[Reading Science] MIT's 'Piano Breaking', KAIST's 'Eccentric President'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Lee Kwang-hyung, the newly appointed president of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) last month, is a figure attracting considerable attention. Instead of authority and traditional customs, a 'quirky professor' who values autonomy, creativity, and a spirit of challenge has been appointed to lead Korea's top higher science education institution. Expectations are high as he is a scholar who led KAIST’s future and convergence education and served as a mentor to first-generation venture entrepreneurs like Kim Jung-ju, CEO of NXC.

Korea’s science and technology must move beyond the 'fast follower' stage of copying and catching up with advanced countries and push forward to become a first mover or trendsetter. The fact that an educator emphasizing autonomy, creativity, and a spirit of challenge is now responsible for nurturing scientists and engineers is highly significant.

However, what I want to say today is closer to a 'bitter truth.' Although President Lee’s educational policy appears radical on the surface, promoting autonomy, creativity, and a spirit of challenge, in reality, it resembles the 'Saemaul Undong' style of the 1970s and 80s?that is, the approach of 'kkondae' (authoritarian elders).

At his first briefing on the 8th after taking office, President Lee outlined his aspirations, educational philosophy, and reform plans for his term. There were many promising points. Among them, the policy of "not providing research funds for projects with a success probability over 80%" can be interpreted as encouraging researchers not to fear failure and to engage in challenging research. He also asked KAIST students to study a little less. He said, "They study too much. They need to reduce it by about 10%. The bottleneck at KAIST is that students are too tense from studying too much," adding, "I encourage professors and students to relax a bit, look at the sky, see the world, and dream."

He also indicated strong reform measures regarding problematic research ethics issues. Last year, a KAIST professor was accused of leaking industrial secrets while participating in China’s 'Thousand Talents' project, raising concerns about research ethics. President Lee said, "Immediately after taking office, we formed and activated an Integrity Committee," and pointed out, "I don’t know if the 'lab funds' (research funds embezzled and illegally raised in each lab) that existed in the past still remain. We will completely eliminate them."

At the same briefing, President Lee introduced the QAIST new cultural strategy with keywords such as 'Question' (Questioning students), 'Advanced research,' 'Internationalization,' 'Start-up,' and 'Trust' culture. He emphasized, "Through character and leadership education, we will break away from grade obsession and create a Failure Research Institute so that people can challenge without fear," adding, "Now is the time to think about what to research, not just to follow. Over four years, we will secure 100 faculty members in future research fields and prepare for post-AI research that surpasses artificial intelligence (AI)."

True to his nickname as a 'quirky professor,' there were many radical remarks compared to traditional academic customs. President Lee also presented an ambitious goal to surpass the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), considered one of the world’s top institutions. He said, "No one expected Samsung to beat Sony 30 to 40 years ago," emphasizing that it can be done.

Photo by KAIST homepage capture

However, concerns have been raised about President Lee’s educational philosophy and goals. In particular, controversy surrounds the practical methods he proposed, such as one lab one reading, one lab one start-up, one lab one foreigner, and one lab one world-first research, which remind people of the Saemaul Undong movement under the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 80s. It is logically contradictory to demand less studying, encourage fearless, autonomous, creative, and challenging research, yet forcibly assign goals and tasks per lab.

Moreover, such 'movements' always require enormous management costs because someone must monitor and push for results. There are concerns that this will only increase the burden on students and professors. Regarding this, President Lee explained at the press briefing, "In difficult fields, start-ups may not be possible," but added, "I am asking professors to initiate activities because results can only come from starting something. We will hold forums with professors and students to build consensus."

MIT, which President Lee aims to surpass, has a famous tradition. On the last day students can drop classes without a grade record, they throw a piano off the dormitory rooftop and break it. In 1972, a student jokingly proposed, "I want to throw a piano off the dorm building to study the movement of the fragments," and surprisingly, this was officially approved and became a tradition. For students, this tradition conveys confidence that 'it’s okay to do crazy things' and encourages them not to fear failure, which is a valuable asset itself, but to enjoy various attempts. This respectful academic culture may seem casual as if 'if it doesn’t work, so be it,' but ultimately it leads to creativity that can overcome any challenge and results in MIT’s outstanding academic achievements.

Yamaha Grand Piano CX Series

On the other hand, what is the current research reality in Korea, including KAIST? Let’s hear from Professor Han Seung-yong of Seoul National University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who invented the world’s first ultra-small, ultra-lightweight, uninsulated superconducting magnet and won the 'April Scientist of the Month' award. Professor Han, who studied at MIT for 13 years, recently told Asia Economy in an interview that Korean research labs still prioritize outcomes and results over autonomy, creativity, and challenge. He pointed out, "I often saw Korean students hesitate due to fear of failure at the end of a path, even if they came up with new attempts that others hadn’t tried." He also emphasized, "Korea, having reached the threshold of advanced countries, must break away from past follower-type research, and for that, there must be more free research like 'throwing pianos.'"

What do you think? MIT’s piano-smashing tradition, and KAIST’s 'one lab one △△' movement aiming to surpass MIT. On the surface, both aim to encourage autonomous, creative, and challenging research by professors and students, but can KAIST’s 'one lab one △△' movement truly achieve its goals? It certainly seems to carry the scent of 'kkondae.' Let’s watch and see.