[Kim Seong-kon] Do not wage 'war against the academy'

Korea Herald

3 days ago

In the 1960s, the great literary critic Leslie A. Fiedler wrote an epoch-making essay, 'The War against the Academy.' In the article, Fiedler advocated the free spirit of the 1960s against the trend toward institutionalism in literary criticism, such as the formalistic New Criticism, and proposed psychological and mythological approaches to literature instead.
Such approaches, Fiedler wrote, were a 'revolt against school and in particular against the University. Given the opportunity, the writers of the 1960s prefer, theoretically at least, to go on the road rather than into school; and even, if forced so far, would choose the madhouse over college, prison over the campus.' In his essay, Fiedler criticized the rigid inflexibility of academics who wanted to institutionalize literary creativity and works of the imagination.
Six decades have passed since then. Now in 2025, we are witnessing a different type of war within the academy: This time, it is the war against elite, prime universities. Newspaper reports say that our politicians are planning to change the name of ten national universities to 'Seoul National University,' differentiating them by numbers only, such as Seoul National University I, II or X. As a result, the government would provide abundant funds to upgrade them to suit the name, Seoul National University.
To make this ambitious project succeed, our politicians must consider various aspects and circumstances. For one thing, they should know that building 10 prime universities is a long-term project that requires patience, endurance and perseverance. For example, Harvard and Oxford each have a long tradition of intellectual history, academic excellence and illustrious human resources. Indeed, a prestigious university is not something you can conjure up overnight.
Moreover, we should consider the fact that neither name nor money make a first-rate university. Instead, it requires outstanding students with brilliant minds, eminent professors, and global recognition based on stellar accomplishments, plus a profound intellectual atmosphere. Funds are imperative to give a university such distinctions. However, funds can also be easily wasted if not managed properly by prominent researchers and discreet administrators. Therefore, it will not be easy to carry out the project successfully.
Perhaps we can learn from the case of the University of Paris. In 1970, the universities in Paris were dissolved and split into 13 universities. They were called the University of Paris I, II or XIII. But experts have pointed out that the new system has inadvertently made the prestigious Sorbonne invisible under the name Paris IV, and has consequently lowered the prestige of French universities in the international rankings. In 2017, therefore, Paris IV Sorbonne, and Paris VI Pierre and Marie Curie merged as Sorbonne University and in 2019 Paris V and Paris VII merged to form Paris City University.
Experts predict that the same thing may happen to South Korea as well. Indeed, the idea of creating 10 universities bearing the same name might eventually make it hard for the original SNU to stand out, thus lowering the rank and prestige of Korean universities in the international assessment.
Prime universities represent 'intellect.' Indeed, they say that Seoul National University is an emblem of 'intellect' in South Korea. Among its many important qualities, 'intellect' makes our universities and society elegant and sophisticated. That is why the project is not supposed to be a 'war against intellect.' We hope, too, that such a project is based on 'intellect," not on 'emotion.' If we become emotional, we can easily become jealous, angry and impetuous.
Isaac Bashevis Singer once said, 'The very essence of literature is the war between emotion and intellect, between life and death.' He then continued, 'When literature becomes too intellectual — when it begins to ignore the passions, the emotions — it becomes sterile, silly, and actually without substance.'
By the same token, we might say, 'if we become too emotional, ignoring intellect, we may become frivolous and superficial, losing decency and dignity.' Indeed, we should pursue the harmony of intellect and passion in our universities and society.
In addition, the government should give autonomy to universities and refrain from interference. It also should encourage competition among universities because competition is what gives rise to legendary universities. Unless the goal of the project is to make everyone a graduate of Seoul National University without any competition, the government should instead make tremendous efforts toward building and sustaining ten first-class universities.
It would be easy to share the name Seoul National University with local national universities. However, it would not be easy to make ten equally distinguished, first-class universities, even if they all bear that much-coveted name.
Our politicians must overcome these obstacles if they want to pursue this project successfully. Alternatively, they may want to make prime universities compete with each other by giving incentives to those that excel. Recently, Sungkyunkwan University and Hanyang University have reportedly been competing with Seoul National, Korea and Yonsei universities.
We do not need to wage a 'war against the academy.' Instead, we should make peace with the academy.