[Meet the President] Sejong University takes the barrier away from language

K-campus

Published: 28 Mar. 2023, 11:14 Updated: 28 Mar. 2023, 11:22

[Meet the President] Sejong University takes the barrier away from language

At Sejong University, English-language academic programs are provided in a wide range of fields including business, hospitality and tourism, computer engineering, applied music and public administration, said Bae Deg-hyo, the school’s president. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Of all the things international students worry about regarding college life in Korea, Sejong University tries to eliminate one big one: Korean.

While many universities only go so far as to provide some English-language courses within departments predominantly run in Korean, Sejong allows international students to choose between a Korean and English track in more than 10 academic programs, including the school’s most popular field of hospitality and tourism management.

“It’s about half and half,” said Bae Deg-hyo, Sejong’s president. “Half the international students choose the English track, while the other half choose the Korean. We plan on expanding the availability of English tracks to other fields as much as possible.”

The Korea JoongAng Daily recently sat down with Bae in his office in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, to discuss how Sejong University tries to attract more international students to the campus and the various benefits offered to them once they enroll.

The following are excerpts from that conversation.

Q. How would you introduce Sejong University to prospective international students?
A. Sejong University was founded in 1940 in the heart of Seoul, and today is home to more than 2,600 international students from nearly 60 different countries. It ranked 79th on the QS Asia University Rankings 2023 and came within the 251-300 range on the Times Higher Education [THE] World University Rankings 2023. In the THE rankings, it was eighth among Korean universities. Sejong University has 12 different English-language tracks — six at the undergraduate level and six at the postgraduate level.

Sejong University’s campus in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul [SEJONG UNIVERSITY]

Can you elaborate on the English-language tracks? Can they only be participated in by international students? And who teaches the courses, Korean professors?
The six programs at the undergraduate level are Global Business Administration, Global Public Administration, Global Hospitality and Tourism Management, Global Computer Engineering, Global Media and Communication, and Global Applied Music. At the postgraduate level, we have Global Hospitality and Tourism Management, the Sejong Natural Sciences and Engineering Graduate Program, Global Business MBA, Master of Global Affairs, Master of Public Administration, and the SAS MBA. Only international students can enroll in the English-track programs, though Korean students can individually sign up for some classes. The classes are taught by Korean professors who studied abroad or foreign professors invited from overseas.

Students in the College of Hospitality and Tourism during training [SEJONG UNIVERSITY]

I’ve noticed that the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management has the most international students at the undergraduate level.
We offer the finest hospitality program in the country. In fact, we ranked 48th on the hospitality and leisure management list on the QS World University Rankings 2022, which was the best ranking in Korea. Sejong University has signed memoranda of understanding with nearly 70 companies, through which we offer training and internship opportunities to our students. Even international students can join, like how a Vietnamese student was once sent to work at a hotel in Saipan. Graduates go on to work in tourism-related government agencies or hotels, airlines and resorts. We’re also really big on engineering and fields related to the fourth industrial revolution. In fact, 70 percent of our entire student body either studies science or engineering.

What are some famous departments in the science and engineering fields at Sejong University?
We established the Department of Semiconductor Systems Engineering this year with the hopes of becoming Korea’s best in the field within the next decade. Our College of Software Convergence is pretty well-known, too. We ranked fourth place in computer science among Korean universities on the THE World University Rankings 2020, and fourth place in computer science on the 2019 JoongAng Ilbo college rankings.

Students in the Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials Engineering Department researching “maskless lithography” [SEJONG UNIVERSITY]

What’s Sejong University’s globalization strategy?
We plan to create two schools on campus solely for international students next year and attract more visiting students from European countries such as France and Germany. We also hope to expand our English-track programs and create Sejong branches across the world.

What do you mean by branches? Like satellite campuses?
Right before Covid, we were planning to establish a franchise university in Uzbekistan with majors specializing in computer science and hospitality and tourism, but the pandemic halted everything. We’re going to have to decide whether to resume the project or not.

Fabrizio Ferrari, an Italian Michelin-starred chef, teaches food service management at Sejong University’s culinary school, known as the Sejong Culinary Institute of Asia. [SEJONG UNIVERSITY]

What benefits are offered to international students at Sejong University?
We opened a one-stop service center in March 2022 to provide various services on courses, living and employment. By 2024, we plan on digitalizing our services and providing them in several different languages. Sejong University also respects religious diversity and was the first Korean university to provide a prayer room for Muslim students on campus about a decade ago. At our family-type dorm rooms, Muslim students are provided with a separate residential area, like a home with two or three rooms, where they can eat and pray with fellow Muslims.

The university’s front gate, which faces Seoul Children’s Grand Park [SEJONG UNIVERSITY]

What is Sejong University’s development plan?
Universities have a mission to create new knowledge and foster talents in the fields of the fourth industrial revolution. In that sense, Sejong University has been trying to play its role by requiring all freshmen to take coding courses and fostering talents in the areas of semiconductors, nuclear engineering, AI, biological science, batteries and the internet. Going forward, we plan to provide innovative education and conduct groundbreaking research, cooperate with local society and increase exchanges with foreign universities and industries to become one of the world’s top 100 universities by 2030.

The AI COLLABO LAB, where Sejong students gather for collaborative work [SEJONG UNIVERSITY]

What advice do you have for prospective international students?
You will be guaranteed a successful career if you choose to study in Korea, the fastest-changing country in the world that’s at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution. To make it the best four years of your life, do a lot of research on the university you want to go to, such as curricula, scholarships and the career paths of graduates. Most importantly, be healthy! Good health and a positive, open mindset are essential for studying abroad. I hope Sejong University can help you in your new journey.

President’s bio

Bae Deg-hyo is the 13th president of Sejong University and is now serving his second three-year term. His first term began in July 2018. He has served as a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the university since 2001.

On campus, he formerly was the dean of the Sejong University Graduate School. Off campus, he is currently chairman of the Presidential Water Commission and director of the Korea Water Forum. He previously was president of the Korea Water Resources Association and a member of the National Water Resources Management Board in the Ministry of Environment.

Bae earned his bachelor’s in civil engineering at Yonsei University and his master’s and Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Iowa.

About the university

Name
Sejong University

Type
Private

Established
May 1940

English slogan
A global prestigious university leading the era of creative convergence

Location
Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul

Campus size
101,062 square meters (24.97 acres)

Undergraduate colleges and departments
Colleges: 11
Schools and departments: 57

Graduate schools
7

Students (2022)
Undergraduates: 11,688
Postgraduates: 2,914
Total: 14,602

Full-time academic staff (2021)
550

Administrative staff (2022)
289

Employment rate (2021)
67.8 percent

English website
en.sejong.ac.kr/eng/index.do

Instagram
@sejong_univ

International students

Number of students (2022)
Undergraduates: 1,009
Postgraduates: 1,001
Short-term students (language learning, exchange program, etc.): 628
Total: 2,638

By country
China 44.2 percent
Vietnam 12.58 percent
Uzbekistan 11.33 percent
Other 31.88 percent (56 countries and Hong Kong)

Department with the most international students (2022)
Undergraduate level: Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Graduate level: Department of Music

Dormitory acceptance rate (2022)
About 16 percent

Average tuition of self-funded undergraduate students (2022)
4.46 million won ($3,400)

Average tuition of self-funded undergraduate students after factoring in scholarships (2022)
3.17 million won

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