Tribune Reporter
A new semester has started. The campus is bursting with students including anticipative freshmen. This year, Chonnam National University (CNU) admitted more foreign students than ever before. Most of them came to Korea not only to study Korean, but also to learn and experience Korean culture. However, it is hard to find foreign students who mix with Korean students on campus. They usually spend time with other international students and rarely participate in school events.
Furthermore, on this spacious campus, new international students are only going to the Language Education Center or a few lecture rooms because they do not need to go anywhere else. But for the most part, having no idea where to go or which building has what they actually want to get to is the very reason they always visit a limited number of places. Not knowing what is what on the campus where they are living will make them think that studying abroad in another country is much harder than they expected.
Once foreign students get accustomed to where they are, they might befriend Korean students and try to actively be a part of CNU. In short, having knowledge of campus is a good way to get used to the new surroundings. Therefore, the Chonnam Tribune asked international students for few tips on living at CNU. The questions were where they usually go to study or mingle with friends, how they meet other students and so on. The Chonnam Tribune is offering useful information about various places on campus in the following article, written in diary form: “I Enjoy the New Semester on Campus” so that new international students can get a thorough impression of CNU and become familiar with the campus very quickly.
Kwemoi Brian Sambu (Sophomore, Division of Business Administration) is a foreign student who has adjusted well to the new environment of CNU. This is his third semester at CNU. He was a member of the Christian club ‘CCC’ and has tried to attend as many school events as possible. At the same time, as he is an active student, he has many Korean friends, and professors also remember him taking their classes.
“I Enjoy the New Semester on Campus”
The winter vacation has passed all too soon. CNU campus, which was empty during the whole winter break, is filled with students who came back from their homes. Time flies, now I am a sophomore of the Division of Business Administration. This is my fourth semester in Korea and today is the first day of this semester.
I just attended a short orientation. Orientation is useful and necessary to know how professors will teach and what assignments will be given. Also, I got some tips for the lectures from other people. Some people did not come to class but I think that that is stupid. If I had not gone to class today, I would not have known what I have to do or what I have to prepare. After the first class, I had a little free time, so I went Café Inben with a friend whom I met at a Chuseok Get-Together Event for International Students. I can meet CNU’s international students at such events and it allows me the opportunity to make friends with them. At Café Inben, I bought a muffin and a cup of coffee but Inben was too crowded. I wanted to sit and have my muffin so I went to the bench at Teletubbies Dongsan and enjoyed the nice view with my food. The only problem was the cold weather.
After all the classes were over, I went to Students Union Building Ⅰ where I can buy books for my major, which I need in my lectures. However, when I arrived at the building there was a very long line of students waiting for their turns to order their books. In the line, I met a classmate from the Marketing Management class I took last semester. We had a team project last year together and worked hard to prepare an in-class presentation. After completing our team project, we studied for the final test together. Talking with him, I was not bored waiting for my turn. When my turn came, I bought my books, but some books were very expensive and heavy.
When I left the Students Union Building Ⅰ, the weather was nicer to talk outside and the water in Bongji pond was clean. Around Bongji, my friend, whom I met in the Student Union Building Ⅰ, and I talked about what we did during winter vacation and what lectures we will take. Also, I bumped into fellow club members who helped me when I first came to CNU. As a club member, I could meet many Korean students and they are always kind to me.
This campus has useful places for a variety of purposes and students can spend their spare time communicating with classmates between classes anywhere on campus. Also, we have many opportunities to meet fellow students. Considering the fact that I am used to living in Korea now, I will study harder and try to enjoy my university life as a Korean university student. With a little more concerns for foreigner, my fourth semester at CNU will be more meaningful and valuable than ever.
Special Places on CNU Campus
Library Ⅰ
University library Ⅰ, which is located near Bongji Pond, is called ‘Hongdo’ which means “red library” and CNUians can search and borrow books here. There are books from the second floor to the fifth floor and CNUians can find literary books on the second floor. CNUians can borrow and return books through a service person on the second floor or a machine outside the second floor. When they borrow books, they need their student ID. They can study on any floor alone, with their study groups in a special room located on the first floor. They also can use the computer room as well as the book café located on the first floor.
Library Ⅱ
If I can borrow a book at the university libraryⅠ, what kind of library is the University Library Ⅱ? CNUians can study only at the University library Ⅱ called Baekdo (white library). But, it would not let anybody enter without CNU Students ID card during exam period. There are some ‘ticket issuing’ machines on the first floor. If you want to study there, you should designate your seat through the machine using student ID card or Mobile students ID.
Student Union Ⅰ
The Student Union Ⅰ building is located in the middle of the campus and provides facilities of welfare and convenience to students. On the first floor, there are a bookstore, a post office, a bank, and a cafeteria and so on. Students can purchase the books for classes at the beginning of their new semester. Beside the bookstore, there is a cafeteria where faculty members and students can have a meal. Walking up the stairs, there are a copy room, a coffee shop, CNU Health Service Center, study rooms, and the CNU Press and Broadcasting Center.
Student Union Ⅱ
Student Union Ⅱ is located near the College of Social Sciences and the College of Laws. It is a little smaller in scale compared to Student Union Ⅰ, but it has a lot of essential facilities inside. Two ATMs and Internet booths are available on the first floor beside a snack bar and a cafeteria. Several options, from one-dish meals to snacks, are sold in the cafeteria, at a cost of 2000 to 3000 won. On the third floor, there is a small assembly hall. Several club rooms are on the fourth floor; the classrooms of the Self-designed Interdisciplinary Studies are on the second floor.
Yongbong Culture Center
On Youngbong Campus, there is Yongbong Culture Center. They have a huge dinosaur museum on the first floor and the second floor is comprised of exhibit halls for the Pre-historic ages of Jeollanamdo, folklore of Korea and the dinosaur. It usually holds temporary exhibitions. The museum provides an opportunity for students and visitors to inspect the various kinds of exhibitions. It also has an educational experience system such as pottery making or Hanji crafts for younger students to make them get familiar with Korean traditional cultures.
5∙18 Square
Between Students Union Ⅰ Building and LibraryⅠ, you can see a small pond with a fountain called Bongji. Around Bongji, there is a large lawn which is called 5∙18 Square. When it is good weather, you can easily see someone who plays the guitar or play futsal on the lawn. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were many demonstrations for democracy, particularly May 18 Democratic Uprising. Thus, it is called 5∙18 Square.
Places for Enjoying Sports at CNU
Enjoying exercises in your daily life can give you vigor and keep you healthy. You can also play sports inside of the campus. Entering CNU from the Main Gate, you can see the Main Stadium and it is equipped with football turf and race track. There is a basketball courts as well and all the facilities are open to the public. So, anyone can enjoy exercises like football, basketball, jogging and running.
Café Inben in Inben
Inben is located near the College of Humanities and behind the Library and around the Inben there are a few benches and a café. Inben is also one of appointment place and many people are waiting for someone under the tree or talking with their on the bench. At Café Inben, you can order some coffee, drinks, sandwiches and many more and you can get some stamps on your coupon. Moreover, when you collect 10 stamps on your coupon, you can get a free cup of coffee.
Interesting but Mischievous Place
The Eungkeum Dongsan is a small hill located behind the University Administration and Student Union Ⅰ building. Usually local residents come to the hill to exercise, but --after dark-- some campus couples come to the hill to meet in secret. School janitors have caught more than one couple there late at night, at least according to some old campus legends. Rumors were quick to spread and soon the hill became known as Eungkeum Dongsan: the hill of shame.
Believe It or Not!]
Beautiful Yongji pond of CNU is always a popular place. Sitting near the pond on a summer day, watching lotus flowers covering the surface of the water, ducks paddling around, you find yourself relieved. What a view! And on a scorching hot day, you might even feel like jumping into the water. But when you look down at the water you might think; ‘Is this water supposed to be opaque like this?’ Now is the moment when the myth should be told; ‘You will get every disease in the world except for AIDS, if you jump into Yongji pond’. Classic, yet, ominous! However, every year a few brave students try to prove this mysterious story, half-willingly and half not.
Maybe the most common legend among universities is something with the phrase ‘then they will fall in love’. But at CNU, that kind of legend does not exist. Or, is not well known. Still, CNU also has a superstition about love. Right beside the College of Pharmacy there is a beautiful pathway lined with trees on both sides. It seems to be perfect for a romantic date, but if a couple walks along it, holding hands ‘they shall break up’. Is this story dependable? Well, there is only one way to find out. Try it!
There is a superstition about success, too. Yong-bong which means dragon (yong) and phoenix (bong), symbols of CNU, represent the flight of CNUians into the world. There is a tower on the street from the main gate called Yong-bong tower. On top of the Yongbong Tower there is a big phoenix. The phoenix is not completely fixed to the tower, and it can slowly turn in different directions. That is the point where the myth, ‘the direction or college which seems to be faced by the phoenix of the tower, would be lucky and successful’ is from. CNUians who know this story check the direction of phoenix’s head when they pass the tower out of habit. Actually, the phoenix statue is a weathervane; therefore its direction only indicates the direction of the wind. Even knowing that, they still like to check the direction.
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tribune@cnumedia.com