▲ Photo of the Global Expo that was held in front of the CWNU library

The Global Expo, aimed at providing multinational cultural experiences and advertising different programs from the office of International Affairs, was held in front of Changwon University’s library on October 7th. The Global Student Council of 2022 were in charge of this year’s Expo and they ran a booth, advertising the office of International Affairs’ programs. The booths were also run by international students that are from four different countries, Japan, China, Vietnam, and Mongolia, so that Korean students could experience their cultures.

The Global Expo was bustling with people which included not only Changwon University’s Korean students, but also international students, looking to experience new cultures. To showcase their thoughts about the Expo, we had an interview with a Mongolian student.

Q: Please introduce yourself.

A: Hello. My name is Namuun from Mongolia and I’m majoring in the Department of International Relations in Changwon National University. I entered CWNU in 2022.

Q: What made you decide to join the event today?

A: I’ve wanted to introduce Mongolian culture to CWNU students and I had the opportunity to run the Mongolian booth to do so, therefore, I participated in it.

Q: Among the cultural experiences that you showed to other students, do you have any specific components that you want to talk about in particular?

A: In the Mongolian booth, we conducted a traditional game and wrote in the traditional script. In Mongolian, the traditional game is called Shagai and we throw four different sheep bones. If all of the bones are different shapes, it means that you’re lucky. Mongolian traditional letters, called Bichig, had been used for a long time, since Khan’s Era.

Q: If you have any cultural facets that you want to share to explain more about your country, excluding the ones you showed today, can you tell us what they are?

A: I’ve shown people the ones that I’ve always wanted to share today, but there also are lots of parts of the Mongolian culture that I couldn’t express at the Expo. One of them is shaking hands after stepping on someone’s feet. You offer a handshake, meaning, “I’m sorry, I didn’t do that on purpose.” That’s what I also wanted to share with people, but sadly, I couldn't today at the Expo.

Q: Are there any moments that resonated with you during the Expo? If so, why?

A: During Shagai, the traditional Mongolian game, I saw some people who couldn't get four different shapes at all, even though they had tried so hard. Meanwhile, there was a Korean student who just tried it once and got all four different shapes on the first try. I think he’s a lucky person, so we gave him some dairy products. I also did it on the first try, therefore, I would assume that I could happily run the booth during the Expo today.

Q: Do you have anything you want to add?

A: Whenever I meet Korean people, they always ask me, “Do Mongolians actually ride horses in everyday life?” I think it happens because lots of people have this idea that Mongolia is a country that is full of prairies, but I would like to say that’s a kind of misinterpretation about Mongolia. Mongolia also has large cities like Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. Also, we drive cars and have lots of skyscrapers. Therefore, I hope there will be more programs to share multi-cultural experiences in the future.

The Covid pandemic made traveling abroad difficult, ultimately ending up blocking many chances to share intercultural exchanges and experiences. As we embrace the, “With Covid,” attitude and as social distancing policies are being eased, expeditions like the Global Expo provide chances for evoking students’ interest and joy. Through this Expo, many students were able to learn more about other cultures and the programs offered by the Office of International Affairs. The Global Expo, the international culture exchange exhibition on campus, was held with great success.

By Kim Min Seong, cub-reporter

Kim Min Seong, cub-reporter  kms9494274@gmail.com

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