Incheon National University welcomes UANL students

Hillary de los Lagos Osorio and Victoria Dahana Fernandez are visiting South Korea as part of the national and international mobility program offered by the UANL Center for Asian Studies.

The UANL Center for Asian Studies, housed within the facilities of the UANL Center for Internationalization, is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary. During these years it has been a reference for local, national, and foreign students who wish to learn Korean and attend conferences, trainings, and other academic events through which they can get closer to the Asian culture.

Renato Balderrama Santander, head of the center, points out that this center is unique in Mexico, since, thanks to the quality of Korean language teaching and also to the agreements with different Asian universities, academic exchange opportunities for the University’s students have multiplied in recent years.

Likewise, the increasing presence of Korean companies in the state has made the center an excellent option for students who wish to be employed in one of them or who wish to move to Korea to develop their professional careers.

In Mexico, there is a significant presence of Korean firms and this has triggered the need for our students, our young people to be able to communicate in their language (Korean) when looking for a job opportunity. Besides, Korea has launched a popular culture program that adapts to the comprehensive and systemic Korean language program offered at our center”.

Renato Balderrama Santander
Head of the UANL Center for Asian Studies

“In fact, Incheon National University is aware of the Korean language skills of UANL students and thanks to the agreements we have with them, we are awarded the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS). This alliance allowed UANL to receive two scholarships this year and four last year,” said Balderrama Santander.

Korean experience

The wave of K-pop music and especially the attraction for BTS caused Hillary de los Lagos Osorio Rios, a UANL School of Philosophy and Literature student, to consider Korean culture.

“Thanks to music I became interested in the language. I wanted to know what they were saying in their songs, how they wrote it and that is how I began to learn it. You have to give yourself time to learn it and not be afraid of it. It looks difficult, but with patience and dedication you can pick it up,” said Hillary, who is taking the eighth level of the Korean language.

Victoria Dahana Fernandez Alcocer, a student of the UANL School of Accounting and Business Management (FACPYA for its acronym in Spanish), mentioned that her love for Korean dramas and music led her to learn the language, in addition to the fact that FACPYA would require a third language in order to obtain her degree.

“Since I am studying international business I was motivated to seek this opportunity. Korean industry is top in the world and it will be a great opportunity to get to know that and also their culture, in terms of both work and community. I am grateful and excited,” said Victoria.