"Medical School Battle in Academy Districts, Anatomy Classes May Need to Use Virtual Reality in 3 Years"

"Professors Evaluate Doctor Increase as 'Education Manipulation'"

On the morning of the 10th, when medical school professors nationwide decided to stop working, patients and their guardians were waiting for their turn at a large hospital in Seoul. Photo by Huh Younghan younghan@

With the nationwide medical school admission quota for the 2025 academic year set at 4,567, an increase of 1,509 students, professors have strongly opposed and raised concerns.

Kim Hyun-ah, Vice President of the National Medical School Professors' Association, stated on the 27th during CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' that "As the Korea Council for University Education decided on the medical school quotas, a medical school war has broken out in the private academy sector." She explained that engineering and natural science students from universities in Seoul are retaking the entrance exam to enter medical schools, and students from regional universities are moving up to fill the vacancies, causing a chain reaction of transfers.

Vice President Kim said, "Not only medical schools but the entire educational ecosystem is being completely shaken," adding, "Socially, the stability of all professions has disappeared, but it seems that only doctors are believed to retain stability." She further remarked, "From my long experience in this field, I think this situation is like a rotten lifeline."

Regarding the survey conducted among medical school professors, Kim stated, "95% of active professors responded that they 'cannot provide quality education at this time,'" and added, "Professors did not initially interpret this as simply an increase in doctors but read it as 'education manipulation.'"

The Korea Council for University Education has decided on the medical school admission quotas. Each school is to finalize the allocated quotas and announce the admission guidelines, during which the school regulations must be amended. Kim criticized, "Many schools passed the regulations without collecting professors' opinions. This clearly reveals the undemocratic nature of universities in our country," and added, "The Ministry of Education's approach is to announce the quotas first and amend the regulations later."

Regarding the future situation, she was even more pessimistic. Vice President Kim said, "if the quota increases next year and students are held back, the number of students in one grade will double compared to the current number. I cannot even imagine it," and she predicted, "in three years, due to the lack of educational infrastructure, many practical courses such as anatomy might be conducted using virtual reality (VR)."