Having taught at the university level in the US for five years before coming to Korea and currently being partway into my second year at POSTECH, I suppose I was a logical choice for the staff of The Postech Times to ask to write about the differences between Korean and American students.

Against my better judgment, I agreed. I’m no social scientist, and making broad statements about two different cultures in a few inches of newsprint would challenge better observers than myself. Therefore, please understand that any assertions I make are “from my (skewed) perspective” and “from my limited experience.”

Despite these tantalizing disclaimers, however, I’m afraid I don’t have any juicy revelations.  I really can’t honestly say I see too many differences between the groups of students.

People are people.

In both countries there are some students who are interested in learning and some who are interested in their grade point averages. Some want to excel, and some want to get by with the minimum of effort.

There are some students whose presence adds to the classroom dynamic and some whose presence detracts from it. Some are respectful of the goals and stewards of their individual institutions, and some are not.

There are some students who think of their education as something that must be endured on their way to success and some who plan to become professors so they will never have to leave the classroom.

There are students who experiment with different approaches to both topics and their writing and those who play it safe. Some believe that their grades reflect how much I like or respect them, and some believe in the merit of their work.

At times I feel it’s a shame that my science-light background doesn’t give me the opportunity to really see Postechions excel in the areas that brought them here in the first place, yet I’ve been wowed by some of the creativity, the logic, and the outright effort I’ve seen in my English classes.

Just like I was by students back in the US.

There are differences between the students to be sure, but I believe they’re more a response to different expectations from their educational systems than anything inherent and unalterable in their characters.

The expectations for students at POSTECH, as they are for American students, are changing as the global markets (of ideas as well as items) become increasingly multicultural. 

The students’ individual backgrounds (cultural, familial, and even genetic) will have provided them with some advantages in meeting these expectations as well as posited some particular challenges. Some students will accept their personal challenges and work to overcome them, and some will make excuses.

People are people.

Frank Pergande / Lecturer of HSS