Internationalizing Higher Education in Korea

Student mobility in Asia has reached unprecedented levels. Inbound and outbound student mobility creates opportunities for Asian societies but also challenges, such as growing diversity and brain drain. This book examines these and other related, timely issues for the case of South Korea, a major player in the internationalization of higher education in Asia, and draws on the comparative experiences of other key players in the Asia-Pacific region—Japan, China, Singapore, and the United States. By doing so, it offers critical perspectives on the internationalization of Korean higher education as well as innovative, policy-relevant solutions for Asian countries undergoing similar challenges. It will be a valuable addition to the growing literature on comparative and international education in Asia and can aid university administrators and policymakers striving to internationalize their higher education systems to meet new challenges.

Yeon-Cheon Oh has had an extensive career as a university administrator and professor, and in leadership positions in South Korea's civil service. He was the twenty-fifth president of Seoul National University (SNU) from 2010 to 2014 and chairman of its Board of Trustees. Before then, he taught at SNU's Graduate School of Public Administration from 1983 to 2010, and also served as the dean of that school from 2000 to 2004. His main areas of research and teaching include applied public economy and financial management.

Gi-Wook Shin is the William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea in Sociology; senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; the director of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center since 2005; and the founding director of the Korea Program, all at Stanford University. As a historical-comparative and political sociologist, his research has concentrated on social movements, nationalism, development, democracy, and international relations.

Rennie J. Moon is an assistant professor at the Underwood International College at Yonsei University. With a background in international comparative education and sociology, her main research and teaching interests have concentrated on globalization and higher education, global talent and brain flows, cultural diversity and social tolerance, and international cooperation and development (with a focus on Asia, especially Korea).