In Korea, a high school offers two courses of education, liberal arts and natural sciences. Liberal Arts is an education course based on the studies of literature, history, culture and philosophy while Natural Sciences course offers studies on mathematics, physics, biology and geometry. The two totally different studies are offered to students with different interests and abilities.

 

However, as there are only a few countries that divide education courses into classes, the trial of the integration of these two tracks came up in conversation. Many people worry that Liberal Arts would get a blow from the integration of the two because of tougher course of education the students have to take. However, in one sense, this gives a great chance for the Liberal Arts group to take the upper hand. Let’s have a look.

 

Firstly, the integration of liberal arts and natural sciences foster outstanding individuals with convergence of knowledge. The integration enables students to overcome the borders of each study and let them encounter other interesting –sciences such as physics and geometry besides the liberal arts-focused education. Plus, since we are living in the 21st century that requires various sense of appreciation and insight, this integrated education can lead the students to a right direction of trend. The sensibility from liberal arts and rationality from natural sciences can be inculcated and this produces students with more potential.

 

Next, high-qualified education is offered to students of liberal arts course. At present, the two classes have different range of subjects they have to cover. The most significant ability difference can be seen on mathematics. If the split-structure comes to an end, the gap of abilities will soon disappear by the higher level of knowledge the students will get. Therefore, if these two studies get together, students are able to take higher standard education and fulfill their desire to learn more.

 

Lastly, students who used to take liberal arts course can have wider choice of career after the integration of the two studies. For example, the application to a medical school and engineering is mostly available for students who took Natural Arts courses. Moreover, even though there are open chances to apply for those college programs by cross-application, it is difficult for students in liberal arts group to get admissions to the schools. This is because medication and engineering requires the understanding of natural science courses. Students who had to give up their dreams to become a doctor or an engineer just because they are not so confident to apply to majors that are related to the natural sciences, have no need to worry when the two tracks are integrated. Through wider view and chances, students from liberal arts group are able to find what they really want.

 

In conclusion, the advance in students’ abilities, high standard of education and broader opportunities of choosing a career enables students of liberal arts courses to get a greater benefit from the integration of the two divided classes of education than students of natural sciences.

 

 

 

It is a common notion that after the integration of liberal arts and natural sciences in Korean high schools, most benefits would go for the students of the liberal arts. However, in broader perspectives, there are several positive effects for those of natural sciences, too.

 

The first advantage is comprehension. Language plays a huge role in studying science. Students of natural sciences have fewer language classes, Korean or foreign. In reality, a number of students have a difficulty understanding science not because of their lack of knowledge but because of their lack of linguistic ability. In order to have a full apprehension, students should know the exact definition of scientific terms and be able to explain their attained knowledge in their own words. All of these processes require linguistic competence. Moreover, a huge part of important scientific researches is conducted in countries not using Korean. So, being fluent in Korean as well as in foreign languages such as English or French surely helps students of natural sciences for their own awareness of renowned research. With the assistance of various languages, students would be able to absorb scientific accomplishments with ease.

 

Secondly, students will be equipped with writing abilities. Unification of liberal arts and natural sciences might actually solve the problem that Koreans are not recognized properly for their superb academic excellence. Even though Korea is famous for scholars and students who rank top in math and science, nobody has won the Nobel prize yet. This strange phenomenon is believed to happen mainly because of the linguistic disadvantage which Koreans have. Surely, many Korean scientists are producing edge-cutting and innovative scientific results. However, most of the researchers do not have enough language skills to explain and translate their achievements for other countries’ scientists and foundations. Most prize-related foundations use English as their main language and are only able to examine the researches written in English. Consequently, what has been a high quality work in Korean turns into a lower level work due to the linguistic limits. Acquiring more time for languages at school would make students of natural sciences reveal their true value by improving their linguistic ability in both speaking and writing. They could write essays or reports which fully explain the importance of their works and speak in seminars or debate with other scientists to advance their own work.

 

Lastly, students will develop the capacity for open-ended inquiry cultivated by the liberal arts. Integration would contribute to improved quality of natural sciences’ students. In modern days, the true meaning of a talented person became not a person with high examination scores or IQs but a person with integrated cognitive capacity. This capacity can be built based on deep and extensive areas of different knowledge being blended. The best realistic example is Steve Jobs. He put lots of efforts in learning calligraphy, Zen Buddhism, and Hinduism. The art of beautiful writing and enlightenment through meditation taught him to pay close attention to the tiniest of details, as it was those very details that made one’s creation something valuable. He connected all the knowledge he absorbed and created Apple series such as iPhone, iPad, and iPod by putting together subjects which seem unrelated. What could merely be a machine turned into art thanks to Jobs’ experience in caligraphy and zen. By attaining humanistic refinement, students of natural sciences would be able to integrate multiple perspectives and create a new world with their own hands.

 

 

By Mi-Kyoung Roh (DG reporter)
By Su-Min Lee (DG reporter)