Programs abroad blend community service with Korean-language lessons, K-pop and taekwondo Hoseo University students pose for a photo with Vietnamese children after a taekwondo class during the university's community service visit to the Southeast Asian country between June 27 and Monday. (Hoseo University) Overseas volunteer programs at South Korean universities are pushing a stronger focus on cultural exchange, with students teaching Korean language, food, dance and martial arts alongside more conventional community service.Students and faculty members from Hoseo University visited Dong Nai Technology University in Vietnam from June 27 to Monday for what the Korean university called a “culture-centric volunteer program,” Hoseo said Monday.The program included hygiene, health and environmental education for local children, but much of the visit centered on cultural exchange.Participants taught Korean language and traditional crafts, while local children joined activities involving K-pop, Korean food and taekwondo.“At first, I thought we had come to share what we had, but I ended up learning even more from the local students’ bright smiles and warm hearts,” said Shin Min-ha, a Hoseo University student.Another 28 students and faculty members from the University of Seoul traveled to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for the university’s global summer volunteer camp.Organized with the Bishkek Korean Education Center, the program brought together about 110 local children, including around 60 Koryoin, or ethnic Koreans from the former Soviet Union.The university said participants spent three months preparing Korean-language lessons, taekwondo classes, K-pop dance and cheerleading activities. Kyrgyz children perform a K-pop dance after learning dance moves from University of Seoul students during their volunteer visit to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, between July 6 and Monday. (Bishkek Korean Education Center). Exchange goes both waysUniversities and volunteer groups say the growing emphasis on cultural exchange helps Korean students develop a better understanding of other societies while strengthening ties with local communities.“This form of overseas volunteering allows students to understand diverse cultures and cultivate global awareness and a sense of community,” a Hoseo University official told The Korea Herald.Kim Han-beom, a sports science professor at Hankyong National University who has studied sports-based exchange programs, said such activities can improve multicultural sensitivity and intercultural communication skills.Volunteer coordinators say those changes can emerge even during relatively short visits.“We see students develop a deeper understanding of other cultures within a short period of time,” Kang Shin-eun, an official at the Korean University Council for Social Service, told The Korea Herald.“Simply traveling to and living in another country is already an experience of another culture, but students build a stronger cultural foundation when they participate in exchange activities,” she said.Kang described the programs as a form of “civic diplomacy,” with students acting as informal representatives of Korea.“Interest in Korean culture is continuing to grow around the world, and the government is also seeking to promote it,” she said. “This type of volunteer activity can contribute to spreading Korean culture and improving perceptions of Korea.”Hoseo University said it had expanded culture-based volunteer activities in response to growing overseas interest in Korean cultural content.“Universities are helping introduce Korea’s culture and values, strengthen friendly relations and lay the groundwork for international cooperation in which communities grow together through culture,” the university official said.The Pacific Asia Society, a private volunteer organization that coordinated Hoseo’s visit to Vietnam, described the program as one of its flagship initiatives. It said the project was intended to foster a global outlook and nurture students capable of taking a larger role in the international community.