Los Baños, Philippines – The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) is taking a significant step toward establishing a Korean language course in collaboration with Handong Global University (HGU), a key partner of the KOICA-UPLB-IRRI partnership.
UPLB, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are partners in the KOICA-funded project, "Capacity-Building for Higher Education and the Establishment of Agricultural Genomics Research Center (AGRC) at the University of the Philippines Los Baños". The AGRC is a state-of-the-art research and education facility currently being built on the UPLB campus, with the goals of providing world-class training for young scientists and strengthening genomics science in the Philippines.
A recent courtesy meeting between UPLB Chancellor Camacho, Vice Chancellor Bantayan, and representatives from HGU explored ways to integrate Korean language studies into UPLB’s curriculum. This initiative comes in response to the growing interest among UPLB students and faculty members in Korean culture and language. Currently, UP Diliman offers Korean language courses and has a small Korean research center, and UPLB is looking to develop similar resources.
IRRI’s Dr. Jae-Sung Lee, the Project Manager and who has strong connections with Korean universities, particularly HGU, played a key role in facilitating the meeting and program. HGU, which specializes in Global Korean Studies (led by Prof. Jieun Jung), is leveraging its funding through the Korean government to help develop a structured Korean language curriculum at UPLB.
As part of this initiative, a pilot project was conducted involving HGU faculty and students. Additionally, a Korean culture event was recently held in UPLB’s Makiling Ballroom Hall, where a Korean media team interviewed Chancellor Camacho to highlight the university’s commitment to international academic collaboration.
Moving forward, UPLB seeks further support from KOICA Philippines to deploy Korean language instructors and strengthen its collaboration with HGU on curriculum development. Additionally, discussions are underway for a potential joint environmental protection project between HGU and UPLB.
This partnership marks a milestone in UPLB’s efforts to expand its language and cultural studies offerings, providing students with valuable international learning opportunities.
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