We have seen that international students are not treated properly even though there are many of them. Meanwhile, there is an organization that helps interactions between Korean students and international students, and it is International Student Organization (ISO). ISO is a group composed of many Korean and foreign staff members to help international students adapt to Korean campus life easily. The Argus met HUFS ISO members and heard their stories.

The Argus: Hello, please introduce yourselves.
Cho Young-jin (Cho): ISO is an organization established in 2003 to provide exchange students school life guidance and cultural experience opportunities and to increase cultural interaction between Korean and foreign students. It is an organization under the International Affairs Team, which is different from a dongari. ISO is composed of three different teams−Atti and Global Link Team, Buddy Team, and Planning and PR Team. Atti and Global Link Team hosts events for international students and helps them enjoy Korean life.
Song Ju-ho (Song): Buddy team matches Korean students with exchange students and helps them interact through diverse activities. It is called the “flower of ISO” as it is the most important team in ISO. If the students request a particular nationality or language, we try to match them as well as possible.
Kang Eun-sun (Kang): The Planning and PR Team takes charge of promotions and SNS management. It also publishes “MISO,” meaning both “Magazine of ISO” and Korean word “smile.” It contains information on university events that foreign students are not aware of and is distributed at places that foreign students frequent.

The Argus: What events has ISO done for exchange students?
Cho: The welcoming ceremony is the first event of every year. It includes pick-up service that welcomes exchange students at the airport bus stop, helping with dormitory check-in and orientation. We try to give them a first impression of “We are your friends who came to help you.”
Song: On Buddy Official Day, all participants go on a picnic under the theme of “interaction.” Other than that, exchange students hang out with their matched buddy by themselves. The buddy program is done as a group. A buddy who has participated actively is selected as an “excellent buddy” and gets a prize. The certificate is given from the International Affairs Team to the buddy who participated in more than three official events out of four.
Noemie Desseaux (Noemie): The Global Link Team takes care of organizing a movie night. We pick a movie that interests people the most, find a space for a screen and promote it on Facebook. We also distribute food to people. When we watched the movie “Welcome to Dongmakgol,” we provided corns that appeared in the movie for snacks. Since it is for exchange students, we pick movies related to culture and provide appropriate snacks.
 
The Argus: What was a moment you felt was rewarding?
Cho & Song: Students say that there is no such place that cares so well like ISO. In the last farewell party, a German friend came up to the front and said, “It was really happy to be here thanks to ISO. I am really thankful that you helped me a lot to make memories in Korea and be nice friend.” I was really touched that all of my stress flew away.
Kang: I was in charge of publishing MISO. The student cafeteria is hard to use for international students because English service is not available. They do not know where computer labs or copy rooms are on campus, either. Thus, I planned and wrote an article about this problem within two months. I made cafeteria ticket machine icons, translated them into English, and marked the places for copy rooms on campus. It was a help to the international students, so I was very proud.

The Argus: What were some hardships that ISO faced?
Cho: Korean students usually do not know much about ISO. Sometimes they get confused with recruiting staff notices and the Buddy program promotion. Since it focuses on exchange students, they think ISO is an organization only for exchange students. We put a lot of effort on promotion, but there is a limit on promoting just with posters, leaflets and SNS. Also, it is hard to deliver the exact nuance we want to the foreign friends during a meeting or event. We are worried that our meaning could be delivered wrong sometimes.
Song: The slogan of ISO is “We bridge cultures,” but it is unfortunate that there is only one, the Buddy program for Koreans students to participate for interaction with foreign students at HUFS. I want to make more such programs, but we have low finance and the number of staff members is also limited.

The Argus: Why do you think Korean students and international students cannot gather together and what should we do in order to become closer?
Cho: Most Korean students do not have the courage to get one step closer. Relations between people get deeper by having a lot of conversations. When wanting a foreign friend, you have to focus on “friend,” not foreigner. Foreign students also want to become friends with us, but we are thinking too hard.
Song: There are no opportunities for us to meet each other unless through a team project in a class. Although there is an opportunity, Koreans first become shy and afraid because of their English skills. You just have to throw one word. For example, if a person from Seoul wants to become friends with a person from Daegu, they will have a conversation. I wish Koreans would think the same in interactions with foreigners.
Noemie: I feel like Koreans are often intimidated by foreigners and English, but they should not be. You do not need to speak the same language very well to be friends. When I study at language school, we all come from different countries and speak different languages, but still communicate with each other. I understand Koreans put so much pressure on speaking English, but it should not keep them from making foreign friends. It would be nice if we could hang out with more Korean students.
Kang: Joining a dongari is the easiest way to make friends. I hope dongaris do not feel too much burden on recruiting foreigners. Even though language difference may be a burden, basic English skills asking for opinions should be available for them.

The Argus: What should the university do for smooth interactions between Korean students and international students?
Cho: I hope there is an opportunity for us to promote ISO when all HUFS students are gathered in one place. I also want the university to promote the existence of ISO more systematically for every international student.
Song: I think the university treats regular international students the same as the Korean students. Like it cares for the exchange students, it should provide the same programs to the regular students, too. I wish there is a community for international students to gather and contact each other. Then, we would be able to introduce our programs and there could be smooth interactions between Korean and international students.
Kang: HUFS should do research on how other domestic and foreign colleges take care of international students. Whether widening the scale of ISO or making another organization for regular international students, we should take a step for students to have more interactions.

The Argus: What are your future plans for ISO?
Song: I am thinking of programs that would increase Korean and international students’ interactions such as the Buddy Program. Also, I am working hard on attracting Korean students to participate in ISO events, not just foreigners. Korean students are always welcome to ISO events.
Kang: I hope the scale of ISO becomes bigger. Even if you are not an ISO member and you want to have a conversation with a foreigner, come to our room. It is always open, so use us as a connecting bridge.
Cho: I hope ISO becomes an organization where every HUFSsan asks for help, not only international students but also Korean students looking for interactions with foreigners.