[INTERVIEW] Confucius Institutes trigger dispute between US-educated, China studies professors

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CI director denies allegations about the China-funded language centers, promotes benefits of academic partnerships with China

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Kim Hyun-cheol, a professor in Yonsei University's Department of Chinese Language & Literature and the director of the Confucius Institute (CI) on its campus

Kim Hyun-cheol, a professor in Yonsei University's Department of Chinese Language & Literature and the director of the Confucius Institute (CI) on its campus, had a meeting with the university's president recently to discuss the CI's presence on their campus.

The meeting was held after a string of universities in the United States and Canada have been shutting down CIs on their campuses, one after another, following various controversies surrounding the Chinese government-funded cultural and language institutes. In North America, Australia, and Europe, CIs are facing various allegations over discriminatory employment, censorship practices and the undermining of academic freedom.

"Reminding me of the media reports about the closure of CIs on U.S. and Canadian university campuses, he was cautious about the CI on our campus, and asked if we should follow along the lines of what those Western universities have been doing," Kim said during a recent phone interview with The Korea Times.

Unconvinced, Kim said that he confronted the president right away. "I said no, telling him that we shouldn't do that because the situation we are facing is different compared to some Western universities."

Although the presence of CIs has not been discussed openly too often in South Korea, his remarks hint that there is undisclosed internal debate at universities here about the presence of CIs.

Indeed, the debate has taken the form of a U.S.-China rivalry on some Korean campuses, as U.S.-educated professors have tended to present views in favor of shutting down the CIs due to the controversies overseas, whereas professors of China Studies, like Kim, have stood firm about maintaining the centers on their campuses.

Kim argued that mutual misunderstanding driven by cultural differences might be the source of the disputes over the CIs in the West, noting that cultural or educational exchange programs shouldn't be affected by the diplomatic relations of the countries involved.

"As we've seen throughout the past decades, South Korea's relationship with the United States has gone through ups and downs, depending on the issue and the time period. Even in moments when bilateral relations have turned sour, no one has ever said that we should shut down the U.S.'s academic institutes in South Korea. I think the same rule should apply to Chinese institutes here as well," he said.

This reporter contacted Kim for an interview in order to give him an opportunity to clarify the CIs' position on several controversies connected to the centers around the world.

Kim, who is also the president of the Association of Confucius Institutes in Korea, was a key player involved in the opening of Korea's first CI in southern Seoul in 2004. He also played a key role behind Yonsei University's decision to host a CI on its campus in 2009.

At Yonsei, the CI was launched with a dual goal: Like other CIs, it is a place to study Chinese language and culture, but it also supports research projects in China Studies through funds from the Chinese government.

CIs in Korea are known to the public as "Confucius Academies," rather than "Confucius Institutes."

Citing the McMaster University case, in which a Chinese language teacher filed a discriminatory employment case against the CI there for barring Falun Gong practitioners like herself from being hired which eventually led the university to close the CI on its campus, Kim said that such a thing would never happen in Korea.

"I understand that the Chinese teacher in question at McMaster was affiliated with the Falun Gong, which is banned in China. But here in Korea, we have no Chinese teachers affiliated with the Falun Gong," he said. "Local CI directors can request the Chinese government to replace teachers if they believe they are unfit for teaching. We also have certain discretion over selecting which course materials are used. This means that local CIs can make their own decisions about teachers as well as about their teaching materials."

Kim denied the allegation that the presence of CIs on university campuses hinders academic freedom, even though open discussion is forbidden for certain topics, such as China's territorial claims to Taiwan and Tibet, the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, as well as its human rights violations of Uyghurs and other Muslims in the Xinjiang region.

He claimed that the Chinese government is not enthusiastic about discussing these issues publicly, and that prohibiting open discussion of these topics is a kind of a "Chinese way," rather than an explicit form of censorship.

Kim denied the allegation that officials at South Korean universities are turning a blind eye to controversies surrounding the CIs due to their heavy dependence on tuition-paying Chinese students.

Rather, he said that universities' financial reliance on Chinese students differs from school to school.

He said that Yonsei University, for instance, doesn't depend heavily on Chinese students. But he went on to say that there are some local universities that are heavily dependent on the tuition paid by Chinese students, although he didn't name them.

The number of Chinese students attending South Korean universities has decreased from over 71,000 in 2019 to about 60,000 this year.

Kim said that the presence of Chinese students on university campuses here has stirred debate about their language proficiency, as some of the students can't speak or write Korean fluently enough to take their courses.

"In China, some 10 million students take the scholastic aptitude test every year. There are some 2,500 universities in China. This means that not all Chinese high school graduates can attend Chinese universities, and some have to go to universities outside China," he said. "So Chinese who study abroad fall into two categories: those who are highly intelligent and attend universities outside China on scholarships and those who are simply not accepted to universities in China."

Kim said that concerns over Chinese students' language proficiency has led the Ministry of Justice to strengthen its rules for issuing student visas since last year.

Kim believes that academic partnerships with China should benefit Korean universities, not hurt them, if CI directors here are wise and prudent enough to make the most of them.