Korean Minerva University in the works

A new Korean university will adopt the academic framework of Minerva University, the world's most selective and innovative online school.

Taejae Research Foundation, a nonprofit foundation that funds future governance and city research, said on Wednesday that it plans to open a modern online university called Taejae University in March 2023.

According to the foundation, the Taejae University Preparation Committee is consulting with U.S.-based Minerva University every week to benchmark the elite school's education program which is totally virtual, with opportunities to learn around the world.

Minerva University started as a venture-backed Silicon Valley start-up to revolutionize higher education in 2014.

The university is currently headquartered in California, but has no campus.

While all of its classes are online, students visit seven global cities in person, including Seoul, London, and Hyderabad, India, to take on different projects with the respective cities or companies.

Minerva University has a 1.9 percent acceptance rate, making it the most selective degree program in the world.

Similarly, Taejae University plans to offer students opportunities to study abroad through a hybrid residential model which will provide dormitories all around the world and allow its students to travel and live together while still taking classes online.

Applying various novel technologies, the online classes will take the form of live interactive seminars that center around discussions instead of the traditional lectures by professors.

"We are not going to instill knowledge, but create a school that brings out creative results," said Yeom Jae-ho, a former president of Korea University who is now chairman of the preparation committee for Taejae University.

Taejae University plans to be selective, enrolling only 200 freshmen each year. Half of the students will be international.

Around 40 professors will be hired.

The yearly tuition will be similar to that of the current universities, which is around 10 million won ($8,500), but Taejae University plans to offer scholarships to at least half of its students.

Taejae Research Foundation estimates that a maximum of 300 billion won will be needed to establish Taejae University.

Cho Chang-geol, who is the honorary president of Hanssem, Korea's largest furniture maker, and founder of Taejae Research Foundation, has invested billions of won from his personal funds to the establishment of Taejae University.

"I hope we can build a meaningful school like Carnegie and Rockefeller, which were also established by businessmen," said Cho.

BY NAM GUNG-MIN, LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]