The Ring of Academic Power

For whatever that's worth from this English-language blogger, I'm glad this is happening. From The New York Times:

South Korea has been shaken as one prominent person after another has been exposed as having exaggerated, or fabricated, academic accomplishments.

The exposés have prompted prosecutors, the police, the Education Ministry and regional education authorities to announce plans to combat academic record fraud. Legislators have introduced a bill calling for a verification system.

“Before, we struggled more with fake luxury goods,” said Moon Moo-il, a public prosecutor who is leading a nationwide crackdown on document forgery and misrepresentation at the prosecutor general’s office. “Now that we have entered the knowledge-based society, we have to deal with an overflow of fake knowledge.”

Finally! Now that this scandal has broken wide open, I can say what only got me in trouble for speculating about, something anyone with a sense of professionalism and in possession of a work ethic in Korea has known about for a long time: there's a lot of frauds in places of authority, but including people who aren't "fake" but fatally crippled by some combination of being completely fucking incompetent, arrogant to the point of dysfunction, and who, more likely than not, is more concerned about surface appearance than performance and efficiency.

We all know this shit, like a bad smell in the air – but we couldn't quite prove it, or even point to it in a concrete way. I knew something was up when that venerable old Spy Magazine published a list, back in 1989 or 1990, of the world's top ten buyers of fake degrees. Guess which country was #1? If you don't know, you haven't been paying atTENshun...

In my experience, especially in certain elite foreign language high schools that I cannot name but successively quit, there are nearly as many fakers as there are people who actually contribute to making their school, organization, and their country a better place.

In my time at these places, I've always found that the more prestigious the position, the more suspicious I am. It's not just fake degrees, but the complete lack of talent, most specifically the very talent that is implied by the degrees they flaunt. To wit, here are the very typical things I have observed, and always wonder, if these people are truly the "best" people in their fields, whether I should be afraid because it bodes poorly for all their colleagues, or whether many, truly more talented people get edged out. I tend to think it's the latter, but here's what I've seen:

--- "Clearing" of contract teachers who are well-liked and well-rated in the classroom for teachers with "better" degrees, e.g. my physics teacher friend who was fired from her job with an Ewha degree for a chabeol company man with a degree from Seoul National, albeit with no teaching experience. My students still complain about the fact that he has absolutely no ability to convey understanding of the material, but the school gets to put down that it has an SNU person teaching physics. Kudos!

--- Head English teachers from prestigious Korean schools who – wait for it – apparently can't speak English! I worked with one head English teacher for more than a year, and she never spoke English with any of the foreign teachers. Stellar!

--- Experienced professors in their fields – at certain prominent universities I've been at – who are still teaching theories that were discredited when Cro-Magnon man was busy discovering fire, or are just plain stoopid. OK – it's not that bad, but close. How about picking up a journal in one's field once a decade, instead of resting on one's academic laurels for the rest of one's natural life?

--- People being excused egregious mistakes because of their degree or status. A person from SNU may be as blessed as manna from heaven, but if said someone from SNU does something stupid, it's no less fucking stupid than some guy who went to Kangwon National University or a correspondence school. HEL-lo?!

--- People getting jobs because of their status. I include myself in this. I've proved through my performance, both to myself and others, that I'm a pretty damn good US History teacher, but that's not why I continue finding good jobs after I quit one school after another in a huff and tell it to go fuck itself – it's my degrees that let me do that. "Andover, Brown, Berkeley, Fulbright." It's like a magical mantra, a magical ring of power, in Korean society. Seriously – it's irritating, since I get respect not so much for what I do, but what degrees I can put on the table. God knows what I could be teaching these students – no one checks my curriculum, sits in on my classes, nor even goes through the textbooks I choose – they just say, "Oh, he went to X school." And for as hard as I try to do a good job, I know I actually don't have to. What kind of effect do you think that has on performance? A lovely one! I can pull out the Ring of Academic Power, put my ass on cruise control, and teach from a Kaplan test prep book to teach my class without busting my ass, and keep getting pizzaid! Brown! Berkeley! Don't question my AUTHORITAY!

No wonder people are lying, cheating, and stabbing each other in the back over academic degrees in Korea – because brand names are all people really care about still, when it comes right down to it. Sure, there are few exceptions, but they're tiny and related to certain specific skills or genes – things that even degrees can't buy.

And if just a little shaking of the societal tree is rousting up so MUCH plagiarism, degree faking, and other kinds of just plain lying through one's teeth – how much more do you think there REALLY is, beyond the superficial extent to which the media is focusing on a few famous stars and other prominent figures.

My read of things, from having worked in these "prestigious" high schools, universities, and organizations, is a whole FUCKING lot.

One thing I really wonder – are Korean doctoral degrees from foreign universities digitally stored now? Because I know for a fact that there are peeps who go over to chill and get master's and doctoral degrees in American grad schools, and pay someone else to write it; but that's so NOW. Back in the day, they would have probably just copied it wholesale. Easy access to the dissertations of prominent government and academic figures – the ones filed back in the 60's through to the 90's – now THAT would be a blogging project worth picking up. I'm talking whole sections and chapters copied wholesale, not problematic citations. Man – people thinking plagiarism is bad now? Try 1975. I wonder how many cabinet ministers and professors could even remember the English titles of the dissertations they filed.

Too bad we can't make a "verification system" for all the incompetent and seriously stoopid people who studied hard back in 1975 to get into a "good" school but haven't cracked a book, attended a conference (intellectually, as well as physically), or really opened their minds since.

That's harder than finding the outright fakers. Because there's a lot more fakers who actually did receive their degrees from where they said they did, but are doing worse jobs than the lying snakes who didn't.

The media should stick that in its craw and take a toke. But that'd be hitting a bit too close to home, because we all know who that guy in our office or organization is.

Comments

[JJ]

This is truly sad. Am I surprised about this? No. However, I'm actually surprised that it took this long to expose all this. I really hate the SNU/name dropping bullshit that goes on.

[dwilliams]

Everybody has been caught up in the act like Roh's assistant, she had to resign when it was discovered she lied too and the famous Korean actress Kim Tae Hee I believe is in hiding as well. Well she is an actor so lying wouldnt seem too far-fetched. Just keep it honest people and bust ass if you want to go to a good school.

[Jojo1]

Dear Mike, if I may.
Fight the power and keep up the brilliant work. Thanks for taking a stand and not running, as if you have a choice.
Peace
Your longtime lurking fan,
Jojo

[seouldout]

Start at some of the government ministries. Quite a few whose "studies" overseas were nothing but extended golf vacations footed by the taxpayer. And the production of the dissertations was facilitated by the government.

[Mark]

I was talking with a friend about the Korean Education System, and what I just read is one direct result of a system that is like a pressure-cooker. There's so much competition these days that people will do what it takes to cheat and survive to get the big bucks and positions.

I believe that these kinds of ground breaking stories will get the ball rolling for reform, an ironic statement in a country like this. But I really hope that they lesson the desire for what brand name it says on your degree and to assess the merit and individual personality of a candidate for the job. What's more important today's job market is creativity, analyzing situations, and a personality to attack new situations. I believe the Korean system needs to change before these kinds of frauds pop up.

[expatjane]

Dead on.

I brought up the same topic in class when on professor of mine was talking about the swift economic development of Korea. We were theorizing about the various reasons behind it.

One was Koreans drive for education. My question was if there is such a drive for education why is there so much plagiarism and outright lying? Those problems are so pervasive here that it indicates a drive for status and power more than education.

At least, now it's not just foreigners being called out for fake degrees. We've all known for a very long time that a lot of Koreans have faked their educations because there is NO way so many can be in high positions of power but be so dammed incompetent and defensive by chance.

All of this is not due to a clash of cultures. A lot of this is due to a genuine fear of being found out.

What matters to me is performing well and actually teaching my students. However, I know that, for better or for worse, it's my educational pedigree that gets me the jobs. Should the tide turn, I can say I've got the references to back me up. However, even with all the hype, I don't see the system changing anytime soon.

[Amyable]

The pressure to achieve is so pervasive in Korean culture. But, it's just as bad in the Korean American culture. I think that explains why a girl lied about being a Stanford student for almost the whole year!

[chinese guy in canada]

I've really enjoyed the writing on this blog. Sorry if the following is offtopic, but I'm just curious:

The international media keeps pumping on about 19 released South Korean hostages in Afghanistan and the two dead from that group. And I agree with your assessment of the incident, here in the Metropolitician.

But if I'm not mistaken, weren't the group supposed to be 23 people - what happened to the other 2 individuals? Are they still in Afghanistan, or are most of the easily-accessible media outlets confused about the numbers?

[Steve]

The degree scandal has really brought something into focus for me about Korean culture, and that's the overall importance of appearance. In my office, how good of an employee you are has nothing to do with how efficient you are or how much work you get done. It's all about how much unpaid overtime you work. Similarly, my team was just awarded a big pizza party, not for being the most productive or developing the most successful programs, but for having the cleanest work space. My suggestions for streamlining our paperwork to eliminate redundancy was scoffed at because "we need to show how much work we're doing, to prove people are getting their money's worth." It's all about neglecting substantive long-term improvements for the sake of short-term appearances. Nice post!

[JJG]

Another very interesting post, Michael.

I have had the opportunity to get to know a few wonderful young Koreans who have visited the US or attend school in the US, and one ofthe things I have been struck by is what seems to me to be an unwarranted obsession with the schools (universities) they or members of their families attend. I try to explain that in my view it isn't necessarily very important the school one attends, but what one makes out of his or her education. In other words, it is each student's individual responsiblility to make the most out of his or her education - one can obtain a good education even in a no-name school. I keep wondering if what I am saying makes any sense at all to them. I don't know. They listen politely, but I don't think they buy what I am saying.

I have a very good friend in my law firm who is a senior lawyer. He has been successful in every way - he was and is an outstanding lawyer, he has generated shitloads of business throughout the years, he is a great father, grandfather, and husband, and a great person in every respect. He told me a story about when he once met a lawyer who had been out of law school for at least 25 years. The first thing this lawyer did was drop the fact that he was a Harvard Law grad. My friend's response was, "Well, what have you done lately?"

To me, that sums it all up. I would say that the purpose of an education is to do something with it. Actually, the purpose is to learn how to learn, and then take that knowledge and do something with it. I don't get this obsession in Korea with where one gets his or her degree.

[SKFK]

To "chinese guy in canada": Two female hostages were freed earlier, so the total is 23.

[RealDegree]

Cough, cough... How would you guys explain the fact that South Korea is run by a man who never attended university?

[Aaron]

The Korean government is already taking measures to prevent forgeries, but as usual, they're going about it in entirely the wrong way. Like asking foreigners to send their real diplomas to Korea for inspection as part of the application process for teaching jobs. Have they never heard of signed, sealed transcripts sent from the registrar's office?

[Ethan]

A very interesting point, that the president never went to college. (But note Assemblywoman 전여옥 made a remark saying that the next president should have at least a college degree.) I think that has more to do with people's resentment towards the haves.

Aaron's comment- I think sealed & signed transcript should suffice! I believe a tougher penalty for English teachers who fake their diplomas is a better solution. That is a violation of Korea's immigration act.

I read an interesting column on JoongAng Daily. (http://article.joins.com/article/article.asp?total_id=2862887&ctg=2002)

It basically says that this academic accomplishment exaggeration issue is worldwide. It talks about Marilee Jones, dean of admissions at MIT who resigned after acknowledging that she fabricated her academic credentials. It also talks about the US congressional hearing on the same issue back in 2044. 463 US federal employees had a diploma from "diploma mills."

The Korean central government recently announced that they will verify all diplomas and certificates government employees claimed to have. I'll be very interested to know the investigation result on these central government employees.

[dogbert]

"Cough, cough... How would you guys explain the fact that South Korea is run by a man who never attended university?"

Because he didn't lie and say he did?