[Meet the President] Korea University's head knows globalization first hand

K-campus

Published: 21 Aug. 2022, 14:00 Updated: 03 Mar. 2023, 17:51

[Meet the President] Korea University's head knows globalization first hand

As head of one of the nation’s top universities, Korea University President Chung Jin-taek strives to create a campus environment where no international student is left out merely because they’re a foreigner – by tackling one convenience at a time. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Sitting in an American classroom nearly 30 years ago, Chung Jin-taek remembers feeling “included.” The language barrier existed, but it didn’t stop him from earning a Ph.D.

“Not once did the professors ask me why I couldn’t speak English,” Chung recalled. “They had so much patience with me and accepted me just the way I was.”

Fast-forward to 2022, Chung, who’s now president of Korea University, wonders why it can’t be the same for international students in a Korean classroom.

“When foreign students come to Korea, they have to put up with so many things besides the language and cultural barriers,” Chung told the Korea JoongAng Daily during a recent interview.

“Some Korean students don’t want to be on the same team as international students for group projects or look down on them if they’re from a poor country.”

At Korea University, these gaps are tackled on multiple fronts, Chung stressed.

“That’s why we founded the Diversity Council in 2019, the first private university in Korea to do so, with a mission to foster a campus culture that respects people from different backgrounds, including foreigners and people with disabilities,” Chung said.

“And that’s why in 2017, we established the Global Services Center, which provides close support to international students all the way from arriving in Korea to receiving the mentoring services they need in school.”

In the interview, conducted by Korea JoongAng Daily CEO Cheong Chul-gun, the Korea University president explained how his school was refusing to rest on its laurels as one of the nation’s top universities and what international students could expect once they enroll.

The following are edited excerpts from the interview.

What’s the biggest strength of Korea University?

Among Korean universities, we have the largest global network. We have partnerships with more than 1,000 universities and organizations from 99 countries, which allows us to send our Korean students to foreign universities as exchange students and, in return, receive foreign students at our school. Five years ago, we had international students from nearly 30 countries come to our school for an undergraduate degree, but today, that figure stands at about 70. We also have the largest summer school and winter school programs in Asia, respectively called the International Summer Campus and International Winter Campus. Foreign students and professors are invited to learn and teach a wide range of English-language courses, with students earning college credits at their home universities. About 2,600 students from nearly 300 universities in 60 countries across the globe attend the programs every year.

Korea University's iconic Main Building [KOREA UNIVERSITY]

What are some benefits offered to international students at Korea University?

In 2017, we established the Global Services Center to more effectively support international students arriving at our school. It helps students with a broad range of matters from offering information about visas to linking them with Korean student-mentors in case they need help with Korean or their studies. We also have scholarships for high-performing international students and those from low-income households.

The SK Future Hall, a Gothic-style building constructed in commemoration of Korea University’s 111th anniversary [KOREA UNIVERSITY]

What’s Korea University’s globalization strategy?

For Korea University, globalization is about laying the groundwork for fostering more talent in high-tech fields, searching for additional ways to invite bright minds from foreign countries, improving our English-language courses, offering well-organized curricula and devising stronger support measures for international students and faculty members. By inviting more foreign students to our school, we hope to increase international exchanges and also export our educational content to other East Asian countries and developing nations. We are in the works of partnering with foreign universities to design dual degree programs and establish a “global college.”

The π-Ville 99, where students are encouraged to conduct creative group projects in studios made out of shipping containers [KOREA UNIVERSITY]

Are there any difficulties in pursuing globalization?

When it comes to globalization, I think all Korean universities were severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two and a half years. Student exchanges were greatly restricted, especially during 2020, the first year of the pandemic, when many international students who had planned to study at a Korean university for a degree or come for an exchange program either chose to take a leave of absence, postpone their plans or scrap their decision to come to Korea altogether. Overall, we’re trying to improve our services for international students on our journey to create a genuinely globalized campus. Some of our administrative workers aren’t comfortable using English, which makes it difficult for international students when they receive emails they can’t understand. And not all international students are comfortable with English. When they can’t speak Korean either, communication between professors can get really tough. We try to solve these problems by thinking from international students’ perspectives and figuring out what they need to better adjust to their Korean school lives.

The Korean Studies Hall, which houses Korean studies research centers [KOREA UNIVERSITY]

Discussion about establishing a government agency dedicated to immigration is resurfacing in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration to address Korea’s population decline. One of the key ideas seems to be inviting more foreign talent. What role do you think Korean universities have in this particular mission?

I think Korean universities must closely cooperate with the government in granting admission to high-performing foreigners and fostering them in a way that could help Korea become a more developed country. As Korea’s population continues to drop, numerous Korean universities face the risk of shutting down. A loss of competitiveness in the nation’s higher education system will lead to a loss of national competitiveness, which inevitably would trigger a national crisis.

The lobby of the Centennial Memorial Samsung Hall, which features numbers that symbolize monumental dates in the school’s 117-year history [KOREA UNIVERSITY]

What advice do you have for foreigners hoping to study in Korea one day?

In the past, students who wished to study abroad used to go to the United States or Europe. Korea wasn’t on the list. But not anymore. Korea has such a rich history. It’s geopolitically located between major countries, and in a short period of time, it went from a poor country that received help from the international community to a developed country that now gives help to others. It’s a dynamic country and a cultural powerhouse best known for K-pop and K-dramas. I think it’s a great country to study in and take on new challenges. I always tell my Korean students to explore new opportunities through extracurricular activities. Students who were raised in a wealthy environment can learn so much from traveling to a developing country or even traveling to Korean rural areas. It’s through those experiences that they learn something, map out their futures and think of ways to achieve their new goals. So what if you’re studying mechanical engineering? You have to have a vision as to how you’re going to make use of your mechanical engineering knowledge. I would like to tell prospective international students the same thing: Challenge yourself in Korea!

An international student flaunts her traditional attire during a fashion show last May held as part of the school’s annual International Students’ Festival [YONHAP]

President’s bio

Chung Jin-taek is the 20th president of Korea University. His four-year term began in March 2019. He has taught mechanical engineering at the school since 1993.

Chung serves as the president of the Korean Association of Private University Presidents, the Seoul City-University Campus Town Policy Council and the Korea University Sport Federation. He is also the vice president of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea and the Korean Council for University Education.

Chung earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Korea University and a Ph.D. in the same field from the University of Minnesota.

About the university

Name
Korea University

Type
Private

Established
1905

English motto
Liberty, Justice, Truth

Location
Seoul Campus: Seongbuk District, central Seoul
Sejong Campus: Sejong

Campus size
1,465,299 square meters (362.08 acres)

Undergraduate colleges and departments
Colleges: 17
Schools and departments: 110

Graduate schools
23

Students (2022)
Undergraduates: 19,598
Postgraduates: 9,847
Total: 29,445

Academic staff (2022)
3,683

Administrative staff (2022)
1,150

Employment rate (2021)
68.1 percent (Seoul Campus 71.6 percent)

English website
www.korea.edu/mbshome/mbs/en/index.do

International students

Number of students (2021)
Undergraduates: 2,155
Postgraduates: 702
Short-term students (language learning, exchange program, etc.): 1,261
Total: 4,118

By country (2021)
China 54.91 percent
United States 4.9 percent
Japan 4.1 percent
Other 36.09 percent (about 120 countries)

Department with the most international students (2022)
Business School

Dormitory acceptance rate (2022)
10.3 percent

Average tuition of self-funded undergraduate students per semester (2022)
4.38 million won ($3,330)

Instagram for international students
@ku_kuisa

Instagram for foreign exchange students
@koreauniv_kuba_official

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]