"Eliminate Kkondae Culture vs If You Dislike It, Leave"…Nobel Prize '0', The Path Ahead for Korean Science?[Reading Science]

Controversy Over Backward Research Culture That Blocks 'Great Achievements'

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] #1. Albert Einstein, in his mid-20s in 1905, challenged the prevailing academic consensus of the 'wave theory of light' and proposed the 'quantum theory of light,' which posited that light is composed of particles, earning him the label of a 'madman,' but this achievement led him to receive the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. Werner Heisenberg, the founder of the uncertainty principle and quantum physics (Nobel Prize in Physics, 1932), also mathematically proved quantum mechanics and published 'matrix mechanics' in 1926 at the age of 25, together with his mentor Niels Bohr.

With the 2021 Nobel Prize winners finalized and Korea’s scientific community once again left empty-handed this year, various diagnoses have emerged. What I want to talk about today is Korea’s 'backward research culture' that hinders creative and original research by young Korean scientists, much like those two great scientists.

Research labs at Korean universities still grant professors absolute authority and power. It is pointed out that the creative ideas and passion of young students, stifled by this, rarely lead to great research results worthy of a Nobel Prize. Corruption such as misuse or embezzlement of research funds frequently occurs, and sometimes students suffer greatly due to professors’ arbitrary actions and power abuse. Young scientists unanimously agree that creative and original research is only possible if this research lab culture is improved. However, professors’ responses are completely different. Their reaction was, "If you don’t like the temple, the monk should leave."

◇ Young Scientists Suffocated by 'Factory-Style' Research Labs

Young researchers strongly criticize the backwardness of Korea’s research culture and demand reform. According to Kim Su-ji, Vice President of the Graduate Student Council at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), many Korean research labs still have a factory-style, apprenticeship culture. A factory-style lab refers to a system where multiple large projects are secured, and a few senior doctoral students act as team leaders for each project. Such labs are systematically operated, and new students can simply follow instructions without confusion.

However, there are clear drawbacks. Since students are unilaterally assigned by the supervising professor, if the academic field is not their preference or if they do not get along with the professor, it is common for them to give up their dream of becoming scientists altogether. Because these labs are organized around government projects with predetermined topics, directions, and policies, free, creative, and original research is difficult. Also, doctoral students who serve as team leaders are overwhelmed with excessive work, leaving their own research and studies neglected. There is also a phenomenon of neglect by supervising professors, i.e., 'indifference and ignorance.'

The KAIST Graduate Student Council proposes an improvement plan where large labs are organized so that professors and students with aligned interests form teams based on PBS (Project-Based System). Vice President Kim pointed out, "Professors can form research teams with students who share their interests, and students can have more opportunities to receive guidance from various fields and mentors. In such labs, the absolute authority professors currently have over students (such as student salaries and graduation criteria) can also be addressed to some extent."

Lee Jun-young, President of the Graduate Student Council at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), gave a similar response. He said, "Currently, the graduate research culture has professors managing everything from academic tasks like graduation and classes to administrative tasks like leave and sick leave, as well as students’ research. This makes it easy for professors to exert power over students, creating a vertical research lab culture, increasing professors’ workload, and making it difficult for students to conduct free research." He proposed alternatives such as ▲ an administrative system accessible for external review, ▲ objective graduation criteria including external committee members, and ▲ activation of joint research and supervision.

◇ Professors Say, 'If You Don’t Like the Temple, the Monk Should Leave'

However, professors’ opinions were surprisingly the opposite. When asked about the claim that authoritative research lab culture restricts free and creative research at the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on the 4th, professors responded with 'If you don’t like the temple, the monk should leave.'

Professor A said, "If students want to conduct research outside the professor’s area of expertise, I cannot properly guide or take responsibility," adding, "Why not go to a field you are interested in?" Professor B also said, "Professors conduct research on their own topics, so it is not easy for students to deviate just because they are interested. If there is a system for free-topic research, I don’t know, but then guidance from professors becomes impossible," and argued, "If the professor is trying to go this way but the student wants to go somewhere else, the research cannot proceed properly."

Suddenly, the 'Piano Destruction' event held annually by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), considered one of the world’s best, came to mind. This event, which takes place on the rooftop of a building after orientation lectures and before finalizing course selections, involves throwing a piano off the roof. Long ago, a student who could not find a desired course jokingly proposed studying the process of a piano breaking after being dropped, and the school boldly accepted this, creating the event. It well illustrates a characteristic of American research culture that values freedom, creativity, challenge, and originality as the highest values, encouraging students to pursue any research topic they want.

In contrast, Korea, which is leading ICT innovation, still has a research culture that fears failure and focuses only on results, deeply rooted not only in graduate schools but also among undergraduates. What if a Korean university allowed throwing even more expensive chandeliers instead of pianos? I think that if unnecessary authority is dropped and a culture of equal discussion regardless of age, generation, or cohort is established to pioneer research, Nobel Prizes or even greater research achievements could emerge.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.