Almost 2 years ago, the enormous tsunami and earthquake hit Japan. Nuclear power plants were damaged and problems related to the release of radioactive elements arose. Although quite some time has passed, people are still unwilling to visit Japan because of safety. Because of those circumstances, I respected reporters who visited Japan and wrote great reports in The Postech Times.
The articles in “Feature & Culture” section in the previous edition of The Postech Times were about the two foremost Japanese universities, Osaka Univ. and Kyoto Univ., and Japanese culture. The articles about the educational methods of the two universities were very interesting. They introduced ways of education for undergraduates and graduate students compared with those of Korea. Especially, the interview with a professor and graduate students in Osaka Univ. clearly showed differences between the two countries’ universities and the system which Korean universities should emulate. I thought it could be a good guide for people who are concerned about studying abroad.
The article about the education system of Kyoto Univ. for undergraduates was also quite attractive. However, I thought it was a little ridiculous to suggest that system was the reason for winning the Nobel Prize. The system and institute of Kyoto Univ. are not only similar to those of POSTECH, but there seems to be little correlation between great education for undergraduates and wining the Nobel Prize. I wanted to know about the weaknesses of those universities, too. In addition, after reading I was still curious how Kyoto Univ. made undergraduates feel free.
The article about Japanese culture was quite impressive. However, it seemed contrived that the article extremely compared Korean culture and Japanese culture. I thought human characteristics, such as politeness and working speed, were not comparable things in terms of national characteristics. I wish the reporter had written more objective facts or characteristics of the two countries, rather than subjective assessments or biased points of view. Focusing on the culture and tradition of Osaka, instead of on comparing Korea and Japan, could have made the report more vivid and accurate.