"Hi, how about lunch?"

These are familiar words to Prof. KI-Soo PARK (Department of Culture Contents, College of Language and Cultures) and his students who are often asked this question in the corridor after Prof. PARK finishes a class. Through these meal invitations, he has become well known among students who view him as more than just the typical serious teacher. Such a seemingly small gesture is turning out to be a worthwhile investment towards enhancing teacher and student relations. Fortunately there are many more teachers like Prof. PARK who are making similar kinds efforts to develop or maintain positive relations with their students. The Weekly Hanyang News Team sought out some of these teachers on campus to hear about their thoughts on the matter.

Exchanges through communication

The Culture Contents Major is the newest addition to the College of Languages and Cultures on the Hanyang Ansan campus. The major is currently home to a couple of full time lecturers and 32 students, which is a ratio conducive to creating a comfortable, friendly atmosphere. Prof. PARK opens up his research lab to everyone during the week and tries to maintain regular dialog with his students. "Because [my students and I] belong to a new department at the university, I feel like we, the faculty and staff, should communicate more with our students to build firm ties and mutual cooperation since we are in the same boat," he said. He added, "Fortunately, the students have been responsive and are very active in communicating back with us. They come and talk to us comfortably and even sometimes borrow books from us. We have tea and talk about their studies and other matters too."

So far this kind of studying environment appears to have been having a positive affect on the students. Mr. Hyun-Woo KIM (2nd year, Department of Culture Contents, College of Languages and Cultures) said, "With strong recommendations from our professors, our department was able to produce four teams who submitted their applications to the Office of International Cooperation for the Global Frontier Program this year. To prepare for the program, we learned a lot about the program and what it entails, thanks to our teachers." Ms. Ye-Eun LEE (2nd year, Department of Culture Contents, College of Languages and Cultures) also commented positively about her professor saying, "Earlier Prof. PARK conducted a survey on relationships between professors and students and then proposed ways to improve our relations within the department. It was interesting he ideas worked to help us better understand each other."

Prof. PARK is investing time, effort, and even expenses in his students who he believes have the potential to be global leaders in the future. Through online interaction via his personal homepage, he is getting to know more about his students. He said, "I want to encourage and motivate my students as much as possible, so during the semester I made a proposal on my homepage; I said that I would award 500,000 Korean won (approximately $455) to the student who raises his or her TOEIC score the most and to the student who writes the best book report." He believes that his students are not simply motivated by the possibility of gaining prizes but rather they are encouraged by the care and attention he gives them outside the classroom. Because of his friendly and somewhat casual demeanor, some have compared him to an energetic high school teacher. A major difference between him and his high school counterparts however, is that he expects students to exercise self-discipline and encourages them to voice their opinions.

Synergetic education

Ms. Joon-Hee MOON (3rd year, Department of Korean Language Education, College of Education) appreciates the teaching style of Prof. Rae-Ok CHOI (Department of Korean Language Education, College of Education) saying, "One time Prof. CHOI brought a flower to class and asked us if we knew what it was called. Nobody could answer so she scolded us a little because at that time, we were studying a poem on Corni Fructus which was the kind of flower she brought to show us." Prof. CHOI is famous for using this method of showing her students tangible items of what is discussed in class in order to provide them with a better, more profound understanding.

Prof. CHOI said that she believes in the value of having personal meetings between teachers and students. She often arranges gatherings or field trips for her students at places of interest, and has been doing so since the establishment of her department in 1986. She said, "I like to take a practical approach to learning so when I take my students on trips to ancient sites for instance, I believe they learn more by being there than in the classroom." She added, "It's about learning through experience and feeling confident about what you've learned. This will be helpful to them in the future, especially those who want to get into teaching later." On a personal note, Prof. CHOI said she likes to take a picture with her students when they take field trips as a way to fondly preserving the memory of the experience.

Mr. Sang-Soo KIM (3rd year, Department Korean Language Education, College of Education) also commented about Prof. CHOI saying, "Though [she] is nearing retirement she is still enthusiastic and gives us a lot of attention. She is affectionate and worries when any of us experiences trouble. We have so much respect for her." Mr. KIM said he believes Prof. CHOI is a living embodiment of Hanyang's founding philosophy, "Practicing love in truth and in deed." He said he also appreciates the fact that Prof. CHOI encourages her students to compose poetry which she collects and makes into a book.

'Communicating through events'

Some departments in the past have had to merge into one division and as a result, decreased interaction and communication between teachers and students became an area of growing concern. The Division of Business Administration recognized this problem and decided to find a solution. The result is a newly designated special day for both teachers and students called 'JJaJangMyun (noodles in black sauce) Day' during the Spring semester and 'Pizza Day' in the Fall, which began in 2003. Mr. Tae-Kyung YUH (3rd year, Department of Business Administration, School of Business) said, "There were about 100 students who attended the event last semester. Considering that the entire population of our division was about 1,200, the turnout was comparably low. We are going to try to attract more students to this coming 'JJaJangMyun Day' and to promote more interaction between teachers and students."

Mr. Hyun-Joon NAM (2nd year, Department of Business Administration, School of Business) who attended the 'Pizza Day' event last year said, "I got closer to my teachers by being at the event. Everyone seemed more comfortable in that casual atmosphere. I hope there will be more of these kinds of events so better relations can develop between students and teachers." Fortunately, the Student Union of the School of Business recently announced its intention to organize a similar event in the upcoming semester.

Prof. Sang-Kyung GEON (Department of Accounting, School of Business) has been participating in this event since it first began. He said, "We need to promote these special days well in advance so that students are more aware, because after all, they are the main reason for even having these events." He said he was confident that more professors would be willing to participate and that the organizers would do a great job. "Business majors are trained to think strategically and with them in charge of the organizing these special days, I'm sure they will do a wonderful job," he said. He also said that he hopes that the Student Union will play a more active role in professor-student relations.