A bit of Eastern culture traveled to VSU earlier this semester, as 100 Southern Korean students transferred in through the “1+3 program.”

The academic program, set up with Dongguk University Computer Science Institute in Seoul, requires the students to study English while completing their core classes for one year in Korea before coming to VSU to finish the rest of the four-year period, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

VSU is the first university that the Center for Global Education, the organization coordinating link between the two universities, has utilized as part of this program.

“It’s very important for VSU to continue to maintain and encourage a multi-cultural student base,” Lauren Braun, international student adviser at VSU’s Center for International Programs, said.

The Global Education program plans to add more in the near future.

While it is hoped that coming to America will broaden the Korean students’ cultural experiences, it is also possible that VSU students will expand their own horizons by becoming more familiar with other international cultures.

“Thanks to technology and innovation, the world is becoming a smaller place and way more globalized,” Braun said. “It helps to enrich the campus culture by hosting individuals who bring different cultural backgrounds and worldly experiences.”

The Korean students must pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language exam before they are accepted to VSU, said Dr. Ivan Nikolov, director of Center for International Programs, told The Spectator in March 2011.

Braun also mentioned her belief that more VSU students should take the opportunity to study abroad in the future.

“I would strongly encourage domestic students to participate in one [or more] of the many study abroad opportunities VSU has to offer,” she said. “Not only does it help fulfill academic credits, but it also helps build a worldly and cultural experience for the student.”