KU: A mecca for educational innovation

It was the first snow of the year we saw from the window during our interview. It seemed like a magical coincidence. Just as our interviewee started to draw the blueprint of college education in the future, it began snowing quite heavily as if it had been waiting for the right moment. Like the snow covers the world and turns it pure white, it is the ultimate goal of education to shine as a beacon of hope on the darkness and despair in our society. It was only the beginning of our interview, but we already felt assured that society would become a better place with hopes and dreams as long as education continued to be developed. “Education is not just a system, but a sort of culture in society. Without ending the old practices and breaking the stereotypes that we have blindly adopted for decades, educational innovation cannot even begin. Facing the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Korea University has been making a great effort to go beyond simply coping with changes of the times, but to become a leader of those changes. Our goal is much bigger than merely changing ourselves. We will do our best so that some of our advanced innovations can contribute to a positive transformation in our society. Setting a national agenda for education and coming up with solutions accordingly are the tasks that we, Korea University, will tackle down the road,” said Gil-sung Park, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Korea University.
Since his inauguration last March, Park has frequently received questions from professors from other universities asking, “Is Korea University really doing what it has declared to do?” They all wondered how the university managed to carry out educational innovation, which broke down the traditional structures of the past. Among numerous reforms the university has accomplished, the most notable change was to reorganize the Office of Admissions. The university believed that finding talented students should literally involve the act of searching. Unlike the past when the university waited for applications from students with high grades, it decided to be active in finding “diamonds in the rough” with infinite potential and carving them into “jewels.” To realize such an objective, it was essential for the university to have a solid foundation in education, which Korea University prides itself on. Not only for the curriculum but also for extracurricular areas, the university has continued its restructuring efforts. By doing so, the university has moved on from knowledge transfer and has gradually transformed itself into a playground for knowledge. Students who have a chance to experience the playground for knowledge are expected to learn how to plan their future and solve problems beforehand. It seems that KU is at the forefront of nurturing the most sought-after talent in our society.

“To help our students improve their thinking skills, we broke down the walls between different majors. The “Liberty Justice Truth I” course guides students to the understanding of human beings and aspects of value inquiry in terms of language, ideals, desire, culture and art. The course was based on the convergence of many other fields including mathematics, logic, epistemology, linguistics, cognitive science, sociology, political science, psychoanalysis, aesthetics, and cultural anthropology.”

Park gave us a detailed explanation on the SK Future Hall at Korea University. “Constructing a building without lecture rooms on campus is the first of its kind in Korea and carries significant meaning. The SK Future Hall, comprised of 111 discussion rooms and 111 private rooms, was born based on a paradigm shift in education. Flipped classrooms are a representative example. Unlike the past when professors focused on unilaterally handing over knowledge to students, the flipped classroom is the total opposite. Students are asked to be aware of new materials in advance of the class, and professors only help them refine knowledge and come up with topics for discussion. Together with graduate students (called “teaching fellows”), students, who are divided into groups of 15 to 20 later during the class, have a chance to apply real-world cases to the lecture or to have a group discussion to solve problems. The SK Future Hall is optimally designed for that kind of class.”

Fortunately, the introduction of flipped classrooms was enthusiastically welcomed by professors and students. While only 12 subjects were taught by using the flipped classroom strategy during the second semester of 2016, the number of subjects has drastically increased within a year, now totaling 28. It is obvious that more and more students and professors will support and participate in the flipped classroom system. You may not expect an immediate outcome from the initiative you take, but you should have faith in it and patiently wait for the fruit it will bear. That is the way of education Korea University has taken. It may look like walking at a snail’s pace, but in reality it seeks changes very rapidly.

Education encourages students to tell their stories

Park does not forget to mention some changes in the university’s scholarship policy. “I should not neglect mentioning changes in our scholarship policy. Before, we granted scholarships to students with high grades, but now we prioritize low-income students. We call it the “Justice Scholarship.” It does not mean that we do not care for students with high grades any more. If there are students with top scores who want to start their own business or study abroad, we are ready to help them any time. The “Truth Scholarship” is exactly allocated for that purpose. I believe other universities will eventually follow our path because it is the right one.”