South Korea is involved in a big national push to recruit more academics from overseas to internationalise its campuses and improve its standing in world league tables. But the 2009 Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings show that it has a long way to go.

The highest-rated South Korean institution (47), Seoul National University, scores only 29 out of 100 for the proportion of international staff and 33 out of 100 for the proportion of overseas students on campus. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, ranked second in the country and 69 overall, scores 47 for international staff and just 31 for foreign students. Pohang University of Science and Technology, ranked third domestically and 134 overall, scores 50 for international staff and 19 for students.

Academics in South Korea attribute this to unconducive conditions for foreign instructors. In sharp contrast to generally prevalent practice in Asia, the average foreigner’s pay falls significantly below the national average, while their standard lecture hours are frequently twice those of local staff.

At one post-secondary institution an American with a Ph D was told that he was entitled only to the ‘foreigner salary’, roughly 50 percent of the Korean starting salary. Worse still, Indian academics are paid less than Westerners. Significantly The Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings were based on a survey of academic opinion.

“If such a high proportion of Times Higher Education’s new rankings in 2010 is based on a reputational survey, South Korean institutions risk sliding down the table by creating a negative impression through their discriminatory practices. So they must start treating foreign students and faculty with the same respect afforded to local people,” says Paul Z. Jambor, a lecturer at the Institute of Foreign Language Studies, Korea University.

(Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education)