On February 19, 2021 (Fri.), HUFS and the Yunus Emre Institute Turkish Cultural Center in Seoul (Director Oh Jong-Jin) held an orientation session for HUFS students leaving for their internships with the government of Turkey. At the orientation session, whose participants were reduced to a strict minimum in compliance with the COVID-19 precautionary regulations, four HUFS students chosen for internships with the Turkish government were awarded a certificate of internship appointment.

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his internship program is the first of its kind and is offered as part of the Turkish-Korean Internship Program (TKIP) launched in 2019 under the sponsorship of the Yunus Emre Institute Turkish Cultural Center in Seoul. This HUFS internship program with the Turkish government will be managed by the HUFS Career Development Center and HUFS Center for the Promotion of Critical Foreign Language Education.

From the Turkish side, TKIP is operated by the Turkish Embassy in Seoul, flag carrier Turkish Airlines, and the Yunus Emre Institute Turkish Cultural Center operated by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The student interns will be sent to work for different Turkish government agencies for five months. For the success of the internship program, the Turkish government will support the costs related to accommodation, meals, round-trip flight, and additional costs incurred during the students’ stay.

The HUFS student interns will work for the City Hall of Bursa, Bursa Provincial Culture and Tourism Directorate, and Bursa Office of Urban Development. In addition, under the support of the HUFS Center for the Promotion of Critical Foreign Language Education, they will conduct research in Turkey to create their own glossary of practical Turkish workplace vocabulary at their internship site and compile them into a Turkish internship guidebook.

Oh Jong Jin, Director of the Yunus Emre Institute Turkish Cultural Center, said, “We have prepared TKIP to help Korean young students majoring in Turkish studies better understand and experience Turkey first hand. As this program has been prepared despite COVID-19 constraints, our priority during the program will be the health and safety of the students.”