In September 2013, Seoul National University (SNU) presented a revised policy of its college admission system, gist of which can be summarized into three: increased weight on the ‘Korean Student Aptitude Test’ scores, abolition of the essay exemplar, and freedom of cross-application between divisions of liberal arts and natural sciences. This revision, especially the last part, has been the center of much controversy. Some welcome the change by claiming that SNU did what needs to be done by trying to catch up with the worldwide trend of consilience, while others do not buy the idea.

  People of Korea, especially those whose interests are directly related to this matter, are well aware of the positive effects of the integration between liberal arts and natural sciences. In fact, statistics show that approximately 57.5% out of 732 teachers of the Korean Federal Teachers' Association agree to the consolidation of the two curriculums. In reality, however, people do not support the proposed admissions plan of SNU. This is quite unexpected. Why are so many people against SNU's decisions, although they support the integration itself? And why are education experts so reluctant to put this 'integration' into reality? The causes all boil down to our 'think-inside-the-box' point of view.

  The split educational system of South Korea as of a high school . also defined as Studies of liberal arts and studies of natural sciences . can be traced all the way back to the Japanese colonial era. Aspired to the desperate need of modernization, the Japanese focused on fostering experts of specific subjects. This academic perspective grew stronger during the 2nd Period of the National Curriculum (1963-1974). This was the starting point of letting students choose one of either curriculum . which varied from natural sciences to liberal arts . they wanted to take. This is the very system that South Korean high schools are implementing today.

  According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, the two separate curriculums got abolished during the 7th Period of the National Curriculum (1997 - present) in 2002. Nevertheless, since colleges still accept students according to the two separate divisions . liberal arts and natural sciences . most high schools divide the students for the efficiency of college applications. As a result, the majors that students can choose in college and job opportunities which are offered become very limited, since students who follow the curriculum of liberal arts have scarce knowledge about the subjects that natural sciences cover covers, and vice versa.

  This shows that although the split academic system may have been effective in the past, people who disagree with the integration need to realize that it does not fit the worldwide trend of educating individuals with understanding in various fields. In the words of Sung-Chul Shin, the chancellor of the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), "The split academic structure . which only Korea, Japan, and China implements . lags behind the contemporary trend of 'consilience'." According to Edward Wilson's seminal book entitled Consilience, the term consilience means the major integration of knowledge. In other words, since academic subjects are interdependent on each other, in order to be a truly successful person, knowledge in various fields is desired. This is what the world wants in the 21st Century . a human being with a creative mind and integrated knowledge in numerous areas. This can be seen in the worldwide phenomenon, Apple. Apple, and especially Steve Jobs (the former CEO and founder of the company) himself, is well known for combining humanist knowledge and quality information technology. He and Apple are proof that the current and future global trend is not a person with special talent in a certain major, but a one with harmonized knowledge about various fields. The integration of liberal arts and natural sciences look outstanding from this point of view, but it is not a good idea to put this plan into action yet.

  First of all, almost no one is completely ready for the 'big change.' This is being said and claimed by many education-related professionals . even the professors of SNU themselves. Moreover, Hyun Lee, from the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers' Union, appealed that if the integration of the two curriculums actually take place without any other alteration, the number of subjects that the students need to take for the Korean SATs is extremely likely to increase. Therefore, in order to decrease the amount of pressure that the students have to endure, major modifications in the current academic curriculum are mandatory. Nevertheless, this is not possible in the status quo. For example, teachers of elementary, middle, and high schools are not sufficiently educated so that they can teach the integrated program. Furthermore, colleges will have to make major alterations in their application system, since it will become possible for a student from a Foreign Language School to apply for a major in, say, the department of Dentistry. Also, the programs of almost every elementary, middle, and high school in South Korea will have to go through major transformation in order to adjust to the division unification. Finally, students themselves are not ready yet. Although they know that the integrated curriculum is what the world is looking for nowadays, their thoughts and academic minds are so accustomed to the programs of the current split system . liberal arts and natural sciences . that they are reluctant to actually take part in the change. In the words of Dong-Suk Kim, an Educational Inspector General Commissioner, "Since there are realistic limits to the integration such as the reorganization of the procedure and preparation of school textbooks, the groundwork of schools, and the pressure on students, we need to look at this subject as work which needs to be looked at from a long-term point of view, not something which is due by the end of 2017."

  Also, people tend to put too much expectation on the harmonization of the split divisions of liberal arts and natural sciences. The ones that agree to the integration believe, aspire, and anticipate that by taking part in the new curriculum, they have a much better chance of becoming a multi-intelligence being, such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Steve Jobs than studying in the split curriculum. This is a common misconception. It is not the new curriculum that provides the milestones for our success. It is, just like every other work we have to do, the passion and love for the subject which we are studying that contributes to our achievements. For example, Steve Jobs, as mentioned above, is seen as a human being with diverse academic qualities. However, South Korea will not be able to produce someone like him with merely educational policies similar to SNU's. Jobs did not become a person with a combination of talents because of some integration policy. He certainly did not deliberately choose to be an icon of consilience. In fact, he became one because of his pure passion and liking for mechanics and humanist studies. To elaborate, Steve Jobs claimed in his Stanford University commencement speech that he dropped out of Reed College and started to take the subjects which he purely loved and was interested in. For example, he began taking calligraphy classes. a subject which he was intrigued in. and learned about typography. As a result, Jobs was able to incorporate beautiful typography in his invention, the Macintosh. This clearly shows that Apple's products were not intended results of consolidation, but outcomes of Jobs' pure interests and passions. It is true that the consolidation of liberal arts and natural sciences will open up more opportunities for students on each side of the road, but in order to create a successful expert on both areas, we must look at this situation from a view which is different from the status quo.

  It is in the human nature to prefer something that you have experienced before than something you have never tried. This also applies to choosing which subjects to major in. If a student had only skimmed through biology but had access to in-depth learning about international relations before, she is likely to choose the latter as her major despite her interest in the former. Consequently, we must be able to learn a little of many various and diverse subjects in elementary, middle, and part of high schools. That way, we will be able to figure out which subjects we have the best aptitude for. After this, we will be able to use the integrated curriculum to its full potential and be content with the major and job that we choose.

  In 2012, South Korean president Geon-Hye Park pledged to create a 'Creative Economy' in order to provide the basis for fostering creative individuals. Min-Hwa Lee of the Korean Venture Business Association claimed that the abolition of the separate educational systems can be viewed as the first step towards making the 'creative economy' theory into reality. Therefore, the attempt made by SNU can be viewed as a big footstep towards the integration of Korea's two split educational curriculums, thus creating a creative economy in Korea. However, considering the status quo, the effort can also be viewed as too hasty. Although integration should happen, it must be done on a long-term basis. However, the most important aspect to make this aspiration a reality. and for there to be a Korean Steve Jobs or Leonardo Da Vinci in the near future. is for us to break out of our comfort zone of the divisions liberal arts and natural sciences, look at education from a larger, long-term point of view, and create academic policies for not only high schools and colleges but also for elementary and middle schools.

By Ji-Won Paik
(DG reporter)