Korean students have thought the humanities are useless studies because the ratings of the students who will be employed as engineers have increased. However, many books of humanities, such as ‘A Leadership to Get One’s Mind’, ‘Humanities of Wise Investors’, ‘Reading Methods of Lee Dong-jin’, were released as bestsellers recently. Also, why have the humanities become popular on TV programs, seminars and in the publishing market? The elements of the humanities that we easily encounter in daily life have a huge effect on creating leadership and providing deep insight into the value of things and phenomena. Thus, the local governments and the Ministry of Education are encouraging students to develop their talents in the humanities in order to foster talents who will meet the needs of the times.
  CBNU has been conducting an initiative for the College of Humanities’ Research and Education (CORE) Program, which has been supported with 78 billion won in financial aid from the Ministry of Education. The CORE Program preserves the humanities and creates human resources at a time when students are turning away due to low employment rates and a decreasing interest in the humanities. This program is the first and only program in Daejeon and the Chungcheong province where the College of Humanities won the government business program. Because of this fact, CBNU has adopted the slogan, ‘CBNU leads the humanities’.
  The CORE Program is divided into three stages. The first stage is a beginning period, the second is a stabilizing period, and the last is a deepening period. There are 17 programs organized into three categories: Global Regional Studies, Advanced Fundamental Studies, and Basic Liberal Arts Education. The Global Regional Studies includes programs about global research, supporting exchange students and global internships. In the second category, Advanced Fundamental Studies, there are international seminars of academic training and honors clubs. The last category includes volunteering, a global Liberal Arts project and job support.
  The most representative programs that many students are participating in among these many programs are the Liberal Arts path finder and Liberal Arts clubs. The first one provides a chance for students whose major is not in the Humanities to explore sites related to cultural properties and works. The final selections have been completed, and the selected teams received 1.2 million won and must complete the tour by December 17. The second one is a supporting project centered on the humanities to find ideas for the convergence of talents. It is targeting students who do not study the Humanities and supports more than five people per team. It offers 60 million won in subsidies to selected teams. Participants will be recruited during the following winter vacation. If students want to participate in the programs, they can use CBNU website or the homepage of the College of Humanities.
  Kim Jae-won (’14, Dept. of Russian Language and Literature), who joined the global research program, said, “By joining this program, I had a chance to compare domestic and foreign matters that I was interested in. The knowledge or experience gained from the program can help me to solve various problems, not just here and now, but in society.” The program focuses on helping students research the  subjects that they want to study and visit foreign countries.
  A survey was conducted to determine how many students of these programs were helped. In this survey, 80 students (63%) answered ‘yes’ to the question of ‘Have you heard about CORE?’, and 45 students (37%) said ‘no’. Among the 80 students who answered yes, 32% of them were from the College of Humanities, 25% were from the School of Business, and 21% were from the College of Social Sciences. Among the 45 students who answered ‘no’, 22% of them were from the College of Natural Sciences, 18% were from the College of Agricultural Life and Environment sciences, and 17% were from the College of Medicine.
  In this regard, Kim Hye-rim, the administrative agent of CORE, said, “It’s been two years since this program started. Still, many students do not stand to benefit from it. During this period of the project including the second semester, various programs targeting students who are not students of the Humanities will be implemented. Therefore, please check CBNU website frequently to find programs that you can participate in. I want you to become a student with knowledge of the humanities.”

By Kim Jae-wan l jw37@cbnu.ac.kr
By Nam Min-woo l mw38@cbnu.ac.kr