[Meet the President] Kangwon National University envisions becoming world-class institution

K-campus

Published: 18 Jun. 2023, 16:00 Updated: 20 Jun. 2023, 15:32

[Meet the President] Kangwon National University envisions becoming world-class institution

Kim Heon-young, president of Kangwon National University, says he sees great potential in the university playing a crucial role when the Koreas reunify. [PARK SANG-MOON]

CHUNCHEON, Gangwon – Being the best university in Gangwon was never enough for Kim Heon-young. The president of Kangwon National University has always aspired for a greater purpose, thinking the school had a bigger role to play.

Located not far from the demilitarized zone, that role had a lot to do with North Korea.

“Kangwon National University envisions itself as the ‘central university of a unified Korea,’” Kim said during a recent interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily. “This vision encapsulates our determination to fulfill our role and responsibilities as the flagship national university of Gangwon, which is the only divided region in our country and the forefront of peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

Much has been planned toward this goal, Kim stressed, and international students are expected to have a crucial part in its realization.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. How would you introduce Kangwon National University to prospective international students?

A. It’s a flagship national university, one of just nine in Korea. It has three campuses across the province of Gangwon, Korea’s only divided region and the last remaining land of opportunity. Here at Kangwon National University, international students enjoy the beautiful nature and study in a pleasant environment. The university holds great academic potential in the fields of climate change, energy and cutting-edge technology. We’re particularly well-known for agriculture and life sciences, as well as forestry.

An aerial view of Kangwon National University’s Chuncheon Campus in Chuncheon, Gangwon [KANGWON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY]

What are some strengths of Kangwon National University?

As the central university of a unified Korea, our goal is to reach the top 100 universities in the world by 2030. Kangwon National University was ranked within the 201-300 range in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2022. It was the first national university to be chosen for the government’s Campus Innovation Park project [which aims to develop an industrial complex on the school campus, allowing space for corporate occupancy and entrepreneurial support facilities].

An artist’s rendition of a new building set to be built on the Chuncheon Campus as part of the Campus Innovation Park project. [KANGWON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY]

What’s Kangwon National University’s globalization strategy?

We try to develop tailored educational programs for international students to maximize their learning outcomes, in part by providing academic programs that are mostly taught in either English or Chinese. We are also willing to add Vietnamese programs in the future, if necessary. At the graduate level, these specialized programs for international students are offered in the fields of fine arts such as music, art, dance and design, humanities, social sciences, business and economics and engineering. Similar programs will be offered at the undergraduate level starting next year in the fields of business administration, media communication and Korean language and culture.

A lab at the university’s Kangwon Institute of Inclusive Technology, which in 2020 was chosen to receive 13 billion won ($10.2 million) in funding from the government for cancer research [KANGWON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY]

Some presidents that I previously interviewed for this series were skeptical of developing academic programs run in a foreign language. What’s your take on this view?

Of course, it would be ideal for international students to study with fellow Korean students in a Korean environment, but it’s not that simple. The reality is, a lot of international students struggle with Korean and have a hard time catching up with courses that are run in Korean. Before we introduced these tracks, many international students couldn’t find enough English-language courses in their department and had to search for such classes in other departments they had absolutely no interest in. For instance, engineering students would sign up for a class in the College of Humanities solely because it was taught in English. And the result was international students setting their goal as merely getting a bachelor’s degree. But we wanted these students to set their bars higher, like settling in Korea after graduation and finding a job here.

A water sports class in the Department of Leisure Sports on the university’s Samcheok Campus in Samcheok, Gangwon [KANGWON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY]

I suppose it wouldn’t be easy for international students to choose to study outside the Seoul metropolitan area, especially when statistics show that about half of foreigners study in Seoul or Gyeonggi. What are some advantages of attending college in Gangwon?

Chuncheon and Samcheok, where we have campuses, are highly popular tourist destinations in Korea. The cost of living is cheaper there compared to the greater Seoul area, and the cities have excellent transportation connections to the capital, with trains, buses and subways allowing for convenient travel within an hour. Many international students who had lived their entire lives in inland areas without a glimpse of the ocean prefer to study at our Samcheok Campus, which is right next to the East Sea. One of our three dormitory buildings on the Samcheok Campus is currently undergoing renovations to include a kitchen in each room so that our Southeast Asian students don’t have to struggle with finding nearby dining options.

What benefits are offered to international students at Kangwon National University?

Our university offers various scholarships to high-performing international students and guarantees dormitory accommodation for any first-year students who wish to reside on campus. We match each international student with a Korean student, allowing them to get help on everyday matters. A free Korean language learning program is offered every semester, and we’re also planning to help international students find part-time jobs in the local community.

Kim speaks with the Korea JoongAng Daily during an interview in his office last month against a wall that reads “central university of a unified Korea." [PARK SANG-MOON]

Part-time jobs? Do students get credit?

It’s not for academic credit. International students who arrive from low-income countries usually have part-time jobs while attending university. What we’re trying to do is compile a list of local businesses that are willing to hire our international students for part-time positions and show the list to the students before they depart their home countries, allowing them to pick a job of their preference ahead of their journey. That way, they can travel to Korea with a lot less anxiety about making ends meet.

There’s a lot of talk about Kangwon National University merging with Gangneung-Wonju National University. Is it really happening?

It’s in the works. By merging with Gangneung-Wonju National University, we’re hoping to improve our competitiveness by maximizing the strengths of each of our campuses in Chuncheon, Samcheok, Gangneung and Wonju. We’ve already merged with Samcheok National University. Kangnung National University merged with Wonju National College to form the Gangneung-Wonju National University. So if we successfully merge with Gangneung-Wonju National University, that would mean four universities coming into one. There are 18 universities in Gangwon. In the long run, I’m hoping every university would join our “one national university per province” initiative to create one big network wherein universities share general elective courses and each focus on their strengths.

A field training class in the Department of Forest Environment Protection [KANGWON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY]

What would you like to say to foreigners hoping to study in Korea one day?

Kangwon National University has beautiful campuses in Chuncheon and Samcheok, and we assure you that school life will be just as you imagined. It’s easy to settle in local society, and the university is designing various programs to help international students make a safe landing. Other than linking students with businesses for part-time jobs, we’re also planning an entrepreneurial program exclusively for international students, in which they can gain hands-on experience in starting a business in rising industries.

President’s bio

Kim Heon-young is the 12th president of Kangwon National University. This is his second time serving as the university’s president. His first four-year term was from 2016 to 2020. His second four-year term began in June 2020. He has been a mechanical and biomedical engineering professor at the university since 1993.

Among numerous roles off campus, Kim is currently a member of the Presidential Korean Council on Education and the chairman of the Higher Education Policy Joint TF Commission.

Kim earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in mechanical design at Seoul National University.

About the university

Name
Kangwon National University

Type
National

Established
June 14, 1947

English slogan
Seek for the Truth from Reality

Location
Chuncheon Campus: Chuncheon, Gangwon
Samcheok Campus: Samcheok, Gangwon
Dogye Campus: Dogye-eup, Samcheok, Gangwon

Campus size
1,634,193 square meters (403.8 acres)

Undergraduate colleges and departments
Colleges: 18
School and departments: 156

Graduate schools
10

Students (2023)
Undergraduates: 28,859
Postgraduates: 3,622
Total: 32,481

Academic staff (2023)
2,506

Administrative staff (2023)
1,006

Employment rate (2022)
62.8 percent

English website
www.kangwon.ac.kr/english/

International students

Number of students (2022)
Undergraduates: 271
Postgraduates: 326
Short-term students (exchange students, language training etc.): 148
Total: 745

By country
China 29.1 percent
Uzbekistan 19.1 percent
Vietnam 9.7 percent
Other 42.1 percent (61 countries)

Department with the most international students (2022)
Department of International Trade and Business

Dormitory acceptance rate (2022)
23.9 percent (All first-year students who wish to reside on campus are guaranteed dormitory accommodation.)

Average tuition of self-funded undergraduate students per semester (2022)
4 million won ($3,140)

Social media
Instagram: @kangwon_national_university
YouTube: @knuinternational9749
Facebook: KNUKangwonNationalUniversity

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