‘Seobusan Tourism’ Chinese International Students Take the Lead... Silla University Operates Nation's First Foreign MICE Specialist Curriculum

First Graduates of Innovation Talent Development WB MICE School

Professor Kim Jeong-eun: "Contributing to Urban Regeneration from a Foreigner's Perspective"

Do you know about the Western Busan MICE School?

This school, which was opened to nurture MICE industry experts in the Western Busan area, has produced its first “graduates.”

However, all 22 graduates of this school, created to attract and activate global events such as corporate meetings, incentive tours, and exhibitions/fairs in regional Korea, are Chinese international students.

The proposal contest scene of Seobusan MICE School.

The WB (Western Busan) MICE School expert course is a unique project that is the first in the nation to train foreign international students as MICE personnel in South Korea. After opening on September 20, Chinese freshmen completed their intensive studies every Friday at Silla University in Sasang-gu, Busan, and received their certificates on the 15th.

The WB MICE Hub Project Group (Department of Hotel, Medical, and Tourism Management at Silla University) reported that all 22 enrolled students completed the course with a 100% graduation rate.

The project group explained that, considering the characteristics of Chinese international students, they operated a curriculum that strengthened incentives within the MICE field and provided education on the features and tourism resources of Busan and Western Busan.

Seobusang MICE School class scene.

This curriculum attracted attention with a contest on proposals that re-suggested products considering the characteristics of Western Busan from a foreign perspective.

A project group official said, “We received five proposals from five teams and plan to commercialize them in consultation with the Busan City Tourism MICE Team.”

The WB MICE School proposal contest was held on the afternoon of the 15th, the last day of the course, at the Silla University College of Business Administration building.

A team of Chinese international students who won the grand prize at the Seobusan MICE School Proposal Contest and Professor Kim Jeong-eun of the Department of Hotel Medical Tourism Management at Silla University (fourth from the left) stood in front of the camera.

Professor Kim Jeong-eun of the Department of Hotel, Medical, and Tourism Management at Silla University, who led this school, explained the background of the school’s operation: “This was an attempt to approach MICE, a representative urban regeneration industry that fosters Western Busan as an international city for future development of the Western Busan area, including the Gadeok New Airport project, from a foreign perspective.”

Professor Kim also emphasized, “Along with nurturing regional innovation talents in Western Busan MICE, the process of discovering and promoting unique venues where local culture and characteristics can be experienced is meaningful. We are pouring efforts into building a sustainable Western Busan MICE platform to create a growth ecosystem for related industries.”