By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter

Despite growing criticism from foreign students over communication difficulties and discrimination, Korea’s top school, Seoul National University (SNU), is still indifferent to their calls for active support.

Chung Min-ho, spokesman of the university, said Tuesday that there were no immediate plans aimed at easing the troubles of foreign nationals enrolled at SNU.

Many foreign students there have complained about the insufficient means of communication with the administrative staff and a shortage of courses taught in English, which makes it difficult for them to graduate.

An Australian PhD candidate in biotechnology said she is likely to give up studying at SNU, simply because “the conditions are not supportive.”

“I cannot even register for classes without help because the entire sign-up system is all in Korean. My classes are all in Korean and I understand less than five percent. However, I still managed a 4.09 GPA last term just because the quality of teaching here is terrible and the exams were too easy compared to Western standards,” said the 27-year-old student in an e-mail to The Korea Times.

“SNU is very much behind in helping its international student community. I cannot recommend this school to any international students. I have been very disappointed with the lack of effort made by the administration to make the foreign student community here comfortable,” she added.

Some students from Muslim countries have problems with the lack of Muslim food options and prayer rooms, which SNU has refused to establish without good explanation. “We hope to see some improvements, especially in the attitude toward recognizing and handling the problem,” said a student from an Islamic country.

A foreign professor claims that SNU is not only insensitive to the complaints of foreign students but also to those from foreign faculty.

“The behavior of SNU colleagues damages the international academic standing of SNU and Korea. Naturally, I am sorry for Professor Lee Jang-Moo, as president of SNU, having to lead an institution where professors behave like this to a colleague,” said American professor Douglas Rogersa, referring to a case in which Korean professors blocked a foreign professor from taking a post at the university.

In a separate case, Andrea Pearson, a tenured foreign professor at the university, quit the school during the semester without giving prior notice, with some speculating that she departed because she had been ignored by Korean professors.

kswho@koreatimes.co.kr