Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) placed fourth among Korean comprehensive universities in the 2013 Leiden Ranking, which evaluates the qualitative level of international papers of the world’s top 500 universities, entering the Top 5 for the second consecutive year.

The Leiden Ranking, compiled by Leiden University in the Netherlands, uses only objective indicators and excludes subjective evaluation elements such as surveys. It is based on the Thomson Reuters database for 2008–2011 and evaluates, by field, the proportion of a university’s papers that rank among the top 10% most frequently cited worldwide. A high proportion indicates a high qualitative level of the university’s publications.

In this evaluation, JBNU’s share of papers among the top 10% most frequently cited by scholars worldwide was 7.6%. Among Korean comprehensive universities, this placed it after Ewha Womans University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Seoul National University.

This result demonstrates that the qualitative level of JBNU’s research is among the highest in the country, especially when compared with similar flagship national universities, whose proportions remained in the 5–6% range.

The reason JBNU achieved strong results in this evaluation for two consecutive years is the combination of faculty passion for producing world-leading papers and the university’s unfailing support to enable high-quality publications.

Since 2006, JBNU has focused on managing publication quality by, for example, awarding promotion bonus points for papers in the top 10% by field and introducing incentives that award up to KRW 100 million for publications in the three leading journals—Nature, Science, and Cell.

As a result of these efforts, starting with ranking first nationwide in 2009 for the growth rate of SCI papers, JBNU became the first regional university to exceed KRW 100 billion in research funding and ranked first among regional comprehensive universities in research funding secured for two consecutive years through last year.

President Seo Geoseok stated, 'Being in the Top 5 for two consecutive years in the Leiden Ranking, which evaluates the qualitative level of papers, indicates that JBNU conducts research of very high international standing.' He added, 'While increasing publication quantity is important, we will redouble efforts to improve research conditions and support so that faculty can conduct more high-quality research, believing that a single world-class paper can change the world.'