Women-Only School Is Small but Competitive
Seoul Women's University Provides Students With Residential College Program to Help Them Better Adapt Themsevles
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Seoul Women’s University (SWU) promotes personal welfare of its students through college residential programs called ``Bahrom Education’’ _ ``Bahrom’’ means trustfulness.
Rhee Kwang-ja, 64, SWU president, stressed community education is key to fostering well-rounded students in an interview with The Korea Times Thursday.
``Students can develop their personalities and social skills by living together. SWU is the only school that has provided a residential settings for more than 40 years among universities here and overseas,’’ Rhee said. ``It is because our school doesn’t have many students. We will continue to take advantage of being a small school.’’
Under the residential college programs, all freshmen and sophomore students need to stay in dormitories for three weeks and two weeks, respectively. The school has about 1,800 students now and plans to expand the programs more.
``Our graduates have a good reputation outside the school that they can mingle with others very well and adapt themselves at their working places,’’ Rhee said. SWU has also launched the ``Bahrom International Program,’’ which invites foreign students to the residential college program.
The invited foreigners learn Korean studies and participate in field trips to cultural heritage together with SWU students during summer break.
Seoul Women’s University English Language License (SWELL), an intensive English education program, is another program for its globalization project.
During summer or winter break, the school runs the program for six weeks with 250 students, half from the school and the rest from other schools. All students need to stay in the dormitories.
The participants are allowed to speak in English only and are banned from using cell phones and smoking while they are staying at the dormitories. So far, the program has produced about 10,000 graduates.
``Honors Program’’ is another project to produce well-educated students since 2001. The program requires students to experience overseas culture and internship and trains them to make presentations in English.
Noting that Korea is still a male-dominated society, the president stressed that the women-only university is an ideal institute to produce independent women. ``I can assure you that our school will remain as women-only although other women-only colleges have transformed to coed,’’ Rhee said.
Rhee sees Korean universities as globally competitive, but due to lack of government support they are globally behind.
``Our colleges are competitive and Korea has been developed thanks to the power of education. But they have no autonomy to realize their foundation spirit,'' Rhee said.
``Once the government supports our colleges instead of controlling them, it will be only a matter of time for Korean universities to get in the world’s top 100 universities,’’ she added.
In addition, Rhee pointed out the problems in recruiting new students. ``It is nonsensical to select students based on mere tests that are taken only once. Also, we should not judge all students by the same yard stick,’’she said.
Rhee urged not to use the term ``main universities,’’ asking ``what is the criteria to define main universities?’’
Lastly, Rhee shares her education philosophy. ``The Korean government is striving to remove social classes and this is why it sticks to a policy standardizing all students,’’ she said. ``But this is wrong. The policy is making it hard to produce elites who will lead our country.’’
Graduating from SWU in sociology in 1961, Rhee received her master’s degree in sociology from Kent State University in the U.S. and a Ph.D. in family sociology from Yonsei University.
Having served member of Presidential Committee on Education Innovation and director of Seoul Welfare Foundation, she has headed the school since March 2001.