Seoul National University Social Responsibility (SNUSR) runs a range of social responsibility programs to encourage SNU students to engage in community service both locally and internationally. Of these initiatives, the Global SNUSR Corps is especially highly regarded in the student community.

Established in 2013, the Global SNUSR Corps is an international program through which students travel to developing countries to participate in social responsibility work. The volunteer work runs twice a year, once during the summer vacation and once during the winter. Each time, participants of the program visit different countries. Destination countries are chosen after careful evaluation of the current social conditions and the roles that the Global SNUSR Corps can play when they visit.

The Global SNUSR Corps during the program in Indonesia

This summer, volunteers visited Indonesia. Through communication with Indonesian university students, the SNU volunteers selected education and cultural exchange as their two focus areas. On education, the SNU volunteers decided to design an education program for unemployed youth. The program aimed to provide the Indonesian youth participants with basic knowledge in disciplines they could develop afterward to increase employment prospects in Korea. The volunteers prepared classes in four subjects: Basic Korean, EPS TOPIK, Korean for the Tourism Industry, and Digital Business. Classes were tailored to meet the specific needs of the participants, as gleaned from online meetings with the Indonesian university students. After a planning process that included feedback sessions and observations of current local Indonesian classes teaching Korean and Business, the volunteers simulated their lessons to SNU and Indonesian university professors.

The volunteers adopted a similar process when planning the activities for the cultural exchange program, which included choir and K-pop dance performances to share Korea’s popular culture with the Indonesian participants. The Korean volunteers and Indonesian participants also staged joint choir performances. Participants sang Korean and Indonesian songs to encourage direct cultural interactions through learning the other country’s language and the meaning and cultural background of the lyrics.

The 2023 Summer Indonesian Global SNUSR Corps Participants

The Indonesian Global SNUSR Corps team traveled to Indonesia on July 29 to teach the lessons and present the performances they had planned for two months. Kim Seoeun, a volunteer from the Department of Mathematics Education, said that she felt proud after seeing the smiles on the participants’ faces and learned the joy of sharing knowledge with others.

Applications for the Winter 2023 Global SNUSR Corps will open on September 25. Not only will students gain an opportunity to visit a country with a different culture from Korea, but they will also be able to develop leadership and collaborative skills while engaging in community service. “With the various activities that you get to experience, there is never a dull moment,” said Choi Minjae, a student of the Department of Biosystems and Biomaterials Science and Engineering who participated in this summer’s Indonesian Global SNUSR Corps.

Aside from the Global SNUSR programs, SNUSR also offers a range of programs that aim to engage SNU students in community service. Outreach mentoring programs and the SHANUM Multicultural Society for Social Responsibility are some of the platforms open to student participation. More information can be found on the official website of SNUSR.

Written by Yeryoung Lee, SNU English Editor, yeryounglee@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Professor Jiewuh Song, Department of Political Science and International Relations, jiewuh@snu.ac.kr