On May 28, the president of Jeonbuk National University, O-Bong Yang, and his delegation visited Tohoku University and met with President Tominaga.
President Tominaga opened the meeting, which included Vice-President Ueki and Vice-Dean Iwamoto of the Graduate School of Science, thanking Jeonbuk University for its donation to Tohoku University after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. He also noted that Jeonbuk National University was the first in South Korea to sign a university-level academic exchange agreement with Tohoku University, and expressed his happiness that academic exchanges, which had been stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, can be revived again.
President Yang expressed his gratitude to Tohoku University, mentioning the Tohoku University graduates he has met who have contributed to Jeonbuk National University as faculty. He also introduced the South Korean government’s regional revitalization and university internationalization ‘30 Glocal Institutions Initiative’ for which Jeonbuk National University was selected. University reform became the topic of a productive discussion during the meeting.
In the lunch meeting that followed, Vice President Yamaguchi talked about the importance of reviewing study abroad programs between the two universities in order to revitalize international student exchange. He also shared the view that both universities should work together to address issues facing both countries, such as youth population decline.
President Yang and his delegation visited the Institute of Fluid Science and the International Research Institute of Disaster Science. They also took part in a meeting to exchange information about international cooperation, deepening their understanding of Tohoku University.
It is hoped that this visit will lead to increased student and academic exchange between the two universities in the future.
Visiting the Institute of Fluid Science
Visiting the International Research Institute for Disaster Science
A meeting to discuss international collaboration