[KS] Re: Editorial: A Paradise Lost

haechang choung hcchoung at aks.ac.kr
Fri Nov 6 20:07:30 EST 1998


goodwin wrote:

> The following unsigned Editorial appears in today's Korea Herald. Any
>
>  11-07-98 : Editorial: A Paradise Lost
>
>     Recent statistics show Korean professors published the least
> number of research
> papers in
>     international academic journals among the 29 member
> countries of the
> Organization for
>     Economic Cooperation and Development. Considering the fair
> size of Korea's
> population
>     and the large number of people in the teaching profession,
> in particular, this
> statistic
>     indicates relative academic inactivity in this country.
>
>     Korea has been long dubbed as a paradise for professors.
> This reputation has
> been
>     recognized by professors themselves, who enjoy perhaps the
> highest degree of job
> security
>     among all professionals. Retirement age is fixed at 65 by
> the Education Law,
> tenure is
>     guaranteed when one is promoted to associate professor, and
> the performance
> appraisal,
>     introduced at some institutions, is just a formality in most
> cases. It is
> increasingly difficult
>     to find a position at Korea's universities, but once
> employed, you are in for a
> good life
>     enhanced with social esteem.
>
>     This privileged status is being threatened as the Education
> Ministry, under the
>     reform-minded Minister Lee Hai-chan, has drafted revision
> bills for a set of
> education laws
>     to introduce the contract system for professors. If the
> amendments are approved
> by the
>     National Assembly during the current regular session,
> professors will be
> employed on
>     three- to five-year contracts. The pay scale and various
> conditions of the
> contracts will be
>     determined on a case-by-case basis. To prevent any possible
> academic
> instability, the new
>     system will be implemented in 2002.
>
>     But immediate changes are also proposed, such as committees
> that would be
> established at
>     all universities to evaluate the performance of each
> professor. The panel would
> check the
>     number of research papers produced by each professor and
> evaluate their quality.
> As of
>     next year, universities will be required to admit nonalumni
> scholars for more
> than half of
>     the positions offered for new recruitment. Thus, the
> Education Ministry is
> trying to break up
>     the atmosphere of languor and tradition of parochialism
> prevalent at Korean
> universities.
>
>     Nepotism has prevailed in Korea's academic society,
> particularly at the more
> prestigious
>     institutions. Professors have been recruited largely through
> personal
> connections and the
>     unanimous opinion of the professors in a department is
> essential in making a
> decision. The
>     unique tradition has produced the extremely high rate of
> alumni professors in
> Korea's
>     leading universities. At Seoul National University (SNU),
> only 0.4 percent of
> its professors
>     are recruits from outside, and there can be no parallel in
> the world of such
> extreme
>     exclusiveness.
>
>     Furthermore, it is simply unthinkable for a well known
> institution in Korea to
> invite a
>     non-alumni as its chief administrator. It is an unwritten
> law at SNU to have its
> own
>     graduates named as president and all other key academic
> positions. This
> situation is the
>     same at Korea, Yonsei and Ewha. Only provincial universities
> and some private
>     institutions have opened their doors to nonalumni scholars,
> but this opening is
> narrowing as
>     more universities turn to direct election of the president
> by professors. Under
> these
>     circumstances, it is easy to understand the absence of
> acceptable levels of
> progress at
>     Korean universities.
>
>     Universities will develop and academic activities prosper
> only when new ideas
> are freely
>     exchanged among institutions of higher learning and among
> professors. Government
>
>     initiatives may create momentum for change, but without
> self-renovation by
> professors and
>     the boards of school foundations, no reform measures will
> gain expected results
> and
>     Korean universities will remain in their present lowly
> status in the academic
> community of
>     the world forever.
>
>     The state is going to deprive university professors of some
> of their vested
> rights.
>     Repercussions are naturally expected from the members of the
> ivory tower who are
> not
>     accustomed to rigorous competition and the norm of survival
> of the fittest that
> prevails in
>     other sectors. But universities alone cannot be left behind
> in this age of
> reform and
>     restructuring. If professors initiate efforts for
> renovation, they will face
> fewer changes
>     imposed from the outside.

Dear Goddwin:
I am one of those who have been enjoying the easy-going, no-fault (I
really mean it) academic atmosphere.
Do you really think it is a paradise lost? If you think so, either you
are too naive or too ignorant of the academic practices of Korea. No
doubt these people will find some ways to cope with this so-called
"reform," which might push them around a bit, if successful. It is
almost customary that newly appointed Education Minister propose some
"new" policies, which usually  turn out to be "old girls" in new
dresses later.  Minister Lee seems to be a strong-willed,
reform-minded man of rationality. However, considering the longstanding
practices of academic society and  the general mentality of
academicians in Korea, I am very skeptical of his plans. If he succeeds,
Korea, really, will become a "paradise" for hardworking professors.

I am a bit pressed for time now. Please keep in touch.



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