There is an association of veterinary students consisting of 45 chapters. The South Korea chapter is one of the most active chapters among them and holds various events annually. Jang Hyeon-young(’13, College of Veterinary Medicine) is the president of the South Korea chapter of this association.



Please introduce IVSA to students of other major.

  IVSA stands for International Veterinary Students’ Association and was first established in the 1950s in Europe. Korea entered this association in 2007. The aim of IVSA is to gather veterinary students from the whole world to exchange each other’s cultures and academic information. We choose a country every summer and winter and hold a conference called a general assembly, and we also listen to lectures and have chances of doing veterinary practice. Each country elects its president for a one-year term. There is a representative at each school, and 5 people represent the whole IVSA for South Korea. There are 16 representatives total in Korea.

What is a merit that kept you in IVSA for a long time?

  The College of Veterinary Medicine is somehow an exclusive group in other countries as well as in Korea. Thus, I have met foreign veterinary students and other students from the same major in 10 different Korean schools through this association for 3 years, and we’ve shared our own objectives and plans when we meet. It was attractive for me to meet new people and form a network with others to work together.

Did you ever feel a sense of achievement or frustration?

  We planned and held events last winter and summer in our country. Right after the events, Korean and foreign delegates sent me messages privately saying, “It was the best event ever,” and “I will never forget the days in Korea.” It was the time I felt a sense of achievement the most. The moment I felt frustrated was when the event in Turkey was cancelled last summer. We were done with the selection of Korean delegates and the preparation for the event in advance, but the public security of Turkey got worse and worse, so we decided not to send Koreans to Turkey, and at that time of the cancellation, I felt really sorry and frustrated for the Korean delegates since our efforts came to nothing. However, if we had proceeded to the event by force, people might have been in danger and there might have been an abrupt accident. I think it was the right choice to give up.

How do you feel as you are done with your term? Please give some advice to other students.

  Although I’m done with my term, I expect my successors to lead events well. My activities in IVSA took a huge part of my school life, so I feel sad to leave the association. If you look around you, you may find a variety of international students’ organizations. I recommend you to join one and meet friends and broaden your perspectives.

By Lee Sang-yi l sy36@cbnu.ac.kr
By Hong Ye-ha l yh37@cbnu.ac.kr