[2020 Women’s Forum] "Causes and Solutions Must Be Found in Data, Not Beliefs"

Park Hyung-joo, President of Ajou University
Nightingale's Leadership and Innovation

Park Hyung-joo, President of Ajou University, is giving a lecture at the '2020 Asia Women Leaders Forum' held at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 28th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] "Data sometimes contradicts common beliefs. This is why we must seek the causes and answers to problems from data, not from exaggerated rumors or personal beliefs."

On the 28th, Park Hyung-joo, President of Ajou University, delivered a lecture titled "The Great Data Scientist" at the '2020 Asia Women Leaders Forum' held at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, emphasizing the importance of statistics and data in discovering and solving social issues. Also a mathematician, President Park reexamined the life of Florence Nightingale, well known as the "Lady with the Lamp," highlighting the difference between common perceptions and reality.

He explained, "Florence Nightingale, known as the Lady with the Lamp and a symbol of devotion, was actually an excellent statistician," describing the innovations she implemented as a nurse despite her family's opposition, given her talent in mathematics and science. Nightingale participated in the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856, where the British, French, and Ottoman Empire allied forces fought Russia over religious and territorial issues in the Black Sea region. She studied the deaths of young soldiers on the battlefield and confirmed through statistics that the disease mortality rate was 60% during the first seven months of the war. She informed the commander of the Crimean garrison of this issue and sent a letter requesting the establishment of sanitary wards, but was ignored. Later, John Delane, editor of the British newspaper The Times, reported on her appeal, which ultimately led to the resignation of the entire British government cabinet at the time.

Park Hyung-joo, President of Ajou University, is giving a lecture at the '2020 Asia Women Leaders Forum' held at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 28th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

Subsequently, prefabricated sanitary wards were produced and sent to the battlefield, reducing the mortality rate sharply from 42% to 2%. Currently, the nursing college at King's College London was also established as the world's first nursing school at that time. Nightingale, who later led reforms in civilian hospitals and hygiene improvements through population surveys, was elected as the first female fellow of the Royal Statistical Society in 1858.

Regarding this episode, President Park emphasized, "Nightingale chose nursing, a field seemingly unrelated to her original talents, but she achieved innovative results while maintaining her dreams, talents, and interests," adding, "The combination of nursing and statistics created a breakthrough." He further stated, "Synergy arises when different fields and data collide," and "The modern world is increasingly interconnected across diverse fields, and Nightingale was a true innovator who solved difficult problems through such connections."

In the process, he advocated for consistently listening to others. President Park explained, "Being inquisitive will save you," and added, "If Nightingale had kept her discoveries to herself, the world would not have changed. By actively informing not only the commander but also the media, she was able to derive solutions."