SOUTH KOREA: Pink slip handed to 'bad universities'

By Tomoko Yamashita. The government of South Korea wants to shut down universities that cannot attract enough students. As a result, universities and colleges in South Korea are now merging and reorganizing as they fight for survival.
The birthrate in South Korea is declining even faster than in rapidly aging Japan. The number of new graduates from high school may soon not be enough to meet annual enrollment targets set up by each university.
Drastic measures are under way as the country grapples with the question of how to maintain the number and quality of its institutes of higher education.
Gachon University in Seongnam, Gyeonggi province, has about 20,000 students. It used to be four different schools, each with their own campus. More...