Students from Busan, South Korea, visit the Provincial Capitol as part of their internship program in Cebu.
CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA
Internship program
Students from Busan, South Korea, are here in Cebu for a four-day internship program and an exchange program with its sister province Cebu.
Alok Roy, secretary general of Busan Foundation for International Cooperation, said they selected 10 students from Pukyeong National University in Busan to visit Cebu and exchange ideas with the Cebuano working community.
“We want the youth to interact. We should have the feel of the world before they join a permanent job of their liking, and this program intends to do so. They should have a feel of things people are doing in other parts of the world, especially in Cebu who is so close to us,” Roy said.
Busan is a sister province of Cebu through a bilateral agreement signed by the provincial government of Cebu and Busan City government in 2011.
Mark Tolentino, provincial administrator, said that the students will be assigned to work at the Cebu Provincial Capitol during their internship period.
“Students will enjoy and learn. They will also do office works and they will have their training,” he said.
“They are very eager to reciprocate the generosity they have shown us. A lot of Cebuanos have been to Busan already throughout the years because of our sisterhood agreement with Busan. We have visited Busan upon their invitation. It is about time that kita nasay mang-invite nila aron mapakita pud sa ila atong culture and weather diri (It is about time for us to invite them to experience our culture and weather here),” he said.
“We begin to appreciate Korean cultures, and they also begin to appreciate Filipino culture. Hopefully, from friendship we gain better understanding and more venues in moving forward,” he said.
Jeong-eun Eo, one of the Korean visitors, said “I am excited to be here. We are looking forward for a great experience as well as cultural exchange experience between Cebu and South Korea.”
The internship program is designed for Korean students to be globally competitive, and it is funded by Busan City government.
“We have many things we can do together. We are just creating a platform. Maybe next time, many youth from Cebu will go to Busan,” Roy said.