Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
Hanwha fosters global leaders
A foreign teacher talks with students at Bugil Academy, an autonomous private high school run by Hanwha Group, in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, in this file photo. / Courtesy of Hanwha Group
By Park Ji-won
By Park Ji-won
Hanwha Group has taken a lead in finding and fostering global talent by running the Bugil High School or Bugil Academy, an autonomous private high school in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.
The group’s efforts came to fruition this year because many of the school’s first graduates from its international program have been accepted to attend top U.S. universities from this fall.
The school’s international program was launched three years ago, and 25 out of 30 students in the program have been admitted to Ivy League or other prominent universities in the U.S., including Yale University, Cornell University, Stanford University and Johns Hopkins University.
The international program helps students apply to universities overseas. It offers advanced placement courses and a college-level curriculum to prepare students for the Scholastic Assessment Test, the standardized test for university admission in the U.S.
The program also provides a supportive educational environment that fosters global leadership. Except for Korean History and Korean Language and Arts, all classes are delivered in English. Sixteen teachers in the program hold master’s degrees from top U.S. universities.
The international program was launched in 2010 with the support of conglomerate Hanwha. Hanwha Chairman Kim Seung-youn hopes to foster future global leaders through the program.
The program accepts only 30 students every year to ensure each student receives sufficient individual attention from faculty members.
“We are confident of the education we offer. We’ve seen the result in front of us,” said Lee Young-jun, the director of guidance and admissions at Bugil Academy.
“The students performed well in the entrance exams, even though they are the first graduates of the program. They obtained scores of over 110 in the TOEFL iBT. We expect them to become excellent leaders in global society.”
Another Bugil official said the school is in discussion with the Ministry of Education to expand the number of students in the program to 60 next year, hoping to help more students achieve the same success.
The school will hold a question-and-answer session for applicants for school year 2014 on Jun. 10 at COEX, in Samsung, Seoul. Such sessions will be held at a total of seven locations in the country, including Ilsan, Mokdong, Daejeon and Busan.
In another attempt to foster young talent, the group also hosts the Hanwha Science Challenge, a science competition for high school students.
The group also invites Harvard University students to visit each year to help Korean high school students learn from their experiences.