International students from various countries at Pusan National University (PNU) will join a festival to exchange culture and build friendships.

On November 23rd, PNU International will hold the “2023 We are ONE Festival” in the auditorium at the Student Union Building. Initiated in 2009 with the goal of fostering unity among international students, this year’s festival will feature a program including a congratulatory speech from PNU President Cha Jeong-In, talent shows, performances, lucky draws, and an award ceremony.

The highlight of the event, the talent show, will show performances by students from diverse countries. Ten teams of international students from countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Mongolia, India, China, France, and others passed auditions before the festival. They will present traditional dances, instrumental performances, and K-pop dances and songs. The talent show has two parts and five teams perform in each part.

The talent show performances will be evaluated by judges. The winning teams will receive cash prizes and certificates, with the grand prize of 1,000,000 won (1 team), the outstanding prize of 700,000 won (1 team), the excellence prize of 500,000 won (2 teams), and the encouragement prize of 300,000 won (6 teams). Judges for evaluating the show will include Yi Moon-Suk (Dean, PNU International), Lee Sun-Jin (Associate Dean, PNU International), and Jeong Bong-Koo (Director, PNU International). The evaluation criteria includes cultural representation, educational value, creativity, audience response, and college spirit.

The festival is open to all members of PNU. Performances by UCDC, the PNU central dance club, are also arranged to promote interaction between Korean and international students. Yang Hye-Jung (Manager, Division of International Cooperation) said, “Although it is an event for international students, it is open to all members of PNU. I hope it becomes an opportunity for everyone to enjoy the performances prepared by students who worked hard.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the “We are ONE Festival” had been conducted in a hybrid format of both in-person and online events for three years. Last year, it returned to an in-person form, gaining positive responses from international students.

Reporter Lee Soo-Hyun

Translated by Lee Soo-Hyun