[Column] Lessons from the Satcho Alliance: Regional University Crisis Has No Solution Without Alliance and Innovation

In 1866, a cornerstone was laid for Japan's modernization. Its name was the Satcho Alliance (薩長同盟).

Park Minwon, President of Changwon National University.

This alliance, formed between Satsuma and Choshu?two of Japan's most influential domains at the time?brought down the old Tokugawa shogunate system and served as the catalyst for the Meiji Restoration.

Despite differences in personal interests and political orientations, Satsuma and Choshu shared a sense of crisis about the future and a vision that Japan needed fundamental change. Their alliance was not a mere political coalition. It was a decisive act that involved bold self-innovation and dismantling of the existing system, fundamentally transforming their very nature.

Now, 158 years later, regional universities in South Korea are facing the same question. Can they survive as they are, or must they undergo a radical transformation to meet the demands of a new era?

Recently, the government declared, "The crisis of regional universities is a national crisis," and announced plans for structural reform and concentrated investment. Yet, the reality remains one of inertia and helplessness.

The school-age population continues to decline, and young people are leaving for Seoul and the greater metropolitan area. Many universities outside Seoul now stand at a crossroads between survival and closure, with some already having shut their doors. It is time to ask fundamental questions and seek answers. Like the Satcho Alliance, are we preparing for our own era of restoration?

The essence of the Satcho Alliance lies in the fact that, when faced with an extraordinary crisis, they chose extraordinary solidarity. Satsuma and Choshu were not on good terms and had significant ideological differences. However, to overcome the common obstacle of the Tokugawa system, they chose unity over division.

In stark contrast, today's regional universities are far from united. Instead of collaborating or forming alliances, they are locked in competition for student enrollment, funding, and local talent, undermining one another. Even universities within the same region are trapped in a mindset of self-preservation, rather than envisioning a shared future.

There are certainly external strategies that could help revive regional universities: strengthening ties with local industries, expanding the relocation of public institutions to the regions, implementing mandatory hiring of regional university graduates, and concentrating national budget investments. However, just as the Satcho Alliance was not a mere political compromise, material support from outside alone will not be enough to overcome the crisis.

The crucial factor is internal, voluntary change?a willingness to innovate. Even before the Restoration, the Choshu domain had already carried out the Hagu Domain Reform, dismantling the old samurai system, relaxing the class structure, and boldly adopting Western military and educational systems.

Satsuma, too, expanded trade with the West, reformed its military, and fostered talent with an international outlook. As a result, these two domains?though considered mere "regional small states" at the time?became the driving force that transformed all of Japan.

What preparations are our regional universities making now?

Internal innovation remains slow, and there is a lack of leadership to drive change. Lectures are conducted much as they were decades ago, and faculty appointments are bound by a system distorted by an overemphasis on research output. Practical education linked to local industries is rare, and communication with local residents is almost nonexistent.

Students who enter regional universities often look for ways to transfer to universities in the capital region. In such a structure, no matter how much funding is poured in, the fundamentals will not change. This is, in effect, "pouring water into a bottomless jar."

The solution, in the end, is innovation?painful self-innovation that transforms the internal structure.

The faculty system must be redesigned, teaching methods completely overhauled, and universities must reinvent themselves as "social universities" that engage with their communities. At the same time, each university should see others not as competitors, but as partners, and build alliances in the spirit of the Satcho Alliance.

Regional universities should come together to establish joint degree programs, exchange courses and faculty, and set up joint research institutes, thereby creating practical models of collaboration. Building networks centered on competitive universities and decentralizing the axis of change are also viable strategies.

The government's role here is clear. Beyond simple budget support, it must implement a genuine "selection and concentration" strategy. Universities that demonstrate both the will and capacity for change should receive investment on the scale of Seoul National University.

Conversely, universities that cling to outdated structures without change should undergo bold restructuring and integration. Since taxpayer money is being invested, the effectiveness and sustainability of these investments must be thoroughly verified.

Ultimately, a sustainable model for regional universities can only be built on the three pillars of "innovation, alliance, and selection and concentration."

"Creating ten Seoul National Universities" is, in itself, a grand national strategy. It is not simply about increasing the number of prestigious universities, but about dispersing talent from the capital region to the provinces and enabling regions to become self-reliant.

This begins by facing the current crisis of regional universities head-on and boldly putting them on the operating table. The Satcho Alliance turned what seemed impossible into reality through unity. The result was the modernization of Japan.

Today, we too need "that decision." A new alliance between regional universities, between government and universities, and between local communities and universities. It is an alliance not for politics, but for practicality; not for compromise, but for innovation. History shows us that all structural change arrives in an instant?and it always begins with alliance and innovation.

Park Minwon, President of Changwon National University.