GWANGJU — Dongkang College is broadening its support for foreign students adjusting to life in South Korea, offering practical help that ranges from traffic safety education to obtaining a Korean driver's license. The aim is to make campus life safer while helping the students settle into the surrounding community.
The college's International Student Support Center recently signed an agreement with the Jeonnam Driver's License Examination Office of the Korea Road Traffic Authority to support traffic safety for foreign students, Dongkang College said on the 12th. The signing took place at Jangwon Hall on the first floor of the main building. Dongkang College President Lee Min-sook and Nam Gung-heon, head of the Jeonnam Driver's License Examination Office, attended the ceremony along with other officials.
The agreement is intended to prevent unlicensed driving among foreign students and to improve their understanding of Korean traffic laws. The central goal is to help students who struggle with unfamiliar driving customs and language barriers adapt more safely and securely to life in Korea.
Dongkang College plans to work with the examination office on traffic law classes for international students, guidance on license application procedures and administrative assistance. The college said it will focus on reducing the language and procedural hurdles that can arise during the licensing process, supporting both daily convenience and settlement in the region.
Dongkang College welcomed 230 foreign students this fall semester. On Sept. 1, the International Student Support Center held an entrance ceremony for the September 2026 semester at Nightingale Hall on the fifth floor of the main building to mark the new students' arrival. Nine students enrolled in the Korean Language Institute, a Korean-language training program. The exchange student program drew five students in the AI Future Automotive Department and two in the Global Korean Language Department.
Degree programs admitted 106 students in the AI Future Automotive Department, 25 in the K-Beauty Art Department, 16 in the Global Business Department, 33 in the Global Food Service, Culinary Arts and Baking Department and 10 in the Global Korean Language Department.
"We will expand our support so that foreign students can settle in comfortably, not only in their studies but across all aspects of daily life," a Dongkang College official said. "We expect that traffic safety education and help with obtaining licenses will also aid their settlement in the local community."