By Jhoo Dong-chan
VLADIVOSTOK — A Russian university has provided a rare opportunity for South and North Korean students to study side by side, which is expected to help boost inter-Korean relations, officials said Thursday.
Lee Se-ung, vice chairman of the National Unification Advisory Council, stressed the importance of student exchanges from both Koreas to Russia during his visit to the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) in Vladivostok, Russia, on Nov. 3.
Lee has funded the Korean Studies program at the school for nearly two decades.
"Our generation has been hostile regarding inter-Korea relations, but young students are different," Lee said in a meeting with the school's Vice President Vladimir Kurilov.
"I understand a lot of North and South Korean students are studying and living together here. Unlike us, I hope they can build friendships."
Lee has helped FEFU invite both South and North Korean scholars to give special lectures on Korean studies, as well as encouraging artist and musician exchanges.
In October 2004, Lee and Kurilov also invited Chung Un-chan, then president of Seoul National University, and the North's Kim Il-sung University President Sung Ja-rip to FEFU's 105th anniversary.
In the following year, the school invited then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as well.
"At first, South Korean students disapproved of North Korean students studying with them on campus," said Kurilov. "Through various events, however, students from both sides have gotten closer and built friendships, studying and hanging around together just like other students do. They even shed tears when they bid farewell after graduation. Inter-Korean tension is not found here."
According to Kurilov, over 1,000 North Korean students have studied at the school, with around 30 currently on campus. Around 2,000 South Korean students have studied there.
"Geopolitical differences may have existed between North and South Korean students but they are the most valuable assets for the future to overcome such gaps," Lee said.
Lee received an honorary doctoral degree in education from FEFU in 1993 and has provided scholarships and research funding for Korean Studies students since 1998.
Coming from one of the hundreds of thousands of families separated during the Korean War, Lee has won many national medals from Russia for his contributions to education in the country and efforts to mediate inter-Korea relations.
He was also nominated for the Pushkin Prize and is now the honorary president of Seoul Cyber University as well.
Established in 1899, FEFU is one of Russia's top-tier universities and also the first Russian university to introduce a Korean Studies program. Under Czar Nicholas II's order, the university established the major in 1900.
There are now a total of 115 students majoring in Korean Studies at FEFU.
VLADIVOSTOK — A Russian university has provided a rare opportunity for South and North Korean students to study side by side, which is expected to help boost inter-Korean relations, officials said Thursday.
Lee Se-ung, vice chairman of the National Unification Advisory Council, stressed the importance of student exchanges from both Koreas to Russia during his visit to the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) in Vladivostok, Russia, on Nov. 3.
Lee has funded the Korean Studies program at the school for nearly two decades.
"Our generation has been hostile regarding inter-Korea relations, but young students are different," Lee said in a meeting with the school's Vice President Vladimir Kurilov.
"I understand a lot of North and South Korean students are studying and living together here. Unlike us, I hope they can build friendships."
Lee has helped FEFU invite both South and North Korean scholars to give special lectures on Korean studies, as well as encouraging artist and musician exchanges.
In October 2004, Lee and Kurilov also invited Chung Un-chan, then president of Seoul National University, and the North's Kim Il-sung University President Sung Ja-rip to FEFU's 105th anniversary.
In the following year, the school invited then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as well.
"At first, South Korean students disapproved of North Korean students studying with them on campus," said Kurilov. "Through various events, however, students from both sides have gotten closer and built friendships, studying and hanging around together just like other students do. They even shed tears when they bid farewell after graduation. Inter-Korean tension is not found here."
According to Kurilov, over 1,000 North Korean students have studied at the school, with around 30 currently on campus. Around 2,000 South Korean students have studied there.
"Geopolitical differences may have existed between North and South Korean students but they are the most valuable assets for the future to overcome such gaps," Lee said.
Lee received an honorary doctoral degree in education from FEFU in 1993 and has provided scholarships and research funding for Korean Studies students since 1998.
Coming from one of the hundreds of thousands of families separated during the Korean War, Lee has won many national medals from Russia for his contributions to education in the country and efforts to mediate inter-Korea relations.
He was also nominated for the Pushkin Prize and is now the honorary president of Seoul Cyber University as well.
Established in 1899, FEFU is one of Russia's top-tier universities and also the first Russian university to introduce a Korean Studies program. Under Czar Nicholas II's order, the university established the major in 1900.
There are now a total of 115 students majoring in Korean Studies at FEFU.
