Spotlight on Five-Year Consecutive Rise in Overall Ranking

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) ranked 6th nationwide in the education category, reflecting its status as one of the country's best teaching universities (ACE University). In particular, it was the only national university to record a rise in ranking for five consecutive years.

According to the results of the "2012 JoongAng Ilbo University Evaluation" announced on October 8, 2012, JBNU rose to 6th nationwide this year in the education conditions and finance category, up from 10th nationwide last year. In the overall ranking, JBNU has maintained a steady upward trend for five consecutive years since 2007, placing it among the nation's Top 20 and 3rd among flagship national universities.

The evaluation was conducted by JoongAng Ilbo's Center for Educational Development to assess the competitiveness of major four-year universities nationwide across four areas: educational conditions, research, reputation and graduate outcomes, and internationalization.

JBNU saw the number of students participating in field training surge from 480 last year to approximately 1,200 this year, jumping from 32nd to 7th. The tuition-to-education expenditure ratio, which evaluates the proportion of investment in education relative to tuition, also rose from the top-20 range to 8th this year. In addition, development fund donations increased sharply from KRW 5.1 billion in 2010 to KRW 6.3 billion in 2011.

In research competitiveness, where the university also boasts one of the country's highest levels, JBNU ranked 10th nationwide in average internal research funding per faculty by discipline, and the number of domestic publications per faculty in the humanities and social sciences increased from 0.79 papers last year to 1.13 papers this year.

The JoongAng Ilbo evaluation team highlighted JBNU as a university showing continuous progress. In particular, in an article titled "Leadership That Drove Change at the University," it spotlighted President Seo Geoseok's leadership, noting that he frequently visited major companies to promote student employment and that the university secured the largest amount of external research funding among flagship national universities—KRW 124.4 billion.

President Seo Geoseok said, "As a university selected as the best teaching university in the country, the evaluation in the education sector was favorable. We will focus more on strengthening the quality of education, such as cultivating field-oriented talent," and added, "The government should concentrate investment on competitive regional universities to revitalize local areas and create an opportunity for balanced national development."