Chungcheongnam-do

 Chungnam Province invited four civil servants (three from China and one from Vietnam) from foreign organizations in exchange with it to a six-month in-service training program starting April 26, 2010. The program set out to help them understand Korean culture and Chungnam through an array of activities including Korean study and administrative and cultural experiences.

They studied Korean at a Korean study center for foreigners and systematically learned Korean and Korean culture through Taekwondo and Samulnori. They also had a tour of Asan Plant of Hyundai Automobile, one of the world's largest automakers, and other industrial facilities in the province. They participated in the Boryeong Mud Festival, 2010 Great Baekje World Festival, and other cultural festivals around the province. In addition, they obtained a living knowledge of Korean history and culture by visiting Hyeonchungsa in Asan, Folk Village in Oiam-ri, Independence Memorial Hall in Cheonan, and Tomb of King Muryeong in Gongju.

They also learned the food culture of the Korean people by making such traditional Korean foods as Kimchi and Songpyeon, obtained an understanding and expertise of the province's agricultural business including chrysanthemums and mushrooms, had second-hand experiences of the province's administration being deployed in the department of their choice such as International Cooperation, Culture and Art, and Commercial Support for four weeks, and understood Korean familiar culture during a home stay at a Korean family for one night and two days.

A source from the Chungnam Provincial Office commented, “A total of 24 foreign nationals have completed Chungnam's K2H program from 2004 to 2010. We maintain cooperative relationships with them even after the ending of the in-service training program by sending them the Chungnam Newsletter and inviting them to the province's international events.”

About K2H Program(Korea Heart to Heart)

An in-service training program created by the Governors' Association of Korea (GAOK) to invite civil servants of local governments from all over the world to six-month or one-year service at a Korean administrative agency.