Publication of K Construction Foreign Trainees' Korean Experience Stories 'Is Korea Your First Time?'

A casebook capturing the experiences of international students who came to Korea to learn construction technology, titled "Is Korea Your First Time?" Cover

The Overseas Construction Association (Chairman Park Seon-ho) announced on the 7th that it will publish "First Time in Korea," a collection of vivid Korean experience stories from foreign trainees who came to learn Korea's advanced construction technology.

The casebook contains the experiences and insights of trainees from Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Peru, gained through various opportunities to directly experience Korea such as regular classes, site visits, forums, internships, and cultural exchanges.

With support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Overseas Construction Association has been operating a master's degree program for infrastructure development policy capacity building (MIPD·Master of Infrastructure Planning and Development) since 2018, inviting public officials from key countries where Korean companies enter and from priority overseas construction cooperation countries, through the Graduate School of International Urban Sciences at the University of Seoul.

This program, now welcoming its 4th batch of trainees this year, has attracted significant interest from developing countries, showing a 4:1 admission competition rate despite COVID-19. The 5th batch in 2022 will also select trainees from various regions.

Chairman Park Seon-ho of the Overseas Construction Association said, "Many public officials from developing countries have already earned their master's degrees through this training program, and if they effectively utilize the infrastructure development experience and know-how they acquired during the education period for their own countries' economic development, this program will ultimately establish itself as one that contributes to the shared prosperity of the global community."

The book "First Time in Korea" has been available for anyone to view or download from January 7th on the Overseas Construction Association Policy Support Center website.