By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
Yonsei University is promoting its new campus in Songdo, which opened Wednesday, as a new engine for the top private school's expansion but some students are not as enthusiastic as the school authorities.
"Most students do not think favorably about the relocation to the Songdo campus," said Kim Hee-jin, a junior of the university's Underwood International College (UIC), which will be moved to the new campus. "We did not know about the move when we entered the school and it was announced abruptly, without consultation with students."
Some students of UIC, which will be fully transferred to the Incheon campus by 2012, have criticized the school for the lack of communication.
Kim Joong-min, a sophomore of UIC who worked for the college's student council last year, said he thinks it is wrong for the school to notify students about the move unilaterally.
"The school does not give much information about the transfer and we try to cooperate with the overall student body and other colleges moving to Songdo," Kim said.
The UIC's student council is gathering information on the issue.
Meanwhile, Yonsei and Incheon City held a dedication ceremony at the new campus Thursday, four years after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in January of 2006. Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo and Yonsei President Kim Han-joong participated in the ceremony.
"The Yonsei International Campus is going to be a university where students want to study and scholars want to teach and research," Yonsei President Kim said. "The campus will be a hub for creating knowledge and the integration of study and life, providing housing for all students."
The Yonsei Songdo Global Academic Complex is built on a site measuring some 615,000 square meters in the Incheon Free Economic Zone. The ceremony was for the completion of eight buildings, including a dormitory. The construction of the campus will be fully finished in 2013, after completion of some 15 more buildings.
The first buildings opening at the Incheon campus will house pre-university courses for overseas students, such as Korean language courses, an international summer school and the United Nations Project Office for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific, among others
At the new campus, the school plans to set up the Underwood International College (UIC), College of Pharmacy, pre-medical and pre-dentistry courses, graduate courses of interdisciplinary majors in engineering and life science, and the Yonsei Language Center.
When completed, the Songdo campus will house the School of Asian Studies, Global Business Program, Undergraduate Honors Program and various joint programs with overseas institutions.
After the completion in 2013, 4,000 students (3,000 domestic and 1,000 international), 500 school personnel and 500 researchers will move to the new campus.
Due to regulations regarding school capacity in the metropolitan area, Yonsei will transfer 10 percent of its freshmen quota at the Seoul campus to the Songdo campus.
"We will introduce the Residential College system so students can learn about globalization while boarding together, which will improve the quality of education and research," a school official said.
meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr
