“I’m proud to be a Yonsei-an”

Penglu DENG first came to Korea five years ago with his family. In the freshman year, Penglu faced hardships due to the language barrier and cultural differences, then one of his professors introduced him to Yonsei Chinese Students and Scholars Association (hereinafter Chinese Student Association.) Since then, he has been part of the steering committee and is now serving as the President for the second year since last year.

The Chinese Student Association is the largest foreign student association on campus, representing Yonsei’s Chinese student body numbering about 800 in total. Every year, the Association hosts the “China Day” cultural festival, and organizes events through Daedong Festival as well as special lectures of their own to promote the Chinese culture on campus. In fact, last year’s China Day attracted as many as 800 people, including officials from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Korea, and the Association plans to introduce various kinds of Chinese traditional dishes at the upcoming Daedong festival in May.

While it may seem difficult to manage such organization in a foreign country, Penglu and other staff members claimed “We all work together, and when we cooperate, there is no problem that cannot be solved.”

Penglu, who always tries to bring improvements to the Association, is now filled with excitement over the space recently allocated to the Association on the basement floor of the Student Union Building. Not only will the space be used as a meeting room for the Association but also serve as the stepping stone in promoting international student bodies to the Yonsei community.

Moreover, Penglu said he wants to organize an "International Student Committee" in conjunction with other international student groups on campus.

"Currently, there is only little interaction among international student bodies of different nationality, but I hope to form an “International Student Committee” some day and work together with the University-wide Student Union." Also, Penglu pointed out that, despite the political tensions between China and Korea, we are getting along so well with the Korean students and are very proud to be a Yonsei-an."

Penglu will be graduating soon and leaving the campus but hope to keep his ties with the Yonsei community. Lastly, he truly hopes to see more interactions between Chinese and Korean students.