Prof. Dr. László Trócsányi, rector, invited Ambassador H.E.Mr. Park Chul Min of Korea to visit our university for the first time on 24 May. His Excellency was welcomed at the Károlyi-Csekonics Palace by Prof. Dr. László Trócsányi, Dr. Habil. Géza Horváth, Dean for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and by Dr. Judit Nagy, Vice-Dean for International Affairs at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
In his inaugural speech on 19 February Rector Prof. Dr. László Trócsányi also emphasized that „Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary must be a university that can find a natural harmony between national identity and the universal one. We need to preserve our national identity while being open to the world. We can do that by providing our youth with opportunities to study abroad through university exchanges.”
One of the strategic objectives of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary is the internationalization of the institution. One of the important tools of which it can be reached is to increase the number of exchange students in both directions. During the meeting with the Ambassador, our institution's existing relations with Korea, as well as other potential ways of cooperating, in particular the possibility of establishing a relationship with the Korean Cultural Center and the Korean Trade Office were discussed.
In 2006, the Reformed Church of Hungary signed a twinning agreement with the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) to facilitate the establishment of relations between South Korean and Hungarian Reformed Church at the congregational and diocesan levels.
Our institution's relations with Korea have been developing since 2010. With the cooperation of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PROK) and the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK), our university's scientific cooperation with Korea enhanced resulting in a cooperation agreement between Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary and Hanshin University in 2012. Furthermore, in 2016 a bilateral agreement on the student exchange program was concluded. Since 2014, two other agreements with Handong Global University and Keimyung University have been put into action, which allowed students and teachers to exchange between institutions, participate in joint research activities, organize scientific conferences and joint publication opportunities, and also participate in professional programs organized by partner institutions.
The International Credit Mobility (Erasmus+ KA 107) and the Campus Mundi Scholarship Program have given further incentive to our institution’s Korean relations. In early 2015, Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary signed an agreement with the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea (PROK) for a graduate exchange program, followed with a framework agreement and with an exchange agreement with Baekseok University in 2016, Dongguk University in 2018 and Soongsil University in 2019.
Undergraduate students from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary are required to study another Oriental language in the Japanese and Chinese studies. Among other possibilities, student can choose Korean as a second language. Korean is taught by Pastor Dr. Rev. Kim Seon Koo, who also offers elective courses in Korean history and culture.
A delegation from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences visited South Korea during 2017 Fall to strengthen existing exchange programs and discuss further educational and research collaboration opportunities with Baeksok, Handong, Keimyung and Hanshin Universities and Seoul State University which universities also share Christian background.
