[Meet the President] Sungshin Women's University goes beyond gender, national boundaries

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[Meet the President] Sungshin Women's University goes beyond gender, national boundaries

Yi Seong-keun, president of Sungshin Women’s University, says there’s no special merit in attending a women’s university — because at Sungshin, no student is defined as just a “female” student. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Yi Seong-keun, president of Sungshin Women’s University, says there’s no special merit in attending a women’s university — because at Sungshin, no student is defined as just a “female” student. [PARK SANG-MOON]

What’s the biggest merit of attending a women’s university? There are none — at least not at Sungshin Women’s University.
 
“I never call my students ‘female students,’” said Yi Seong-keun, the school’s president. “That’s one of my biggest principles, to never draw lines between girls and boys. Sungshin Women’s University is just a university, not a women’s university, and I tell that to the students here all the time, that they’re not just competing against students of Ewha Womans University or Sookmyung Women’s University.”
 
“They’re competing against everyone,” Yi stressed.
 
Yi recently sat down with the Korea JoongAng Daily to discuss how he was trying to push boundaries at Sungshin Women’s University and how the school's Department of Beauty Industry became the most popular field of study among international students on campus.
 
The following are edited excerpts from that conversation.
 
The Art Gallery within the Sungshin Women's University Museum, which features various exhibitions and artworks [SUNGSHIN WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY]

The Art Gallery within the Sungshin Women's University Museum, which features various exhibitions and artworks [SUNGSHIN WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY]

Q. How would you introduce Sungshin Women’s University to prospective international students?
A. Sungshin Women’s University has two campuses in the heart of Seoul. It ranked within the 591 to 600 range on the QS World University Rankings 2023, and it is home to over 600 international students from more than 25 countries across the globe. Next year, we’re thinking about establishing a school solely attended by international students. Some say we should create departments on Korean culture or the beauty industry, either what Korea or our university is best known for. But I don’t agree. Particularly with K-culture, it’s surely something that attracts international students to Korea in the first place, but when we think about it in the long run, I don’t necessarily think it can be a degree that students can utilize to build a life plan with once they graduate from college. So I’m thinking more about science and technology, fields in which women — even though I don’t like using that word — haven’t made as many breakthroughs compared to their male counterparts.
 
What are some strengths of Sungshin Women’s University that you’d like to promote to international students?
For the past eight consecutive years, we received the Education Ministry’s International Education Quality Assurance System (IEQAS) recognition, which is designated to universities with the best management skills of international students. On top of that, we were also chosen as a so-called “excellent accredited university” by the same grading system, an honor that was bestowed upon only nine general universities across the nation this year. We received top scores on our educational globalization strategy, international exchanges as well as academic programs and support for international students, among other indicators. We also have joint degree programs with several Chinese universities.
 
The Department of Beauty Industry, which is attended by the highest number of international students at Sungshin Women’s University [SUNGSHIN WOMEN’S UNIVERSITY]

The Department of Beauty Industry, which is attended by the highest number of international students at Sungshin Women’s University [SUNGSHIN WOMEN’S UNIVERSITY]

What do you mean by joint degree programs?
Students from four universities in China come to our school to, say, study for two years here after completing two years at their home universities. Some come to study for only one year. We have Chinese students arriving from Sandong Youth University of Political Science, Shanghai Art & Design Academy, Hebei University of Science and Technology and Zhejiang Fashion Institute of Technology. By the time they finish their four years of study, they graduate with two degrees — one from their Chinese home university and one from Sungshin Women’s University. It’s part of a program run by the Chinese government. We started with only one Chinese university, and now we’re at four. We plan to cooperate with other Chinese universities, too, going forward.
 
The Department of Fashion Industry [SUNGSHIN WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY]

The Department of Fashion Industry [SUNGSHIN WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY]

I’ve noticed that the Department of Beauty Industry has the most international students at Sungshin Women’s University. Would it be safe to say that students here learn about K-beauty?
Our Beauty Industry Department is a bit different from the beauty-related departments of other universities. Unlike most other universities that only teach students how to apply makeup, we teach everything from how to make cosmetic products. We have many students from China, Mongolia and Uzbekistan. A university in Vietnam recently reached out to us with a joint degree program offer, so our chief of international affairs will soon be heading to Vietnam to discuss the plan.
 
An on-campus fashion show displaying the senior projects of students in the Fashion Industry Department [SUNGSHIN WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY]

An on-campus fashion show displaying the senior projects of students in the Fashion Industry Department [SUNGSHIN WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY]

What benefits are offered to international students at Sungshin Women’s University?
We provide merit-based scholarships to international students based on outstanding achievement in academics and on the TOPIK [Test of Proficiency in Korean]. There are also scholarships for international students from low-income families, and even the so-called Global Plus Scholarship, which is offered to international students who help out with on-campus administrative work related to international exchanges. Other than that, we have one-on-one buddy programs, provide one free medical checkup opportunity and sponsor the fee for one TOPIK exam for each international student every year. Those who are interested in learning more about Korean culture, history and language but haven’t reached the Korean proficiency level to understand Korean can partake in our numerous elective courses provided in English.
 
The Donam Soojung Campus in Seongbuk District, central Seoul [SUNGSHIN WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY]

The Donam Soojung Campus in Seongbuk District, central Seoul [SUNGSHIN WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY]

What’s your take on women’s universities? Do we need women’s universities?
I think that’s a call for society to make. Educational opportunities used to be predominantly provided to men, which is why women’s universities were established — to provide the same opportunities to women. So women’s universities back then completely made sense. But now, it’s not for me to say whether we need or don’t need women’s universities in today’s society, but I think we can determine the fate of our university later one day when society calls on Sungshin Women’s University to change.
 
The Woonjung Green Campus in Mia in Gangbuk District, northern Seoul [SUNGSHIN WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY]

The Woonjung Green Campus in Mia in Gangbuk District, northern Seoul [SUNGSHIN WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY]

What advice do you have for students abroad who are thinking about studying in Korea one day?
Step out of your comfort zone and explore the bigger world! Although Sungshin Women’s University cannot teach everything to young people from across the world, we support continuous learning of new possibilities that enable students to realize their potential. Sungshin Women’s University isn’t just a university in Korea — it’s a university in the international community, and that’s what international students will be a part of once they enroll. So don’t come to Sungshin Women’s University thinking you’re leaving your country to study in Korea. Have a sense of cosmopolitanism and consider the university as an educational environment that will provide you with the academic program you wish to study.
 

President’s bio

Yi Seong-keun is the 12th president of Sungshin Women’s University. His four-year term began in June 2022. He taught business administration at the university from 2004 to 2022.
 
On campus, Yi was the vice president for external affairs and development from 2019 to 2022, and the dean of planning and information from 2017 to 2018. Off campus, he was a computer science and business administration professor at Dongyang Technical College from 1997 to 2004, head of marketing at SK Telecom from 1995 to 1997, an editorial member at Jeil Business News from 1993 to 1995, and a Nielsen researcher in 1989.
 

About the university

 
Name
Sungshin Women’s University
 
Type
Private
 
Established
April 28, 1936
 
English slogan
Bright Sungshin shine on You, You enlighten the World.
 
Location
Donam Soojung Campus: Seongbuk District, central Seoul
Woonjung Green Campus in Mia: Gangbuk District, northern Seoul
 
Campus size
156,419 square meters (38.65 acres)
 
Undergraduate colleges and departments
Colleges: 12
Schools and departments: 48
 
Graduate schools
6
 
Students (2022)
Undergraduates: 8,873
Postgraduates: 834
Total: 9,707
 
Full-time academic staff (2022)
326
 
Administrative staff (2022)
344
 
Employment rate (2022)
61 percent
 
English website
sungshin.ac.kr/main_eng/index.do
 
Instagram
@sungshin.official
 
YouTube
@sungshintube
 
International students
 
Number of students (2023)
Undergraduates: 115
Postgraduates: 207
Short-term students (language learning, exchange program, etc.): 289
Total: 611
 
By country
China 32.9 percent
Mongolia 32.3 percent
Vietnam 17.5 percent
France 5 percent
Japan 4 percent 
Other 8.3 percent (22 countries)
 
Department with the most international students (2022)
Department of Beauty Industry
 
Dormitory acceptance rate (2022)
33.52 percent
 
Average tuition of self-funded undergraduate students per semester (2022)
3.76 million won ($2,900)

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