◎ Campus becomes commercialize
    When you go back to your college after summer vacation, you may be surprised to fine the kyobo bookstore on the second floor of the student Hall Ⅰ. Some students welcomed the big fancy new store for such as it is very clean and neat compared to the former one. It provides high quality services and it can be cheaper than when you order books on the Internet. However, other students cast doubt that the commercialized huge company in the university is a favorable thing, for the university is a place for research and development of academic subjects. They can hardly accept that the commercialized bookstore pops up without any agreement from student. And why the former bookstore had to be replaced by new one. In this article we are going to discuss whether the trend of the universities being commercialized is beneficial or not through analysis of the Kyobo bookstore case at the Chungnam National University.

◎ Advantages
    The advantage of having the Kyobo bookstore, in short, is that it is very convenient. You can buy your textbooks, magazines, and bestsellers. More books are available on shelves than before. In an interview, assistaant manager of the Chungnam National University Kyobo bookstore Mujeong Cho said that "Chungnam National University requires someone who can continually provide a fine interior and cultural place. Through the competitions our proposal was finally selected because our suggestion was the closest to that." In the bookstore there are tables for reading a seminarroom that are freely available if you reserve it in advance at least one day before. In addition, the chief of the Living Cooperation Union said that on the behalf of Chungnam National University students the student president and the official director were at the board meeting for selecting a new bookstore. Furthermore, because the choosing process was conducted through online system, nobody could influence on an open tender. We made a fair decision based on students' welfare." Entire procedures were smoothly in a proper way.

◎ Disadvantages

◎ Cases of other University
    Campus Commercializing is not an isolated case, but a universal phenomenon. Supreme example is Ewha Campus Complex. It is a large-scale underground structure consisting of approximately 66,000㎡ of floor space and a total of 6 levels below the ground, designed by Dominique Perrault. On the left side of the building there are commercial restaurant ‘Doctor Robin’, food court, Kyobo bookstore, fancy & stationery store, Shinhan bank, and movie theater ‘Momo House’. On the right side of the building there are convenience store ‘GS25’, high-class restaurant, center, Starbucks, and Ewa-Samsung hall. Most of universities in Seoul have buildings built companies for free of charge. Some companies their image by donating the buildings inside the university. For example, Seoul National University has the LG college of Business Administration building, SK college of Business Administration building, and CJ Language Education Institute. Korea University has LG-POSCO hall, the business School main hall, and the business School main hall annex supported by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.. This can be regard as part of campus commercializing.

◎ The Case of Chungnam National University
    Inside Chungnam National University's campus, there is not only a Kyobo bookstore but Family Mart, Pan Dorothy, Popeyes, Dum & Dum, Continental Restaurant and many vending machines and student cafeterias. In sddition, there are Hana Bank, Woori bank, and Credit union. Thus, you can easily make an access to stores in our campus and spend some money there. We can regard BTL(Build Transfer Lease) as a part of commercialization because it also makes a profit from students residing in our campus. BTL is "a form of project financing, wherein a private entity receives a concession from the private or public sector to finance, design, construct, and operate a facility stated in the concession contract." BTL is both helpful for universities and companies. A university can provide a high quality dormitory without investment and A company can recover costs and get stable income. bUT, HAVING big capitalist companies on campus is quite a different matter. It might be seen as a as win-win relationship between school and company, but not always between students and a company. For example, the student cafeteria located on the first floor the student Hall #Ⅰ has been heavily criticized by most students. It does not provide good meals and various options. Moreover, they seem not to try hard to maintain the facilities. They cut the budget unless profits are made. Subsequently, students do not want to go anymore even it is located in an easily accessible place from their classes.

◎ The Role of University?
    If we look at Kyobo bookstore's case from various perspectives, this is not a simple problem. Seemingly it looks like a competition between small capital and big capital. If you examine the issue carefully it is relate to the university's role in our society. According to a survey, done by Incruit for 282 people who had entered university before 2000 and 239 people who had entered university after 2000 the perception of the university has changed. They asked them "What is the most important role of the university?" About 53 percent of 282 people who had entered the college answered "plentiful study about their major and research academic works.” However, about 58 percent of people who had entered the university after 2000 said "to get a job or to research job options." It means that presently college students think mainly about getting s job. This is revealed when asking "What kind of study do you usually do in the library?" Studying major subjects decrease from 82.3% to 62.8%. On the other hand, studying to get a job soared of from 8.9% to 25.5%. We can draw a conclusion that the role of university is clearly changing.

 ◎ Is university Campus or Company
    Chung-Ang University is currently owned by Doosan Corporation, which bought the university in May 2008. The CEO of Doosan Heavy Industries, Youngsung Park declared that he will change the university and make effective. Then he made was making Accounting a mandatory subject. So you have to take that course to graduate school even you are not majoring in business, because he think that Accounting is the necessary for the company. As a CEO, he thinks that university should teach practical things that implement in the real business world. Basic science department professors are complaining that a university is not a company. If we concentrate on investing Applied Science and ignore Basic Science than there is a limitation due to Applied Science's origin from Basic Science. It is deeply worrying to see the Tower o Ivory Increasingly turns into a company.

◎ To Where Now?
      In the United States of America and Japan, they have already with this phenomenon and as a result the university is now like a company. Especially America's universities are commercialized. Unlike America's universities, Northern Europe's universities provide free education following their nation's welfare ideal. We need to redirect our to Northen European model, breaking away from American model. Ideally, national universities should remain public assets, providing free education to the students. Universities should persue knowledge and truth, not money.

By  Moon Hyeon-sik  CP Reporter     
moon0211@cnu.ac.kr