The "young bridges" of Vietnam

Le Thi Thuy Linh and Nghiem Phuong Dung (1st and 2nd from left) with students at the Wooduk global scholarship award ceremony 2025

Among the Vietnamese students receiving the Wooduk scholarship in 2025, Nghiem Phuong Dung, a second-year student majoring in Business Administration at Seoul National University of Science and Technology (SeoulTech), impressed with the way she spread the image of Vietnam with her unceasing enthusiasm. The girl from Thai Nguyen always maintained excellent academic performance (4.12/4.5 cumulative GPA, two consecutive semesters receiving full scholarship from the school).

Since October 2022, just 1 month after arriving in Korea, Phuong Dung has actively participated in the activities of the Vietnamese Student Association in Korea (VSAK) and quickly became a dynamic face in nearly 30 large and small events, from the Vietnamese Student Sports Festival in Korea (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) to the Young Scientists Conference (2022, 2024, 2025). With such persistent contributions, Phuong Dung was awarded a certificate of merit by the Vietnamese Embassy in Korea for her outstanding achievements in association work and student movements in the 2024-2025 school year.

In addition to sports and academic activities, Phuong Dung also actively participates in cultural and artistic exchange activities. She and a group of students organized the Vietnamese Cultural Experience program at SeoulTech, aiming to introduce the beauty of Vietnamese culture, cuisine , costumes and traditions to international friends, contributing to enhancing understanding and friendship between Vietnamese students and international students, especially Korean students.

In the future, Phuong Dung hopes to participate in and develop more cultural, artistic and educational exchange activities between Vietnam and Korea, especially programs aimed at young students who will continue to write the story of friendship, connection and development between the two countries.

Le Thi Thuy Linh (21 years old, 2nd year student majoring in Communication at Chonnam National University), has had an emotional journey of overcoming herself. From an introverted, shy girl when she set foot in Gwangju province, the student from Lam Dong province who used to cry a lot has become a resilient person, daring to think, daring to do and constantly moving forward. Having just achieved an excellent average score (4.295/4.5) and the school's Excellent Student scholarship, Thuy Linh has actively participated in extracurricular activities and become a core member representing Vietnamese students as an international cultural bridge in Gwangju province; Member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnamese Student Association at Chonnam National University...

But what makes Linh most proud are the days of cooking and taking care of the elderly at the Ochi - Gwangju General Social Welfare Center, or cleaning at the Elderly Care Center. Conversations in her still-clumsy Korean gradually turned into beautiful connections. Linh also participated in cultural events of the Vietnamese international student community, from the Tet fair to the Vietnamese Student Sports Festival in Korea.

Every challenge Thuy Linh has gone through has helped her grow up and appreciate her study abroad journey more. Now, the shy girl shares her desire to become a linguistic and cultural bridge between Vietnam and Korea, through studying well in the field of communications and foreign languages, so that she can later work as an interpreter, PR specialist, and open a Korean language center in Vietnam.

The Wooduk Global Scholarship is named after the founder of hy-Paldo Group, businessman Yoon Duk Byung, who always believed that education is the most sustainable way to build friendship between countries. The fund's chairman, Mr. Lee Jung Yeol, shared: The Wooduk Global Scholarship Fund not only provides financial support but also encourages students to become "friendship bridges" between Vietnam, Korea and Uzbekistan.

The presence of dynamic, creative and integrated Vietnamese students is spreading a new image of Vietnam in the eyes of international friends: modern, open and compassionate. In the context of increasingly deep educational cooperation and people-to-people exchange between the two countries, with more than 350,000 Vietnamese people living in Korea, “young bridges” like Phuong Dung and Thuy Linh contribute to enriching the relationship between the two countries with their beautiful journeys.

XUAN HANH

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nhung-nhip-cau-tre-cua-tinh-huu-nghi-viet-han-post822553.html