Seoul National University placed 85th in the "2009 Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities." according to the Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan.
The Taiwanese institute has assessed and ranked for world's 500 universities for scientific paper performance. The three criteria was used research productivity, which accounts for 20 percent of the total score, research impact, accounting for 30 percent, and research excellence, 50 percent.
Harvard topped the list with a total score of 96.14, followed by Johns Hopkins University at 52.67 and Stanford University at 51.63. SNU's score came to 21.76. Among other Korean universities, Yonsei University and Korea University ranked 200th and 238th, respectively.
Following those, KAIST, POSTEK, Hanyang University, Pusan National University, Kyungpook National University and Sungkyunkwan University were ranked among the top 500 universities.
Source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/08/117_50265.html
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Indonesian Tribe Adopt Korean Alphabet as Writing System
A minority tribe in the city of 'Bauer-Bauer', located in Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, has chosen Korean alphabet Hangeul as the official alphabet to transcribe its aboriginal language.
With a population of around 60,000, the tribe stood to lose its language because it had no alphabet to transcribe it. SNU professors of linguistics heard of this and visited Bau-Bau to propose the adoption of Hangeul.
Both sides signed a memorandum of understanding on the adoption of hangeul. Professor LEE Ho-Yeong and Kim Ju-won at SNU Dept. of Linguistics led the effort and supplied textbooks written in the Korean alphabet.
The textbook comprises writing, speaking and reading sections and also explains the tribe's history, language and culture. The entire book is written in Hangeul. (picture right)
Department of linguistics has tried for several years to spread the Korean alphabet to minority tribes across Asia who do not have their own writing system. This is the first case of Hangeul becoming an official tool for communications outside Korean territory.
Starting July 21, 40 elementary school students began learning the Korean alphabet with the textbooks. The Bau-Bau city plans to set up a Korean center in September and to work on spreading the Korean alphabet to other regions by training Korean language teachers. The city will also display Hangul and the Roman alphabet together on signposts and is considering publishing history books and folktales in Hangul.
"It will be a meaningful case in history if the Indonesian tribe manages to keep its aboriginal language with the help of Hangeul. This case will become a stepping stone to spreading and promoting the Korean alphabet globally." Professor KIM Joo-won has expressed hope.
(Source:SNU PR Office, August 13, 2009)
With a population of around 60,000, the tribe stood to lose its language because it had no alphabet to transcribe it. SNU professors of linguistics heard of this and visited Bau-Bau to propose the adoption of Hangeul.
Both sides signed a memorandum of understanding on the adoption of hangeul. Professor LEE Ho-Yeong and Kim Ju-won at SNU Dept. of Linguistics led the effort and supplied textbooks written in the Korean alphabet.
The textbook comprises writing, speaking and reading sections and also explains the tribe's history, language and culture. The entire book is written in Hangeul. (picture right)
Department of linguistics has tried for several years to spread the Korean alphabet to minority tribes across Asia who do not have their own writing system. This is the first case of Hangeul becoming an official tool for communications outside Korean territory.
Starting July 21, 40 elementary school students began learning the Korean alphabet with the textbooks. The Bau-Bau city plans to set up a Korean center in September and to work on spreading the Korean alphabet to other regions by training Korean language teachers. The city will also display Hangul and the Roman alphabet together on signposts and is considering publishing history books and folktales in Hangul.
"It will be a meaningful case in history if the Indonesian tribe manages to keep its aboriginal language with the help of Hangeul. This case will become a stepping stone to spreading and promoting the Korean alphabet globally." Professor KIM Joo-won has expressed hope.
(Source:SNU PR Office, August 13, 2009)
Friday, August 14, 2009
My Mother’s Troubles (2/100)
Some fascinating story from Korea's bravely which I must share with you.
Once, in a village, there lived a lazy delinquent. Having lost his father at a young age, he had been raised by his widowed mother, and had started to go astray early on in life. He never listened to his mother’s words, and was always causing mischief and disturbing the lives of the villagers.
His mother was very worried for his future, and called him to her one day, saying,
“I cannot allow you to live like this anymore. Fortunately, I have heard that there is a scholar of some reputation who is now living in the village. You must go and study under him.”
The mother took her son to see the scholar. At first, the scholar tried to teach him to study books and the teachings of the sages. However, the boy showed no signs of progress.
One day, the scholar said to him,
“The weather today is very hot. On a day like this, the best thing for us to do is to find a stream where we can bathe our feet. Also, we can eat watermelon and gold melon, having cooled them in the stream. Let us go now.”
The excited student rushed to get ready. The teacher told the boy to take the fruit, giving him a large watermelon and ten gold melons to carry. Pleased to be going on a trip, the student held tightly on to them, and hurried on his way.
But before they had walked one majang (about 400m), the boy began to sweat in the summer heat. His steps became unsteady, and he was on the verge of falling over. Unable to endure the heat, he said to his teacher, “I cannot go any further. Let us rest here for a while, and then go back home.”
Hearing this, the teacher scolded the boy, “You are complaining about walking only this far, carrying a watermelon? Think how your mother carried you for ten months, how she worked all day weaving cloth and tending to the farm with a heavy baby in her womb.”
At that moment, the boy felt a sharp pain, as if something was piercing his chest. Still holding the watermelon, he looked up at the sky, and soon tears started to pour from his eyes. He knelt before his teacher and said,
“Teacher, I have been so foolish. I repent from the bottom of my heart.”
Once, in a village, there lived a lazy delinquent. Having lost his father at a young age, he had been raised by his widowed mother, and had started to go astray early on in life. He never listened to his mother’s words, and was always causing mischief and disturbing the lives of the villagers.
His mother was very worried for his future, and called him to her one day, saying,
“I cannot allow you to live like this anymore. Fortunately, I have heard that there is a scholar of some reputation who is now living in the village. You must go and study under him.”
The mother took her son to see the scholar. At first, the scholar tried to teach him to study books and the teachings of the sages. However, the boy showed no signs of progress.
One day, the scholar said to him,
“The weather today is very hot. On a day like this, the best thing for us to do is to find a stream where we can bathe our feet. Also, we can eat watermelon and gold melon, having cooled them in the stream. Let us go now.”
The excited student rushed to get ready. The teacher told the boy to take the fruit, giving him a large watermelon and ten gold melons to carry. Pleased to be going on a trip, the student held tightly on to them, and hurried on his way.
But before they had walked one majang (about 400m), the boy began to sweat in the summer heat. His steps became unsteady, and he was on the verge of falling over. Unable to endure the heat, he said to his teacher, “I cannot go any further. Let us rest here for a while, and then go back home.”
Hearing this, the teacher scolded the boy, “You are complaining about walking only this far, carrying a watermelon? Think how your mother carried you for ten months, how she worked all day weaving cloth and tending to the farm with a heavy baby in her womb.”
At that moment, the boy felt a sharp pain, as if something was piercing his chest. Still holding the watermelon, he looked up at the sky, and soon tears started to pour from his eyes. He knelt before his teacher and said,
“Teacher, I have been so foolish. I repent from the bottom of my heart.”
A Visit to Seoul (Series 1/100)
Some hundreds of years ago, a young scholar who lived in a remote village married a woman from Kwachon. After the wedding ceremony, he went to live with the bride’s family. His father, worried about his son, said to him, “There is only one hill separating Kwachon and
“Why not, father?” the young scholar asked.
“If you set eyes on a bustling, flourishing capital city, your mind will become unstable and you will be unable to concentrate on your studies. Please promise that you will remember this.”
The scholar was a devoted son, and he always did whatever his father asked of him. Therefore, he promised that he would follow his instructions, and left for his wife’s house.
After he had been living there for some time, however, it occurred to him that it would be a shame not to go and visit
Once on the other side, however, he felt so uncomfortable going against his father’s wishes that he turned back to Kwachon after reaching the
When he returned to his wife’s house, however, he reasoned with himself that it would be acceptable for him to go
He repeated this several times, going to the
“Why do you appear at the
The timid scholar replied in a faltering voice.
“I recently moved to Kwachon after getting married, and had never been so close to
“Your father’s words? Explain what you mean.”
The scholar related the whole story, and begged the officer to pardon him.
“Since I could neither break my promise to my father nor abandon my wish to see
The officer saw that the scholar was a devoted son, and said, “Unless you yourself had told your father, nobody would have known about your coming to
Friday, August 7, 2009
India-Korea CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement): From Initiation to Agreement
The Korean government has processed CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) with India.
Since the CEPA negotiation was initiated by the declaration at the India-Korea Summit in February 2006, twelve rounds of negotiation have taken place. In February 2009, India and Korea signed the Interim Agreement in New Delhi. By signing the India-Korea CEPA on 7 August 2009, the trade agreement was settled between India-Korea.
CEPA stands for Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. As means literally, CEPA refers to a comprehensive type of FTA (Free Trade Agreement). While FTA stresses trade liberalization, CEPA underlines a wider range of economic exchanges in various fields including goods and services, trade, investment, and economic cooperation.
India-Korea trade negotiation was finalized in the form of CEPA in respect of India’s request.
The expected impacts by India-Korea CEPA:
India-Korea CEPA is aimed at establishing institutional framework of bilateral relations in economic and trade fields. It is significant in two following aspects. First, CEPA will provide a stepping stone to establishing strategic partnership between India-Korea. India-Korea have a high degree of trade complementarity. While major Korean products exported to India are automobile components, mobiles and petro-chemical products, Korea imports basic materials from India such as naphtha, cotton thread and metal mineral.
Second, India is a market with a huge potential. India is the 4th largest market after the US, China and Japan. It has the 2nd largest population (1.1 billion) in the world and the PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) of GDP is as big as 3 trillion dollars. It is the 19th important trade partner of Korea, and the trade volume between India-Korea is on the rapid increase. In this respect, India-Korea CEPA is expected to provide a stepping stone to prosperous relations between India-Korea.
Chronology of India-Korea CEPA
7 February: Declaration of initiating CEPA negotiations at the Seoul Summit
2008
2-4 April: Inter-session Consultations of India-Korea CEPA (New Delhi)
29 May-2 June: 10th Round of India-Korea CEPA (Seoul)
29 July-1 August: 11th Round of India-Korea CEPA (New Delhi)
22-25 September: 12th Round of India-Korea CEPA (Seoul) (tentative agreement)
23-25 November: 1st Round of Legal Consultation of India-Korea CEPA (Seoul)
5-7 December: 2nd Round of Legal Consultation of CEPA (New Delhi)
2009
9 February: Pre-signing of India-Korea CEPA (New Delhi)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Korea In Building Construction
Korean construction companies are among the limited number worldwide capable of offering Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) contracts, turnkey arrangements that encompass all aspects of the building process from design to project finance. Amongst many other projects, Samsung C&T Corporation's iconic super-tower, Burj Dubai, currently nearing completion in the United Arab Emirates, is one of the most outstanding examples.
Expected to be the world's tallest building, its precise height has not yet been revealed, but it is expected to be at least 700 meters high, nearly twice the height of the Empire State Building, and 200 meters taller than the current tallest building, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan. The 55-story Emirates Towers Dubai Hotel and 73-story Raffles City Complex in Singapore, both built by SsangyongEngineering & Construction, and Samsung’s 88-story Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, completed in 1998, are also famous architectural landmarks.
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, a South Korean water plant builder, has developed an unrivaled leadership in its field. Doosan holds a 42 percent share of the worldwide market for water desalination, and expects to earn at least $40 billion over the next 20 years from sales to the six countries of the Arabian Peninsula – United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Building on its success in the Middle East, it is now planning to expand
into other regions such as North America and Africa.
Source: 50 wanders of Korea, Vol -II Science and Technology
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Research and Development Process In Korea
Korea has became the destination of research and development for last few decades. As in Indian case, education system is borrowed by UK so in the case of Korea borrowed by US system. Normally 4 years of undergraduate study after 12 years of high school and then graduate study (Master 2 years, and Ph.D. 3 years and more).
Most of the professors are US educated have great command in their area and very helpful to the students (very exception in some area). They work too much and demand for the same from the students. It is very normal for a Korean professor to come at 9:00 am and left school by 10:00 pm. I observed one thing very interesting here about the outlook of the office. Normally Indian professors have small room, some books and rarely some other stuff. But Korean professors' room is full of books, and all daily needed stuffs even some time bed too. Probably, Indian professors room is not his/her headquarter but act as brach office and his/her head quarter must be in their home.
How they guide to graduate students?
That depend upon the professors, but in general all the professors have weekly meetings. For example, my professor use to have meeting on every Saturday from 3:00 pm onwards. Few graduate students present their work in the meetings and get comment from the professor as well as peers students. I think it is good way to guide, every one has opportunity for presentation and that seminar is a kind of in-house seminar.
Beside that, they have special summer/winter class. Here, Normally semester lasts for 3.5 month and about 2.5 month break between semesters. In this vacation, students use to organize their time by this special summer/winter course beside summer/winter courses by university.
One more notable thing against India is about time limitation for thesis submission. You can submit your dissertation by semester wise based on your own programmed time. It means that if you want to submit thesis in particular fall/spring semester you have to inform and do all the papers work and then finally your thesis will be evaluated for that particular semester and you will be awarded degree.
Do they have coursework in graduate study?
Yes, normally for Master program we have to take 24 credits and for Ph.D. course we have to take 36 credits. Beside these credits, we have to pass language course (depending upon schools) and thesis qualifying exam. And after passing these requirments you will be called as 'doctoral candidate'.
Most of the professors are US educated have great command in their area and very helpful to the students (very exception in some area). They work too much and demand for the same from the students. It is very normal for a Korean professor to come at 9:00 am and left school by 10:00 pm. I observed one thing very interesting here about the outlook of the office. Normally Indian professors have small room, some books and rarely some other stuff. But Korean professors' room is full of books, and all daily needed stuffs even some time bed too. Probably, Indian professors room is not his/her headquarter but act as brach office and his/her head quarter must be in their home.
How they guide to graduate students?
That depend upon the professors, but in general all the professors have weekly meetings. For example, my professor use to have meeting on every Saturday from 3:00 pm onwards. Few graduate students present their work in the meetings and get comment from the professor as well as peers students. I think it is good way to guide, every one has opportunity for presentation and that seminar is a kind of in-house seminar.
Beside that, they have special summer/winter class. Here, Normally semester lasts for 3.5 month and about 2.5 month break between semesters. In this vacation, students use to organize their time by this special summer/winter course beside summer/winter courses by university.
One more notable thing against India is about time limitation for thesis submission. You can submit your dissertation by semester wise based on your own programmed time. It means that if you want to submit thesis in particular fall/spring semester you have to inform and do all the papers work and then finally your thesis will be evaluated for that particular semester and you will be awarded degree.
Do they have coursework in graduate study?
Yes, normally for Master program we have to take 24 credits and for Ph.D. course we have to take 36 credits. Beside these credits, we have to pass language course (depending upon schools) and thesis qualifying exam. And after passing these requirments you will be called as 'doctoral candidate'.
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