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Recommended Courses in Fall Semester

SNU offers 461 courses taught in English this fall semester. SNU senior students say that these are the courses you don't want to miss: Korean Law, Corporate Social Responsibility for Sustainable Development.

1. Korean Law
Thursday 1:00pm-4:00pm

This new course is expected to satisfy the need for English lectures for those majoring in Law. In this course, you can raise basic understanding of the judicial system, constitutional law, civil law and civil procedure, and criminal law and criminal procedure of Korea. Three faculty members of the College of Law jointly teach their respective parts as a team during the semester. Above all, what attracts students most will be a chance to visit the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, as an integral part of the curriculum. Also, legal experts will be invited to share their experience and expertise with the students. These rare opportunities will definitely promote the understanding of Korean law as well as its everyday practice.

2. Corporate Social Responsibility for Sustainable Development
Friday 3:00pm-6:00pm

Have you ever heard of CSR? CSR is an acronym for Corporate Social Responsibility, which has become an essential concept in achieving sustainable development, especially in the business world. The unique edge of this course, which distinguishes it from other courses in the College of Business Administration, is that it targets aspiring business leaders in the realm of engineering. Recently, the necessity of social education for engineers is increasing more than ever. Engineers now often move up in their companies’' hierarchies to become corporate executives; therefore it is needless to say that they will need to make decisions that clearly involve CSR. SNU's College of Engineering, acknowledging this issue, has incorporated a course to offer students a chance to study CSR. Through the course, you can understand not only the situation of Korea but also that of Germany, as the two share similarities in their histories of industrialization in regardsx to corporate responsibility. The course will provide you with an opportunity to compare the two countries by analyzing the histories of both countries, as well as various relevant cases. The instructor, Professor Moo-young Han, is well-known for his passionate lectures, and is a popular lecturer among SNU students. His teaching will familiarize students with the concept of CSR, and help them study theseissues in a thorough and profound way.

3. Cultural and Social Transformation of Contemporary Korea Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30pm-3:45pm
If you have interest in the cultural and social aspects of Korea, this course will definitely satisfy you. This course introduces students to sociological research on cultural and social changes in post-WWII Korea from a comparative-historical perspective. First of all, it focuses on how cultural and social traditions, generational gaps in values, and the redistribution of population have been affected over the long period by economic and political developments, including the Korean War. The course also examines the relationships between the state, society, and popular culture, which includes film, music, and professional sports. Many foreign students have highly recommended this course because of its wide spectrum of discussion topics and intensive research projects. Be prepared to immerse yourself in the background, culture and social changes of Korea.

4. The Korean Economy: History and Recent Changes
Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30am-11:45am

Professor Chang-yong Rhee, a Harvard graduate, is one of the most revered and respected instructors by students for his well-prepared, outstanding lectures. With his extensive macroeconomic expertise, he continues his series of popular lectures by covering the post-war Korean economic surge, up to the latest challenges to the Korean economy. The course is primarily for international students who do not have prior knowledge of the Korean economy. As such, although the focus of the course will be the economy, it will be studied in the context of Korea’s social and political setting, which will improve your understanding
of Korea itself.

5. Modern Korean Fiction
Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30pm-3:45pm

This course deals with modern Korean fiction since the 1920s. It includes a survey of the modern Korean
novel from its beginnings to 1945. However, the main focus will be put on post-WWII Korean novels, especially on major works of fiction written after the April Revolution of 1960. In addition, the instructor will lay emphasis on substantial understanding of modern Korean history. The April Revolution in 1960 is definitely a historical watershed in the sense that it proved, for nearly the first time in modern Korean history, that civil movements could alter and eventually crumble a dictatorship, and construct a new, democratic government. Almost all writers since 1960, up to present day, have much to do with revolutionary spirit. The course will discuss why and how Korean writers have tried to achieve a 'national literature', and simultaneously explore the limitations of such nationalist discourse, which often suppresses the issues of gender, minorities, and even democracy itself. The course will also give a brief mapping of the contemporary literature
of North Korea.

6. Two Koreas: modern Korean history and society
Thursday 2:00pm-5:00pm

This course mainly examines modern Korean history, aiming to improve the understanding of the dire circumstances during the start of the division of the Korean Peninsula, and Korea's miraculous economic growth which started in the 1960's. The course also focuses on analysis of Korea's current position in Far East Asia, as well as in the world. Discussions and lecture topics on North Korea will be also offered. Students of this class will be able to balance their views between various perspectives on Korean history.

7. Literati Culture in East Asia Tuesday 4:00pm-7:00pm
This course explores the literati culture of East Asian societies, with the main focus being on China and Korea. It will examine the social, economic and political status of literati in the traditional era, and the significant contributions of the literati of East Asian civilizations during its formative period. Some of the topics discussed in sequence are as follows: the definition of the literati group in East Asia;, the formation of East Asian civilization, rise of the intellectual class and its superior politico-cultural status, the emergence of the middle class, and the decline of the literati group. The formation of literati groups and their influence on political and cultural traditions in East Asian countries are truly a unique phenomena. The groups played a variety of roles on the formative and evolutionary stages of their respective society and culture. Through the course, the tradition of literati culture will be presented not as a mere historical fact but as a reality in the region. The course is dedicated to exploring various aspects of the literati group, and the world it has helped to shape during the past three millennia.

August 24, 2007
SNU PR Office