Revamping Seoul Nat’l Univ.

If the 20th century was an era of specialization, the 21st century is an era of convergence. Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein, professors at Michigan State University and co-authors of “Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World`s Most Creative People,” say knowledge has become increasingly fragmented amid the acceleration of specialization. Though specialized knowledge is spreading, academic exchanges are decreasing and the ability of individuals to understand is declining. Against this backdrop, Ivy League universities are focusing on seeking convergence and consilience between majors and departments.

Kim Sung-bok, a history professor at State University of New York-Albany who was a chair professor at Seoul National University for the last two years, has blasted Korea’s top-rated university. He told reporters in a news interview, “Seoul National University professors are more interested in politics than academics. Their focus on immediate gains is associated with feudalism and sectionalism.”

Kim cited a lack of communication not only between professors but between professors and students. The floor where the offices of the university’s law professors are located can be accessed only with a key. Students are allowed to visit professors by appointment. In contrast, professors’ offices at U.S. liberal arts colleges are always open. If students can spare time to meet them, professors return their assignments with comments on audio files. Kim said teaching should carry more weight than research in professor evaluations.

Seoul National attracts the nation’s top students but ranks comparatively below other leading universities abroad in the world rankings. The biggest problem is major-focused selfishness and so-called “polifessors.” It took 55 years for the school`s departments of politics and diplomacy to integrate after having parted in 1956. Professors join presidential campaign camps whenever election season approaches. Kim’s criticism applies not only to Seoul National, however. The school must attentively listen to his comments make itself a world-class university since the obstacle that had blocked its privatization is gone. The bill on the university’s privatization passed parliament at the end of last year.

Editorial Writer Chung Sung-hee (shchung@donga.com)