Professor Lee Seungseop of KAIST
Publishes "A Country Without Education"
"Academic elitism is collapsing. We should differentiate universities, not rank them."
Seungseop Lee, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and former Vice President for Academic Affairs at KAIST (age 61), predicted the collapse of academic elitism at a press conference for the release of his book "A Country Without Education" (Sejong Books) held on the 12th. He argued that in the field, ability is already prioritized over academic background, and universities should be differentiated based on education and research to enhance competitiveness rather than being ranked in a hierarchy.
He said, "When selecting new professors at KAIST, many of them do not have so-called prestigious academic backgrounds. You might think academic background would be heavily considered when hiring professors, but that is not the case," adding, "They look more at how hard you worked during your PhD and how good your papers are. It doesn't matter which graduate school you attended. I believe this is even more true in other fields."
He also pointed out the situation where high school seniors study hardest in their lives, but lose motivation after entering university. He diagnosed, "No one says they studied to death after entering university. You don't go to university to study hard, but as a result of having studied hard. Top university students become intoxicated with satisfaction, while those who did not do well are consumed by defeat. Even if they were just average until high school, they should start anew at university, but that is not happening." He emphasized that the real, differentiated competition should take place during university.
Regarding this, he also criticized the trend of chasing so-called "cutting-edge" fields. He said, "If you go to what is called cutting-edge, you find many people who have been working in that area for 10 to 30 years or more. They hold all the patents, and it is practically impossible to surpass them and become the best," adding, "By the time you follow the trend to get into university and find a job, the trend has already shifted in another direction. Just do what you want to do."
Professor Lee cited cooking researcher Baek Jong-won and dog trainer Kang Hyung-wook as good examples. He said, "Baek Jong-won was good at cooking from a young age. Even after his sisters fought, they reconciled because they wanted to eat the ramen he cooked," and added, "For Baek Jong-won, cooking was his own cutting-edge. You should follow such cutting-edge."
Finally, he emphasized, "A healthy society is one where it is not high school seniors, but second-year university students who study most fiercely."
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