On October 1, Hanyang University held the ‘Hanyang Chuseok Festival’ for international students. On top of traditional holiday food and games, this year’s event included booths addressing real concerns of international students such as ‘employment support’ and ‘psychological counseling.’ We spoke to the Head of the International Admissions Office, Kim Hyun-ju, who oversaw the event, about the behind-the-scenes story of giving international students far from home a warm holiday memory.

Kim focused on the fact that “while Korean students eat delicious food to their hearts’ content during holidays, international students often feel lonely with closed restaurants and nowhere to go.” The festival began two years ago with the hope of creating ‘proper memories’ for international students. This year’s event, planned again after two years, held even greater significance.

The event focused on providing ‘practical help’ for international students. Kim said, “We wanted to combine fun and essential services for student life.” This aligns with Hanyang University’s core policy recently recognized in the RISE project by Seoul City: ‘supporting international student employment and settlement.’

The festival featured‘personal color diagnosis’ and ‘employment information' booths, with companies like Nongshim and Ottogi sponsoring and beginning networking with international students. Kim added, “Corporate sponsorship goes beyond providing goods; it’s the start of networking to connect outstanding international student talents to future employment.”

One of the highlighted booths was the ‘mental health check counseling.’ International student specialist counselors affiliated with the international office checked students’ emotional states. Kim said, “We prepared four emotion panels—‘joy,’ ‘sadness,’ ‘anger,’ and ‘fatigue.’ We expected ‘joy’ to be highest but also predicted ‘fatigue’ would rank second due to hardships of studying abroad, which surprisingly matched the results.

Counselors engaged with students through ‘emotion cards’ and referred those psychologically at risk or needing help to counseling programs. Kim said, “It was rewarding to provide a helpful day for tired students and receive feedback expressing pride as Hanyang University students.”

The performance was carefully planned. Instead of the usual Samulnori, ‘traditional circus’ added fun. Kim highlighted the ‘fusion traditional Korean music’ team, saying “Hanyang University traditional music students and a pianist performed in hanbok, embracing the Chuseok mood.”

The K-pop idol group ‘KIRAS’ performed at the event is a multinational girl group. Kim shared, “With a Malaysian member present, Malaysian students showed especially enthusiastic reactions.”

The event reflected‘solid internationalization’ philosophy of Hanyang University. Kim proudly noted, “In a recent South American international student meeting, students from other universities said ‘Hanyang University is the most enviable.’ Only a number of universities have so many practical programs for international students.”

Kim emphasized the need for a shift in perspective: “International students should be seen not as outsiders, but as same‘members of Hanyang’like any other students. Professors, staff, and Korean students’ warm welcome will help international students naturally blend into campus life.” She added, “Creating a harmonious Hanyang community is our goal.”

Based on this event, the international office plans to strengthen employment support programs next year with ‘AI interview booths’ and ‘profile photo shoots.’ Furthermore, they aim to activate the international alumni network comprised of 13,000 members to continue supporting current students’ social advancement after graduation.