Meritocracy, governmental intervention, and academic nepotism: a South Korean academic publishing landscape [The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea]
-
Hojung Kim
,
Seungjoo Baek
Abstract
While engaging with Klein’s (1989. Schreiben oder Lesen, aber nicht beides, oder: Vorschlag zur Wiedereinführung der Keilschrift mittels Hammer und Meißel. Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik 74. 116–119) suggestions to control the quantity of publications, this brief paper explores the reasons behind the intense publishing pressure on South Korean scholars and examines the consequences for the development of an academic public sphere. We underscore that the evaluation systems of neoliberal universities, which prioritize quantity and speed, together with a social concern with “fairness,” compel researchers to embrace a meritocratic ethos. This is further intensified by the multiple excellence benchmarks set by government research agencies. Moreover, the prevalence of insular academic networks, often formed by individuals from elite backgrounds, restricts the circulation of scholarly work within exclusive groups. Consequently, the academic environment in South Korea struggles to cultivate an academic public sphere that tackles critical issues and encourages productive debates. In response to these challenges, we propose to adopt the principles of the “slow professor” movement, foster collaboration with practitioners, and diversify scholarly genres.
이 논문에서는 출판물의 다량 생산에 관한 Klein의 문제 제기를 바탕으로 한국의 연구자들에게 부과되고 있는 학술 출판 압력의 이면을 살피고, 그것이 학문적 공론의 장에 어떠한 영향력을 끼치는지를 논의한다. 이를 통해 신자유주의적 대학 평가 시스템이 연구자가 생산하는 연구물의 양과 생산 속도를 중시하고 ‘공정’ 이라는 미명하에 연구자들에게 능력주의적 윤리 수용을 강요하고 있음을 확인하였다. 이러한 경향은 정부 연구기관에서 설정한 평가 기준을 대학의 연구 성과 평가에 적용하는 과정에서 더욱 심화된다. 연구자들이 자신들만의 배타적인 학문 네트워크를 형성함으로써 학술 작업(생산-공유)의 선순환에 제약이 생기기도 한다. 이러한 복합적인 요인들로 인해 한국의 학문적 생태계는 중요한 쟁점을 다루고 생산적인 토론을 장려하는 학문적 공론의 장을 키우는 데 어려움을 겪고 있다. 이에 대한 대안으로 이 논문에서는 ‘천천히 학문하기 운동’, ‘실천가와의 협력’, ‘학술 장르의 다양화’를 제안하였다.
References
Berg, Maggie & Barbara K. Seeber. 2017. The slow professor: Challenging the culture of speed in the academy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.10.3138/9781442663091Search in Google Scholar
Biesta, Gert J. J. 1998. Say you want a revolution. Suggestions for the impossible future of critical pedagogy. Educational Theory 48(4). 499–510. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1998.00499.x.Search in Google Scholar
Klein, Wolfgang. 1989. Schreiben oder Lesen, aber nicht beides, oder: Vorschlag zur Wiedereinführung der Keilschrift mittels Hammer und Meißel, Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik 74. 116–119. Repr. 2024 in International Journal of the Sociology of Language 289–290. 5–18.Search in Google Scholar
Park, Kwon Il. 2021. Hangugui neungnyeokjuui [Meritocracy in South Korea]. Seoul: Idea.Search in Google Scholar
Piller, Ingrid. 2016. Linguistic diversity and social justice. New York: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199937240.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Reading: An anniversary conversation with journal editors
- Article
- Schreiben oder Lesen, aber nicht beides, oder: Vorschlag zur Wiedereinführung der Keilschrift mittels Hammer und Meißel
- Commentaries
- Sobre el acceso a la bibliografía académica desde el Sur: diagnóstico, estrategias de resistencia y un proyecto disruptivo concreto [Anuario de Glotopolítica]
- Toward un-WEIRDing academic publishing about language [Applied Linguistics]
- Recognising the human in humanities [Australian Review of Applied Linguistics]
- 文字简化、学术产出与技术进化—来自中国的经验 [Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning]
- Meine kleine Lesemaschine: Reflexion zur Begrenzung der Produktion von wissenschaftlichen Texten [International Journal of Multilingualism]
- The politics of writing and reading: An Arabic sociolinguistics perspective [Journal of Arabic Sociolinguistics]
- To read is to cite: A moral proposition [Journal of Linguistic Anthropology]
- Sociolinguistics towards a culturalist turn: a sociolinguistic response to the challenges of mankind [Journal of Multicultural Discourses]
- Wolfgang Klein as Don Quixote [Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development]
- An extended lunch break: a response to Wolfgang Klein [Journal of Pragmatics]
- The economic reterritorialization of academic publishing and the politics of reading [Journal of Sociolinguistics]
- How I learned to stop worrying and love the explosion of information [Journal of Southeast Asian Linguistics Society]
- Writing and publishing language studies in the Arab region [Khitabaat Journal]
- Accouchons des idées, pas des articles: politiser la proposition de Wolfgang Klein pour repenser le travail scientifique [Langage et Société]
- Reading or writing is not the question: politicizing the politics of scholarly production and reception [Language, Culture and Society]
- Writing to be read, or how to achieve more through less [Language Matters]
- Writing or reading? An incommensurable choice? [Language in Society]
- Can we escape the textocalypse? Academic publishing as community building [Language on the Move]
- Acceleration, capitalist temporalities and collective challenges in academic publishing [Language Policy]
- On close reading and slow writing [Multilingua]
- Where global discourses meet local realities: the case of scholarly publishing in Sinhala [Sāhityaya]
- Navigating a national linguistics journal through local interests and global pressures: an editorial view on the problem of academic overproduction [Slovo a slovesnost]
- What is the place of African languages in knowledge production? [South African Journal of African Languages]
- Publishing issues and overwhelm [Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies]
- Strengthening local academic publishing in the age of academic fast fashion [TILAMSIK]
- Dromm und die verlorene Balance [The Mouth: Critical Studies on Language, Culture and Society]
- Meritocracy, governmental intervention, and academic nepotism: a South Korean academic publishing landscape [The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea]
- Indagando a aceleração da produção acadêmica com bom humor: Uma visão do sul [Trabalhos em Linguística Aplicada]
- Final Commentary
- How to amend the supply-demand imbalance in research?
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Reading: An anniversary conversation with journal editors
- Article
- Schreiben oder Lesen, aber nicht beides, oder: Vorschlag zur Wiedereinführung der Keilschrift mittels Hammer und Meißel
- Commentaries
- Sobre el acceso a la bibliografía académica desde el Sur: diagnóstico, estrategias de resistencia y un proyecto disruptivo concreto [Anuario de Glotopolítica]
- Toward un-WEIRDing academic publishing about language [Applied Linguistics]
- Recognising the human in humanities [Australian Review of Applied Linguistics]
- 文字简化、学术产出与技术进化—来自中国的经验 [Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning]
- Meine kleine Lesemaschine: Reflexion zur Begrenzung der Produktion von wissenschaftlichen Texten [International Journal of Multilingualism]
- The politics of writing and reading: An Arabic sociolinguistics perspective [Journal of Arabic Sociolinguistics]
- To read is to cite: A moral proposition [Journal of Linguistic Anthropology]
- Sociolinguistics towards a culturalist turn: a sociolinguistic response to the challenges of mankind [Journal of Multicultural Discourses]
- Wolfgang Klein as Don Quixote [Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development]
- An extended lunch break: a response to Wolfgang Klein [Journal of Pragmatics]
- The economic reterritorialization of academic publishing and the politics of reading [Journal of Sociolinguistics]
- How I learned to stop worrying and love the explosion of information [Journal of Southeast Asian Linguistics Society]
- Writing and publishing language studies in the Arab region [Khitabaat Journal]
- Accouchons des idées, pas des articles: politiser la proposition de Wolfgang Klein pour repenser le travail scientifique [Langage et Société]
- Reading or writing is not the question: politicizing the politics of scholarly production and reception [Language, Culture and Society]
- Writing to be read, or how to achieve more through less [Language Matters]
- Writing or reading? An incommensurable choice? [Language in Society]
- Can we escape the textocalypse? Academic publishing as community building [Language on the Move]
- Acceleration, capitalist temporalities and collective challenges in academic publishing [Language Policy]
- On close reading and slow writing [Multilingua]
- Where global discourses meet local realities: the case of scholarly publishing in Sinhala [Sāhityaya]
- Navigating a national linguistics journal through local interests and global pressures: an editorial view on the problem of academic overproduction [Slovo a slovesnost]
- What is the place of African languages in knowledge production? [South African Journal of African Languages]
- Publishing issues and overwhelm [Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies]
- Strengthening local academic publishing in the age of academic fast fashion [TILAMSIK]
- Dromm und die verlorene Balance [The Mouth: Critical Studies on Language, Culture and Society]
- Meritocracy, governmental intervention, and academic nepotism: a South Korean academic publishing landscape [The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea]
- Indagando a aceleração da produção acadêmica com bom humor: Uma visão do sul [Trabalhos em Linguística Aplicada]
- Final Commentary
- How to amend the supply-demand imbalance in research?
