Welcoming Foreign Students

[Anchor Lead]

The number of foreign students in Korea has surpassed 100,000 for the first time. To cater to the growing number of foreigners, some Korean colleges have opened halal food cafeterias, while others set up prayer rooms on their campuses.

[Pkg]

College students wearing hijabs pick their lunch. The food was made with chicken that was butchered according to Islamic law. In other words, it's halal food. This university began to provide halal food at its cafeteria as the number of its Muslim students exceeded 300.

[Soundbite] Student from Malaysia : "Many dishes are made with ham or meat. We cannot eat that. It's very convenient to have halal food served for us here."

After classes, the Muslim students at this university head to a prayer room. It was set up specifically for them, so that they can comfortably pray here five times a day facing Mecca, the Islamic holy city. More than five universities in Seoul have prayer rooms for Muslim students.

[Soundbite] Student from Saudi Arabia : "I like to pray along with my friends rather than alone."

More and more universities in Korea are trying to lure foreign students, with some even opening on-campus counseling centers for foreigners.

[Soundbite] Lee Ki-jung(International Affairs Dept., Hanyang Univ) : "We believe that we must provide foreign students with help in adapting to life in Korea."

The Education Ministry plans to attract 200,000 foreign students over the next seven years.