A delegation of the students from the Suwon Gymnasium in Seoul has visited St Petersburg University.

The Head of the Department of Korean Studies at SPbU Sergei Kurbanov greeted the guests in the Petrovsky Hall at St Petersburg University.

“The history of our University started with the Decree of Peter the Great in 1724. SPbU is among the leading universities in Russia, it has lots of outstanding scientists, and it heartily welcomes international students, — said Sergei Kurbanov. — You study at school now but soon you are going to be students. If you like St Petersburg, you are more than welcome to come here to study: here you will find lots of friends who study Korean”. The history of Korean studies at SPbU started 121 years ago. Today the University is a partner of the Forum Dialogue Russia – Republic of Korea.

The Director Deputy of the Suwon Gymnasium Lee Jung Lim thanked the University for the opportunity for collaboration. “I hope that our collaboration will give impetus to the Korean pupils to study the Russian language and culture and to the Russian students to delve into the Korean culture”, — said Lee Jung Lim.

For many of our pupils, Russian language is a sound base for their future. After graduation they can go into various spheres then: translation and interpreting, international trade, and joint Russian-Korean companies.

Director Deputy of the Suwon Gymnasium Lee Jung Lim

Such support points will cement our partner ties and contribute to stronger relations between Korea and Russia, said the Director Deputy.

They also transmitted an agreement on collaboration in education between the Suwon Gymnasium and SPbU. It is a milestone in the history of our relations in education and research, and we will sign the agreement as soon as it is stipulated, said Professor Sergei Kurbanov.

The students from the Suwon Gymnasium met the students in Oriental Studies at SPbU. Both Russian and Korean students benefit by gaining more practice in improving their communication skills. “Two years ago, I visited Russia, and I was fascinated by your country, people, and culture. Then I started to learn Russian, — said Hong Geunhye. — It was a challenge for me, and that is why I am here”.

The University also presented the main educational prorammes to the Korean delegation. Today the University offers 398 programmes, some of them may be on interest to international students. For example, only international students can apply for the bachelor’s programmes in English Language and Literature, Arts, and Russian Studies.

Those who are planning to study or work in Russia should pay attention to the programmes in Philology (field of study: Russian Philology) or Linguistics (field of study: Russian Language as a Foreign Language). SPbU offers a wide range of educational programmes. Yet proficiency in Russian is essential for entry. If you want to improve your Russian, the additional educational programmes in the Russian language as a foreign language may be of interest to you.