In this blog post, we’ll explore the meaning and value of data mining—one of the leading methods for analyzing big data—as well as its real-world applications and limitations.   The term “big data” has been circulating everywhere for quite some time. A good example of big data’s popularity is that, at one point, a Google search for “Big data” returned approximately 280 million results. Does...

In this blog post, I will examine the influence major entertainment agencies wield in the popular music market and the process by which idol culture has taken shape, and assess how this industry structure might negatively impact the diversity and qualitative development of popular music.   Idol culture is one of the cultural phenomena with a massive ripple effect on the public. One can truly...

In this blog post, we’ll examine how South Korea’s tiered residential electricity rate system currently operates, how heat waves and the use of air conditioning units affect household electricity bills, and whether the complete abolition of the tiered system in 2026 is truly the best solution.   Recently, as summer heat waves have become more frequent in South Korea, the use of air...

In this blog post, I’ll examine various arguments made in defense of TV personality Noh Hong-chul’s 2014 DUI incident and consider why drunk driving cannot be taken lightly simply because the distance driven was short or no accident occurred.   On November 7, 2014, at approximately 11:55 p.m., TV personality Noh Hong-chul was caught in a DUI checkpoint while driving his Mercedes-Benz Smart...

In this blog post, we examine whether relative grading in colleges is a fair assessment method that promotes learning, or a system that drives students into unnecessary competition and undermines the essence of higher education.   In 2015, Yeom Jae-ho, then President of Korea University, announced the introduction of the so-called “Three-No Policy.” This policy called for the elimination of...

In this blog post, I will examine the problems that English-only classes in universities pose for student learning and consider what prerequisites and educational systems are needed to properly achieve university internationalization and English education.   In conclusion, I believe that in the future, all courses at top-tier universities should be conducted in English. However, I also...

In this blog post, I’ll look back on how the university has changed since I returned to school, as well as the rise and fall of laptops, USB flash drives, and PDAs, to examine how smartphones have transformed students’ lives and what role they will play in the future.   It’s been a while since I returned to campus, and I’ve noticed that the school has changed in many ways. The most striking...

In this blog post, we will examine the structural characteristics and advantages and disadvantages of various building structures—such as wood, masonry, light-gauge steel, and reinforced concrete—and explore how building materials and historical changes have influenced the evolution of building structures.   On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center in New York City collapsed due to...

In this blog post, we’ll examine the process by which nihonium—discovered through Japanese research on heavy-ion accelerators—came into being, the principles behind heavy-ion accelerators, their potential applications in medicine, new materials, and basic science, and the current status of South Korea’s RAON project.   On June 9, 2016, Japanese media reported that “nihonium” (element symbol...

In this blog post, we’ll examine the basic structure and functions of the brain—which plays a crucial role in human identity, thought, and emotion—and explore the complex mechanisms of the brain as revealed by modern neuroscience.   “I think, therefore I am.” It is no exaggeration to say that the development of human culture has gone hand in hand with the history of brain development; as the...