KS's Global Insights into Higher Education

Since starting my graduate studies, I have become acutely aware of the mobile environment. Now, social media algorithms, recognizing my behavior patterns as a graduate student, frequently show me content about 'what a graduate student should know.' I am grateful for these unsolicited yet beneficial information feeds. In particular, I find interesting facts when browsing advertisements and posts related to research methodology. Ads promoting specialized lectures on quantitative research methodologies such as 'big data statistical analysis using R and Python,' or 'mastering regression analysis and structural equation modeling in a day,' charge hundreds of dollars per session. They even emphasize that these prices are steeply discounted. The splendid profiles of lecturers, who have learned advanced techniques from American universities and lecture at renowned domestic universities, also catch my eye. I recall news of a professor from the Department of Statistics at...

In the sweltering summer of 2018, a disturbing incident unfolded during the monthly leadership meeting at Songdo International City's Incheon Global Campus, attended by representatives from four international universities. An African American employee present recounted a disheartening experience from that morning: as he left his on-campus apartment, he was subjected to a racial slur beginning with 'N' by a Korean student, who was apparently visiting from a nearby high school. This incident, which ignited anger in the employee, was formally addressed during the meeting. The question, "What should one learn in secondary education before advancing to higher education?" is inherently multifaceted. At the macro level, it involves a country's educational philosophy, ideology, and values, reflecting the ethos of a given era. At the meso level, it pertains to how regional education offices and individual schools administer and endorse their educational programs. At th...

As per the Ministry of Justice's February 2023 report, South Korean universities now host over 200,000 international students. Of these, around 73% or 146,053 are pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, with the rest engaged in non-degree programs like language studies. This statistic marks a significant, approximately twentyfold surge from the 10,000 international students recorded about twenty years ago. With the target of accommodating 300,000 foreign students and the roll-out of the Study Korea 3.0 strategy, the country is demonstrating a comprehensive commitment to revitalizing its society and economy through international inclusivity. A recent op-ed by a professor from a South Korean research university highlighted the considerable proportion of international students in the engineering research workforce of domestic universities. He posited that their departure would be detrimental to the nation. So, what could persuade them to remain in South Korea? If they were gi...

"Kim underscored the necessity for expanding the countries of origin for foreign students. He noted that significant potential student markets such as South America and India remain largely untapped, thereby necessitating strategic national-level diplomatic initiatives." "Kim shared that, despite a drop from 160,000 in 2019 to 150,000 during the COVID-19 crisis, the number of foreign students has climbed to 210,000 as of this March. The encouraging aspect is the upswing in enrollments in both degree programs and Korean language courses compared to the previous year." "However, he raised concerns over the disproportionate percentage of foreign students originating from just two countries, Vietnam (73,000 students) and China (67,000 students), accounting for 66% of the total. He further compared South Korea's past governmental policies on foreign student recruitment critically with those of Japan, the USA, and Australia, citing smaller investment levels and l...

Within the capitalist system, the functioning of the world can be broadly divided into two parts: those who 'give money' and those who 'receive money'. Employers provide wages to employees, expecting corresponding or, at times, greater productivity in return. Those on the receiving end get paid as a reward for the added value and utility they provide to those who give the money. Consider the term 'draw' commonly used in a business environment, from this perspective. 'Draw', literally meaning 'a tie', represents a so-called 'honeymoon' period – a temporary phase where an employer tolerates the absence of corresponding returns to the resources invested, such as wages, training expenses, and employee benefits. This usually happens when a new employee is hired or moves to a new position. It's evident that generating immediate results commensurate with the received wage is not an easy task, regardless of the organization or the rank and st...

In the year 2012, while travelling through Australia with my family, we set out on a quest to see kangaroos in the wild. After scouring the internet, we stumbled upon a series of Korean blog posts that indicated we could encounter these fascinating creatures frolicking in vast, verdant meadows in a small town, roughly two hours northeast of Sydney. We arrived in this quaint, sparsely populated town by train, only to learn we had to journey another 20 minutes by taxi to reach our desired location. A local Aussie lady, upon seeing our group waiting for the taxi, appeared bemused, then left us with this parting comment before continuing on her way: "Our quiet town has recently begun to see many visitors from South Korea." Once we encountered the kangaroos, bounding freely through the grassy expanse, our family was filled with a sense of exhilaration as our ignorance and curiosity were simultaneously satiated. As the lady at the train station suggested, Korean tourists indeed see...

 "Dad, Columbus discovered the New World!" A few days ago, my first-grade daughter jubilantly announced this after reading a biography, leaving me at a loss. Was Columbus truly a great man? Is the history he crafted something to discuss with such exuberance? The notion that 'Columbus's discovery of the New World' emanates from a predominantly Western-centric mindset is no longer a novel perspective. The "New World" they claimed to have discovered was actually an Old World, already inhabited. The so-called Indians were simply indigenous peoples living according to their own customs. Not content with claiming an already inhabited land as 'new', they killed or displaced the natives — a more grievous injustice is hard to imagine from the natives' perspective. In November 2022, the Association for the Study of Higher Education held its conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the conference hall, where I had come with my professor to present a paper, I...