Gyeongnam University Selected for 'Multicultural and North Korean Defector Student Mentoring Scholarship Program'

Selected for 4 Consecutive Years... A Total of 180 Mentors Selected

Gyeongnam National University was recently selected for the fourth consecutive year as the lead university for the Ulsan-Gyeongnam region in the Multicultural and North Korean Defector Student Mentoring Scholarship Program, organized by the Korea Student Aid Foundation.

The "Multicultural and North Korean Defector Student Mentoring Scholarship Program" is a project where university students and multicultural and North Korean defector students meet as mentors and mentees to share knowledge and experiences. It provides equal educational opportunities to multicultural and North Korean defector students, thereby implementing the government's educational welfare policies and achieving co-growth with the local community.

Since 2011, Gyeongnam National University has produced more than 100 student mentors annually. Recognized for its excellent management capabilities through the operation of special programs linked with various on-campus institutions and rural special activity programs in collaboration with rural area organizations, it has been selected as the "Lead University for the Ulsan-Gyeongnam Region" for four consecutive years.

Group photo of pre-education for the multicultural and North Korean defector student mentoring scholarship program. [Image provided by Kyungnam University]

The project is led by Gyeongnam National University and its Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, supported by the Ministry of Education, the Korea Student Aid Foundation, and the Gyeongnam Office of Education, and will run for one year until February 2024.

As a result, Gyeongnam National University secured a total scholarship fund of approximately 518 million KRW in 2023. It supports educational activities to strengthen the adaptation skills and basic academic abilities of multicultural and North Korean defector students by cooperating with over 200 related institutions in the Gyeongnam region.

Cha Moon-ho, Dean of the College of Education at Gyeongnam National University, said, “I am grateful to all Gyeongnam National University students who participated in this project supporting the education of multicultural and North Korean defector students and the educational welfare of the local community.” He added, “Under the guidance of Professor Hyun Ho-geun, the project leader, I hope this will be a meaningful time as various educational activities are carried out to spread a culture of knowledge sharing and enhance the local community’s problem-solving capabilities.”