[Education in Korea, Losing Its Way] Yoon Jigwan: "University Specialization Needed to Break the Hierarchy"

Education Reform Relay Proposal ④
Yoon Jigwan, Director of the University Issue Research Institute
"University Hierarchy Causes Fundamental Social Problems"
"Regional and Social Integration Admissions Should Be Expanded"

"In order to address the university hierarchy centered on Seoul, we must revitalize regional universities through university specialization."

Yoon Jigwan, Director of the University Issue Research Institute, told Asia Economy that "the Seoul-centric university hierarchy is a fundamental problem in Korean society that goes beyond education and is even a cause of low birth rates."

Yoon Jigwan, Director of the University Issue Research Institute, is being interviewed by Asia Economy. Photo by Yoon Dongju

Founded in 2014, the University Issue Research Institute has been studying solutions based on the understanding that university issues are not limited to higher education, but are also closely linked to national agendas such as population, social inequality, public welfare, and balanced regional development.

Director Yoon believes that while the new government's initiative to "create 10 Seoul National Universities" is valid in terms of its awareness of the problem, it must be followed by "university specialization" in order to become a feasible alternative. He interprets this project as a policy commitment to resolving the issues of a top-tier university-centered hierarchy and the extinction of regional areas.

Director Yoon cited the University of California system in the United States as an example, stating, "We need to model a three-tier system of research universities, teaching universities, and regional community colleges." He argued that metropolitan universities should reduce undergraduate enrollment and focus on graduate studies as "research universities," while regional universities should strengthen undergraduate education and serve as "teaching universities." He added, "A single university can change the atmosphere, intellectual resources, and economic vitality of a region," and emphasized that "private regional universities should also be able to provide higher education in their areas."

Director Yoon stated that in order to achieve this division of roles, the overall direction of university policy must change. He explained, "Since the 5.31 Education Reform under the Kim Youngsam administration, for the past 30 years, policies have concentrated budgets on top-ranked universities through competition, while cutting off financial support to lower-ranked ones." He continued, "This imbalance, where top metropolitan universities receive concentrated support and lower-ranked, small, and regional universities are deprived of funding, has led to the concentration of resources in the metropolitan area and a management crisis for regional universities."

Director Yoon stressed that establishing a public-oriented policy direction is most necessary. He said, "The government needs to determine, at a public level, whether regional universities can provide vocational and academic education to local residents, and then support them financially through a grant system based on this public policy direction."

He stated, "University admissions come next." He emphasized, "The first priority is to resolve the so-called top-tier university-centered hierarchy." He added, "To realize university education where students are broadly selected and can study freely, we need to expand class and regional diversity in freshman admissions." He suggested, "Let’s strengthen admissions systems that promote class diversity by increasing regional and social integration admissions quotas up to threefold."