Why do Korean university students feel strongly connected to their schools?

Close relationships among professors, students and senior-junior cohorts create a community that shapes each university’s identity. Students express that belonging through loyalty to their alma mater and by wearing university clothing and logos.

What are the disadvantages of close professor-student relationships in Korean universities?

Once a relationship is established, professors may expect students to help with paperwork, move items between buildings or volunteer at conferences. Students therefore cannot receive the benefits of personal bonds without sometimes giving their time in return.

The spirit of Korean universities

Q: Why are Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University called SKY universities?

The three institutions are collectively known as SKY, and Korean high school students grow up hearing the phrase “reach for the SKY,” which links admission to professional and financial success. The writer says their diplomas still carry exceptional prestige even though a degree alone is increasingly seen as insufficient.

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Summary

Korean universities build close relationships among students and professors, creating a strong sense of community and school identity. The writer contrasts this culture with Polish universities, where students and lecturers often remain distant. These bonds can involve expectations of students’ time and labor, but they also help explain the loyalty surrounding Seoul’s universities and the prestige of the SKY institutions. The writer hopes Polish universities will offer students more understanding and acceptance.

Key Facts

Students in Korea commonly exchange phone numbers or KakaoTalk profiles with lecturers for academic help and personal communication.
At Korea University, an elderly professor celebrated the end of a semester by ordering pizza and fried chicken for his class.
The SKY universities are Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University.
Chung-Ang University is known for acting and journalism.
The writer identifies herself as Scierska Anna Teresa, a Polish journalist and graduate student in Political Science and International Relations at Chung-Ang University in Seoul.

By Scierska Anna Teresa

Published Oct 20, 2026 1:56 pm KST

One of my first culture shocks in Korea came when a teacher took attendance and then phoned everyone who hadn't shown up. Without a trace of embarrassment, she asked why they were absent and why they hadn't warned her. They were international students who, like me, didn't know that here, you contact your lecturer not only before missing class, but simply to introduce yourself.

Teacher-student relationships in Korea differ strikingly from Poland. At a large faculty, we rarely get to know our lecturers unless they become our supervisors. We don't expect professors to remember our names, sometimes not even to answer an email, and we stay out of each other's private lives.

Korea is a huge contrast. It's standard to exchange phone numbers or KakaoTalk profiles so you can ask for an extra explanation, a book recommendation or share an article you found online. My teachers have asked me about Poland, sent me webtoon links and even wondered whether I'd had a nice holiday with my family. At Korea University, an elderly professor kept his distance all year, then ordered pizza and fried chicken in our last class to celebrate the end of the semester together.

Sharing food is part of the culture. Freshmen are looked after like children, so seniors treat them to dinner or coffee, just as upperclassmen once did for them.

This has downsides. Once we invest in a relationship, expectations follow: professors assume we'll help with paperwork, carry things between buildings or volunteer at conferences. We can't enjoy the benefits without giving our time.

Such bonds are partly why Koreans are so attached to their universities. They build a community that shapes the school's identity, which is why students proudly wear baseball jackets with the university's name on the back. At first it seemed exaggerated. Then it made me realize how Polish universities treat their students.

In Poland, students don't feel part of a community. Everyone has an unpleasant story about a dean's office, a secretariat or a lecturer who never graded their work. We expect nothing from one another, so we drift apart.

That's also why the "SKY" universities (Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University) carry such weight. High schoolers grow up hearing "reach for the SKY," a promise of professional and financial success. Even as more people say a degree alone no longer guarantees much, a diploma from one of the SKY universities still puts you at the front of the line, and everyone who walks through those gates wants to be part of the legend surrounding them. Other Seoul universities have their own strengths too; my own, Chung-Ang, is known for acting and journalism. If your alma mater is in Seoul, you've already won half the battle, which is why students wear their school's logo on the metro. Everyone is proud to belong.

I wish Poland would take inspiration from Korea. It's easy to blame lazy students or Generation Z, but students enter a system that already exists. Those who wait for them in offices and lecture halls should set the example and offer what anxious first-year students need: understanding and acceptance. I know it's idealistic, but without such thoughts, the world would stay exactly the same.

Scierska Anna Teresa is a Polish journalist, Korean studies graduate and graduate student in Political Science and International Relations at Chung-Ang University in Seoul.

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