Universities in Korea

(1)

Duckhwan Lee

Department of Chemistry and Science Communication Program

Sogang University

(2)

Universities in Korea

In 2019, there are 430 ‘universities’ nationwide.

• 189 universities + 10 teacher’s college + 138 junior college + α

• private 86.5%

• > 90,000 professors and 3.43 million students

• College entrance rate

• 26.9%(1970) → 33.2%(1990) → 68.8%(2000) → 84.0%(2008) → 68.5%(2018)

In 1946, there were 8 public and 12 private universities.

• Seoul National University

• 7,819 students

(3)

Universities in Korean Society

Driving force for Miracle of Han River

• Per Capita Income $63(1963) → $10,000(1995) → $30,000(2018)

Institution of High-Cost / Low Efficiency

• Identity crisis: Education? Research for industrial development?

• Autonomy crisis: Student admission, Tuition, Academic affairs

• Ethics crisis: Research ethics, Academic authority, Social/Political Participation(Engagement), Professionalism, Selfishness

• Segregation (‘Divider’) Culture

‘Humanity’/‘Science’

College/Department/Major

Convergence/Consilience/Fusion

(4)

Idea of University: academic freedom, autonomy,…

Institution of ‘Higher Education’ and ‘Research’

• academic degrees

• Hall of Truth / Ivory Tower

For society,

• training human resources

• promotion of learning, arts, science and technology

• economic development

• human co-prosperity

For students,

• fostering of ‘Bildung’ and ‘knowledge’ for humane life

• cultivation of rational judgement and intellectual curiosity

• training of professional skills

Balance between Professional(Major)/General Education

(5)

General (Liberal Arts) Education

Artes liberalis

• Trivium

Grammar: art of inventing symbols to express thought Logic: art of thinking

Rhetoric: art of communicating thought, adaptation of language

• Quadrivium Arithmatic:

Geometry

Theory of Music

Astronomy(astrology)

Literature, History, and Philosophy

• Language

• Social Sciences

(6)

Yin-Yang Theory

(7)

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Satureday

(8)

‘Nuclear’ is dangerous, ‘Coal’ is dirty!

(9)

‘Renewable’ is safe and clean!

(10)

Safe use of Dangerous technology: “Pay reasonable price!”

(11)

Hydrogen Economy and 4

^th

Industrial Revolution

(12)

(13)

(14)

The nobler, the humbler?

(15)

(16)

Desperate struggle for survival!

(17)

Liberal Arts for Steve Jobs (2007): GUI

(18)

Who are we?

• Higgs boson(2012.7): God’s or Goddamned particle

• CMS and ATLAS at CERN’s LHC

• Standard Model: 12 fermions + 4 gauge bosons + Higgs boson

• Nobel Prize in Physics(2013): Peter Higgs and F. Englert

(19)

Big History

(20)

(21)

Hen or egg?

(22)

(23)

(24)

‘Stay alive!’ vs. ‘Save the Earth!’

(25)

Liberal Arts Education: H. Rawlings

the best preparation for whole life

• read closely and critically

• reason intelligently and ethically

• speak and write clearly

• do independent research

• analyze quantitative arguments

• have intellectual curiosity and a lifelong desire to keep learning

• free from prejudices

• understand and empathize with viewpoints of those who are not like us

For tomorrow’s world,

• what should a well-educated person know?

• what should one be able to do with one’s mind?

• what should one be able to contribute to society?

(26)

‘Knight’ rather than ‘Warrior’

Agony of ‘Multiple-Choice’ Generation in Full-Swing Democratic Society with Digital Technology

• Find and solve a problem?

• Science is too difficult!

• Technology is too dangerous!

Artes Liberalis for the 21

^st

century

• Language: read, write, listen and speak (debate)

• Mathematics: logic

• Science: Who we are and Where we live

• Technology: How we survive