By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

Many Korean universities are poised to shut down or downsize what they call unpopular departments in a bid to concentrate on sought-after studies and reduce their budget spending.

The government's plan of giving more subsidies to departments with higher graduate employment rates and popularity among newcomers is likely to accelerate the phenomenon.

Konkuk University said Monday it might shut down its European Union Studies and Jewish and Middle East Studies departments from the spring semester after taking into account their poor employment rates and lukewarm response from students.

The university will also downsize its Physical and Music Education departments as demand on teachers majoring in such subjects has been falling, while it will establish an English Education Department to meet the soaring demand for English-specialized teachers.

Seoul National University, the nation's No. 1 school, is considering unifying its three out-of-favor departments ㅡ the Department of Asian History, Western History and Korean History. Sunchon National University in South Jeolla Province has become the first state-backed school to abolish its physics and chemistry departments.

Many other universities nationwide are also seriously considering ending some unpopular subjects such as social welfare studies, sociology, and some European languages.

School administrators say it's an inevitable choice to put more energy and money into studied for which there is high demand.

``Competition among Korean universities is getting fiercer. We have no room to run unpopular departments any longer,'' a Konkuk University officer said.

Students criticize the move, claiming the school authorities were being shortsighted.

``Universities should keep their basic role of bolstering not only rising studies but also unpopular yet essential studies for the sake of symmetrical academic development,'' said Kwak Chul-eun, head of the Konkuk University Students' Association. ``We will resist until school authorities abandon the plan.''

Prof. Lee Nam-in at Seoul National University's philosophy department also criticized the move, saying ``As a tree with weak roots cannot stand firm, so popular studies cannot grow enough without basic studies.''

pss@koreatimes.co.kr