World-class university in Korea: Proactive government, responsive university, and procrastinating academics

Abstract

This chapter described and discussed how the WCU model has been initiated and encouraged by government policy, how Korean universities responded to the policy, and finally how the academics are struggling to adapt to this new environment. Exploring the institutionalization of the WCU model in Korean higher education, we observe different reactions of the related actors; the government is aggressive, universities are responsive, and academics are struggling to respond to these changes. These changes have resulted in higher stress for Korean academics, but it has also contributed to the growth of knowledge production. The government initiatives and universities’ responses may serve as benchmarks for other countries, but to be benchmarked by other countries, we need to answer the question “Are we on the right path?"