Sookmyung to Teach Students Power of Thinking
School President Han Young-sil Seeks Substance in Globalization Drive
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
University students are gripped with worries about getting jobs. They are desperate to gain higher TOEIC and TOEFL scores to impress interviewers. Reading classic, social science or philosophical books seems like a luxury for them.
Sookmyung Women's University's President Han Young-sil is one of the educators who think differently. Han, 52, firmly believes in the merits of humanities studies.
``The foremost thing I want to do, as the president of Sookmyung, is to teach students the power of thinking,'' Han said in an interview with The Korea Times. ``The primary goal I want to achieve is to nurture happy intellectuals who know how to think.''
She said she would help students learn how to live a happy life beyond just mastering skills for their future careers. ``I will cultivate students who have logical and critical thinking ability. We have focused too much on material things and neglected basic human values,'' she said. ``Many people aren't happy despite technological advancement and the stronger economy. That's because they don't have core values or a vision of life.''
Han said the main goal of education is to become a guiding light for these students, who are clueless about their direction in life.
``They will be trained to think thoroughly,'' she said. ``Studies of literature, history and philosophy will be the stepping stones that will galvanize their thinking.''
To that extent, Sookmyung has strengthened liberal arts courses including humanities and social sciences, especially for freshmen.
For instance, the school is introducing programs such as ``language and reading comprehension,'' ``logic and reasoning,'' ``criticism and writing,'' and ``book seminars on humanities,'' courses designed to help students cultivate logical and critical thinking ability. ``I will encourage professors and students to have more discussions and debate various issues during their classes,'' Han said.
Han, who is widely known as a star professor of the popular KBS TV show ``Vitamin,'' started to head the 103-year-old university last September. ``It's very rewarding to see changes at our school when I make efforts as a decision maker. Now, I've already become familiar with my job and I have to accelerate our school's development,'' she said.
Sound Body, Sound Mind
One of the female leader's core plans is to cultivate students with patience and self-control through physical training. With this regard, the president will encourage the female students to participate in sports, especially soccer.
``I'm a sports lover. Sporting games have various rules and roles for players. They can learn how to cooperate with others and foster a tough spirit,'' Han said. ``When I was young, it was common to play various games outside. But children today have no time for physical training. They just spend a lot of time playing computer games, causing themselves physical and mental weakness.''
Hence, Han initiated 30-minute mini soccer, or futsal, tournament last year. Teams consisted of 6 players representing their departments.
``I like soccer. A soccer player who wins a goal will be spotlighted, but for the goal, other players have to defend and assist, so our students can learn how to assist and help others through the game,'' she said. ``I played in the final game of the competition last year with our faculty members to get closer to my students.''
She said that no matter how knowledgeable they are, it's of no use if they don't know how to serve and care for others.
``Female students have to be healthy and strong physically and mentally as they will deliver babies. And if they want to foster strong children, they have to first be strong themselves. The physical strength of mothers is the power of our nation,'' she added.
Globalization
As for the globalization of the university, Han pledged to run substantial and in-depth programs with overseas counterparts rather than merely increasing the superficial number of partnership universities.
``The word `globalization' is very common today and all universities say they are globalizing. But the term usually ends up being a slogan, and I will seek the real meaning of globalization through the practical achievement of and benefits for our students,'' she said.
Sookmyung will run ``International Summer School'' between June 15 and July 3 this year, inviting world scholars and students. All courses will be conducted in English only.
The university has also introduced a unique global internship program in cooperation with Florida State University and Walt Disney World in the U.S. Sookmyung students can learn at the American university and practice what they learn in the amusement park. They can not only gain academic credit but also earn money through the internship program.
Ubiquitous-Based University
Sookmyung will use the Internet to upgrade its education quality and globalize its campus. ``There are various contents we can use online. I will use free English content for our educational content. Then we can conduct global lectures in classrooms and increase the number of English-only courses. I will set up Internet-based learning,'' Han said.
Regarding English education, the president showed her iPod. ``I study English every day using this gadget. We don't need to spend a lot of money in studying English.'' Han also reads an English-language newspaper every morning. ``I have read English-language newspapers since when I was a university student. I studied English by myself and have no problem communicating in it.''
Like other leaders of Korean universities, Han plans to bring various reforms to improve the competitiveness of the university. ``Universities are in a position to aggressively lead social reform but ironically, they're among the most conservative organizations,'' she said.
So far, the university has evaluated professors by their research achievements, but from this year, it will assess faculty according to devotion to the guiding and care of students to foster quality graduates.
Sookmyung has also introduced a first-of-their-kind post-bachelor program among Korean universities, not charging tuition to job-seeking graduates. Graduates of the program can take a maximum of three courses per semester and the university will set up an internship course enabling graduates to work at its partnership companies.
``Our university has huge potential based on its soul. I believe this potential will bloom fully going forward,'' Han said. Founded in 1906 as Myungsin Girl's School by Empress Sunhen, the school evolved into Myungsin Girl's High School, then Sookmyung Women's Junior College in 1938, and Sookmyung Women's College in 1948.
In 1955, Sookmyung Women's College was upgraded to Sookmyung Women's University. The university consists of nine colleges with 42 degree programs.