The HUSS Global Symbiosis Project of Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung-ryul) successfully completed the “Sustainable Global Symbiosis Program” on Sunday, April 13, by inviting students from the Democracy Bronx Prep High School in New York, USA.

This program was conducted as part of the “Global Service Learning” program, a collaborative program between Kookmin University's HUSS Global Symbiosis Project and Bronx Prep High School, and was designed to explore educational exchanges and cooperation through Korean cultural activities.

Bronx Prep High School visited Kookmin University in April 2019, and this is their second visit. Students participating in the Korean school trip formed groups with supporters from the Kookmin University Global Symbiosis Project and carried out the communication mission 'Amazing Race' in Korean. This is an activity in which they pass through major points in downtown Seoul within a given time period while solving step-by-step tasks together and their performance is evaluated.

Bronx Prep High School is a school located in the northern part of Manhattan, New York, USA, and has been teaching Korean as a second foreign language since 2015. It is known as a representative school where the teaching and learning of Korean by teachers and students is leading to successful outcomes such as students entering prestigious universities despite the difficult environment. The students were very enthusiastic about learning Korean as they had gone through a rigorous selection process to participate in this field trip, and they expressed their satisfaction that they were able to demonstrate their Korean language skills that they had honed over the course of the day. Through this visit, Kookmin University's HUSS Global Symbiotic Project Team and Bronx Prep High School will strengthen their cooperation in Korean language education and cultural programs, and will spread the importance of education centered on sustainability and mutual understanding through symbiotic educational cooperation projects.

Kim Eun-jung, the representative teacher at Bronx Prep High School, who was in charge of the program, emphasized the need for the program, saying, “This program will be an important opportunity for students to grow beautifully while learning Korean and Korean culture.” “I believe that the creative cooperation of teenagers and college students through this program will be a small but significant force in sustaining a peaceful global community, and we will continue to realize the value of global symbiosis through educational exchanges between the two schools,” said Professor Lee Dong-eun, Deputy Director of the Kookmin University Global Symbiosis Project, who oversaw the program.

Meanwhile, the HUSS Global Symbiotic Consortium has been operated in cooperation with several universities, including Kwangwoon University, Kookmin University, Sun Moon University, Yeungnam University, and Honam University, with a total of 9 billion won in support from the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation for three years starting in 2024. The consortium has been making steady efforts to contribute to global symbiosis with the goal of fostering 2,500 core convergence talents with sustainable resource responsiveness, sustainable industrial understanding, and sustainable international community inclusiveness.