A Comparative Study of University Education in Korea, the U.S., and Japan

The purpose of this study is to compare university education in Korea with that in the U.S and Japan. In the first section, the comparison is made in respect to the history and present situation of universities. I divide the process of development of the modern Korean university into five periods: 1945 to 1950, 1950 to 1953, 1953 to 1960, 1960 to 1970; and 1970 until the present. These five periods can be called, respectively. The establishment of the new tradition of university, the Korean War and university education, the reestablisment of the university and the Student Revolution, the control and formation of the university, and the reformation of the university, Also, I divide the development of university education in the U.S. into three parts: the college incorporating the dormitory system, the university centering around the graduate school and the pragmatic university. In the case of Japan, I treat Daigakulyo, Tokyo University and university deucation since Mayji yooshin. The second section concerns the seeking of truth. I analyze the foundation of Seoul National University and emphasize the urgent need in Korea to construct universities centering around the graduate School. This section treats American university and emphasize the urgent need in Korea to construct universities centering around of the university theory of Perkins and concludes that American universities have succeeded in advanced academic research. In the case of Japan, I take Tokyo University as an example and conclude that universities in Japan are led and controlled by the government. The third section deals with the cultivation of men of ability. In Korea the core of the university is not the graduate school but rather the college, and the number of university students is strictly limited. On the other hand, the core of the American university is the graduate school, and its central aim is to cultivate men of high ablility. In Japan, colleges advance· side by side with graduate schools. The last section treats the university service to the community. Korean universities have concentrated their efferts primarily on education and then on research, they have not done much to serve the community. American universities have traditionally contributed to the community. Japanese universities have done their best to serve the community and become the foundation for the amazing development of that society