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WCU nano Research Center publishes a monthly average of 2.3 SCI theses in prominent international journals, half are in Top 10 journals Ministry of Education, Science and Technology evaluation of ‘A for second straight year’ Nano-patterning technologies using the cell fusion, patent pending in the US, China and Korea [December 1, 2011] The word ‘nano’ has now become a commonly used word today. It can be found in various areas of our lives such as in pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, semiconductors, etc, and even in the food industry, there are many products that use nanotechnologies in food processing and wrapping materials. Thus, almost every part of our lives involves some sort of nanotechnologies. Nanotechnology, which etymology comes from the Greek word ‘nanos’, that means ‘midget’, is an advanced technology that deals with ultra-small materials that are 1/100,000 the thickness of human hair or the level of atomic or molecule sizes (1 nanometer=1/1,000,000,000 meters). It is a sector that requires integration of advanced technologies. Recently, research in the bio technology sector such as nano bio analysis, nano bio sensors, nano bio materials, and bio nano machines have become very active. As seen above, while nanotechnologies have become the ‘top 3 science technologies’ of the 21st century together with information science technologies and Biotechnology, the Yeungnam University WCU nano Research Center (director Joo, Sang-woo, School of Mechanical Engineering, hereinafter called ‘WCUNRC’), which is performing the MEST sponsored ‘WCU (World Class University) project’ has shown forth truly ‘world-class’ research. In the MEST evaluation, it received an A for the second straight year. Yeungnam University WCUNRC researchers (center: professor Joo, Sang-woo) The WCUNRC began full-fledged operations from September 2009. It will receive a total of 3.5 billion won until August 2013 from national funding, and it is conducting basic research on nanotechnologies and fusion/convergence technology development projects. The ultimate goal of the WCUNRC is to develop the world’s most advanced technologies in the nano-patterning sector, and commercialize it in various industrial sectors. By doing so, it hopes to bring up Korea’s national competitiveness in the global nano-market, which is expected to rise to 1 trillion dollars by 2015. In particular, it has recently been concentrating on developing cell fusion technologies using electric stimulation. In result, they developed three types of nano-patterning technologies that can produce high-efficiency Cell Electrofusion Microdevices, and patents have been applied for currently in the US, China and Korea. The greatest feature of the device that applies this new technology is that it is possible to quickly reap cell fusion results in just ten minutes even with low voltage. Because the electric shock applied on the test cell is very weak and made in a short period of time, cell damage is minimized and the probability for acquiring the desired results were enhanced. In addition, its production cost was also dropped and made in a compact size, which takes up very little room. Thus, its possibility for commercialization rose greatly. The WCUNRC is currently conducting clinical tests for the device that applies the new technology together with Chongqing University Hospital of China. It is expected that it will contribute greatly not only in cell fusion for medical purposes such as genetic treatment, anti-cancer vaccine development, and immune body research, but also in genetic engineering such as development of new species that contain various animal and plant features. It is also expected to bring about radical progress by being used in various sectors such as niotechnology, immunology, pharmacy, food processing studies, and agricultural studies. The results of research by the WCUNRC were truly world class. The total number of SCI theses published by the Yeungnam University WCUNRC was 54 during the 24 months from September 2009. Thus, 2.3 theses per month were published in SCI journals under the name of the Yeungnam University WCUNRC. Moreover, there are also 15 theses currently being reviewed for publishing. During the third project evaluation period (Oct 1, 2010 – Aug 31, 2011), 28 SCI journals were published, and half of them (14) were carried by top journals in the upper 10% such as 《SoftMatter》, 《Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics》, 《Polymer》, 《Electrophoresis》, and 《Nanotechnology》. Such results were possible thanks to the international efforts and passion for researches by the participating professors. Currently, professors participating in this project are the three starting members of director Professor Joo, Sang-woo (52, School of Mechanical Engineering), Ashutosh Sharma (50), chair professor of the India Institute of Technology (IIT), which is also called the ‘MIT of India’ and one of the world’s top five scholars in nano-patterning, Professor Shizi Qian (40), and Banerjee A. Narayan (36)and Professor Lin Xu (31), who newly joined the team last year. Since working with the WCU project, they never took a whole day off. Even when they ate, they always inspected each other’s research and made self-assessments comparing the global levels. They stayed up to two to three in the morning to share opinions with each other via e-mail, while Professor Lin Xu, the youngest participating professor, brought a blanket and portable stove to the lab to eat and sleep there while working on the research. Through such efforts, when including joint research theses, Professor Joo has already published 36 SCI theses, while 12 are being reviewed. Professor Qian published 32 and two are currently being reviewed, Professor Sharma published 21 and seven are being reviewed. These are truly amazing achievements. When considering that it normally takes about six physical months to apply, screen and publish SCI theses, the performance of the WCUNRC is deserving of the title ‘world best’. Professor Joo stated, “Universities of the US, China, Japan and Europe, which are known as advanced countries in the nanotechnology sector, have difficulty with publishing even 10 SCI theses in a year,” adding, “This was possible by setting apart responsibilities for each member and setting individual research goals, which were then combined in efforts for a common goal.”
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Three students, an undergrad, masters and PhD student each publishes highest level thesis as a primary author Research on mechanism of cell inflammation reaction that causes cancer, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, allergies, etc First in the world to describe the 3 dimensional structure of core protein with inflammation reactions, construct related protein DB [November 29, 2011] Professor Park, Hyun-ho (sitting) and the lab members who are the primary authors of the SCI theses (from the back left, Yoon, Jong-hwan, Bae, Joo-young, and Jang, Tae-ho) Professor Park, Hyun-ho’s lab in the School of Biotechnology hit a ‘jackpot’. Each of the three members of the lab, who are an undergraduate and graduate students working on their master’s and PhD simultaneously published their theses in three SCI journals that are the top in their respective fields as the primary author. They are Yoon, Jong-hwan (23, a senior in the School of Biotechnology), Bae, Joo-young (27) a graduate school student working on his master’s and Jang, Tae-ho (28), who is in his PhD program. Under the guidance of Professor Park, Hyun-ho (37), they studied the mechanisms that caused inflammation reactions when combining proteins in cells. It has been reported that excessive inflammation reactions result in diseases such as various cancers, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, neurodegenerative diseases, irregularities in the immune system, and allergies. After over two years of research with the support of the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Bae, Joo-young became the world first to define the three dimensional structure, which is called the ‘death domain’ for the inflammation reaction core protein (NALP3). His research was published in the November issue of the US 《Journal Of Biological Chemistry》 (IF 5.4), and Bae was listed as the primary author. The ‘death domain’ is a constituent of proteins related to cell death or inflammation reactions, and it is involved with the combination of proteins. Based on this research, Jang, Tae-ho succeeded in designing and producing the peptide (amino acids) that retard the combination of the death domain and published his thesis as the primary author in the November issue of 《Biochemical Pharmacology》 (IF 4.9). Jang’s research result is judged to be an important platform that opened the doors to potentially developing new medicines that can suppress the occurrence of incurable diseases. Based on the research of his upperclassmen, Yoon, Jong-hwan, an undergraduate, revealed all of the 100 or so death domains of proteins inside the human cell, and successfully made a database for the protein combined network using each of the death domains. Yoon also displayed great passion in reading, analyzing and summarizing over 300 related studies that were conducted as joint research effort by Park, Hyun-ho, Professor Jeon, Ju-hong of Seoul National University, and Professor Kwon, Dong-seob of Myongji University. In result, he placed his name as the primary author as an undergraduate student in the November issue of 《Nucleic Acids Research》, which is one of the world’s most prominent science journals and has the impact factor (IF) of 7.8. These results are also offered for researchers in fields related to the death domain with the website (www.deathdomain.org) as the information hub opened by Professor Park’s lab since November to the entire world for free. In response to such achievements, Professor Park said, “I am even happier because these are achievements made by the founding members of the lab since being hired by Yeungnam University three years ago. Led by Tae-ho, who is working on his PhD and acting as the big brother, students with pure passion for academics began to care for each other like family and made a considerate atmosphere for the lab, and by helping each other out and having academic passion, such accomplishments were possible.” He also added, “It is very encouraging that student mentoring has become established as a tradition not only for our lab, but the entire School of Biotechnology.” Professor Park, Hyun-ho, whose name was placed as a corresponding author while providing guidance for the series of research, acquired his PhD at Cornell University in the US in 2007, and worked on his post-doc at Stanford University in 2008. He was finally appointed as a professor at the Yeungnam University School of Biotechnology in September 2008. Professor Park already published his thesis that was the first to reveal the three dimensional structure of the death domain complex while he was a student in one of the world’s top three science journals 《Cell》(IF 32.4) and 《Annual Review of Immunology》(IF 49.2) as the primary author, gaining attention in his academic field. After taking a position as a professor at Yeungnam University, he published over 30 SCI papers showing his unparalleled capacities in research. He is recognized as one of the world’s best in research on proteins related to the death domain that places a decisive role in inflammation reactions and cell death reactions. Undergrads publishing SCI theses becoming a tradition of the School of Biotechnology Meanwhile, the Yeungnam University School of Biotechnology is showing great achievements such as publishing 16 theses written by undergraduate students in internationally renowned journals since 2009. In particular, 6 of the papers had primary authors from undergraduate students. On this, Khang, Yong-ho (55), dean of the School of Biotechnology, said, “Three years ago, beginning with the lab of Professor Cho, Kyung-hyun, many SCI papers of which the main author were undergraduate students began to be made, and with these outstanding students enrolling in graduate school, they began teaching their juniors. In result, student-to-student mentoring naturally became established as a tradition. Our school also strengthened conditions for promoting professors and is striving to create an ideal professor that leads research. The school is also striving to cultivate a school custom by making it mandatory to operate a ‘journal club’ for reviewing the latest theses and making oral presentations on bio-related fields.” He added, I hope that this atmosphere spreads to the entire Yeungnam University, rather than stopping short here at the School of Biotechnology.”
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Award of Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs and 1 Million Won Reward [November 26, 2011] “We want to contribute to the development of the Korean railroad industry.” The ‘RailBond’ Team (guidance counselor, Professor Baek, Eung-ryul), which is made of graduate students and undergraduate students of the School of Materials Science and Engineering, was given the award of Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, which is the grand prize, at the ‘6th University Student Creative Design Competition’ hosted by the Korea Society for Railway. Their team is made up of Choi, Sang-gyu (27) and Kim, Bo-ra (25, female), in the Graduate School of Materials Science and Engineering working on their master’s degrees, and Park, Seong-sang (25), who is currently an undergraduate senior in the same school. RailBond Team and Professor Baek, Eung-ryul (from left to right: Choi, Sang-gyu, Professor Baek, Eung-ryul, Kim, Bo-ra, Park, Seong-sang) The 6th University Student Creative Design Competition began in 2006 with the goal of providing an opportunity to foster creativity to undergraduate (graduate school) students and commercialize their ideas related to the railroad industry and technologies by the Korea Society for Railway. This year, 30 university teams from around the nation competed and after the initial screening (proposal, presentation plans, photos of works), only eight teams were qualified. Recently, the final judging was made together with an exhibition at the Ramada Plaza Jeju Hotel. In result, the ‘RailBond’ team won the Award of Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs and a cash prize of one million won for their ‘thermit welding solution for bonding domestic train rails using recycled metals’. They came up with this idea because with the increasing demand for High-speed rails and metropolitan railways, the demand for rail bonding themit welding materials, which are currently fully dependent upon imports, will also increase. They were able to cut costs and making a domestic thermit welding solution by using aluminum powder generated from discarded aluminum cans and iron oxide generated as by-products from metal industrial sites. In addition, by applying heat-processing techniques, which were not applied in the past, it radically improved the mechanical features of the welded parts to add the strength of preventing damages to the rails. Professor Baek, Eung-ryul (51, School of Materials Science and Engineering), who provided guidance for them, said, “The item that these students developed took into consideration the academic perspective of establishment of manufacturing technologies on thermit reactants for railways, of which the knowhow was limited to just a few countries, and improved performance, as well as environmental perspectives that recycles aluminum cans, and also economical perspectives that cut costs and localizes it. Therefore, if this is commercialized, it is expected to contribute to the progress of Korean railroad technologies.” Choi, Sang-gyu, who was the team leader, said, “I would like to give the honor to our team members who worked day and night for two months to prepare for this competition. In particular, there were many difficulties such as that materials related to thermit reaction are not open and rarely revealed by patents and the high cost of testing was needed, but we were able to overcome such difficulties with the full support of Professor Baek, Eung-ryul. I would like to once again thank our professor for his assistance and guidance.” Kim, Bo-ra said, “Though most people are unaware of the importance of welding, welding is used not only in the railroad sector, but in various industries. There are hundreds of different types. You can stop by our lab anytime to see our diverse welding devices.” She added with a smile, “I hope you show more interest in the welding field.” ※ Thermit: This is a compound that combines aluminum powder and iron oxide powder at an equal amount. When ignited, it emits high temperatures of 3,000℃ and is therefore used for welding steel.
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Recognized as a leader in innovating science technologies in the 21st century communication sector [November 16, 2011] Professor Park, Yong-wan (51, photo) of the Department of Information and Communication Engineering, won the Tesla Award from the IBC (International Biographical Centre) of Cambridge in England. This Tesla Award was named after Nikola Tesla and it is given to leaders of science-technology innovation in the communication sector of the 21st century. Professor Park, who has been with Yeungnam University since September 1996, studied at the Kyungpook National University Department of Electronic Engineering and its graduate school, and earned his master’s and doctorates at the State University of New York and did his post-doc at Caltech. He is the ‘first generation overseas student’ in the domestic mobile communication sector. After returning to Korea in 1994, he worked as the R&D section chief for the ‘3G’ mobile communications sector at SK Telecom until August 1996 and played an important role in pioneering Korea’s mobile communication industry. He is currently active as the DDG (Deputy Director General) for the IBC Asia region since 2009 and he is also the director of the Gyeongbuk Institute of IT Convergence Industry Technology since October 2009. In 2008 and 2009, he also served as the director of the Korea branch for the mobile communications sector of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), which is the world’s largest and most respected society in the electric and electronic fields. His major literary works include the 「Enhanced Radio Access Technologies for Next Generation Mobile Communication」, which is a guide for 4G mobile communication published by the global science publishing company ‘Springer’ in 2007. In 2005, he was also awarded the ‘Haedong Thesis Award’, which is given to the best thesis in the communications sector by the Korea Information and Communications Society.
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Recognized for her contribution to the research and development of pharmacology at the commemorative event for the 60th anniversary of the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea [November 14, 2011] Professor Kim, Jung-ae (48, School of Pharmacy, photo) of the Yeungnam University College of Pharmacy received the ‘Pharmaceutical Research Award’ from the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of its founding. The ‘Pharmaceutical Research Award’ is given to a researcher who published multiple extraordinary research theses on scientific journals printed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea, who is then selected after a rigid screening process by the academic screening committee. The Pharmaceutical Society of Korea (chairperson Jeong, Se-young) held its 60th anniversary ceremony and the 2011 Pharmaceutical Society Fall International Academic Conference and general meeting at Songdo Convensia in Incheon on the 7th. Here, Professor Kim was awarded the ‘Pharmaceutical Research Award’. Professor Kim, who has worked as a professor at the Yeungnam University College of Pharmacy since 1997, defined the pathophysiology mechanism of inflammations and cancer diseases, and thus was able to deduce drug targets and biomarkers of diseases. Using this, research on effect analysis using anti-inflammatory solutions and anti-cancer medicine development are being conducted. In particular, in-vitro-cell-models and in-vivo-animal-models for this were constructed and thus, proprietary research, as well as joint research with companies and researchers of other universities, is being actively carried out. Such passion and efforts led to outstanding research accomplishments and published over 100 SCI theses in relation to research on anti-inflammatory solutions and anti-cancer medicine development. In addition, she played a leading role in making it possible for the basic research to achieve medicine commercialization via pharmaceutical develop by registering over 20 patents. Due to such efforts, she was registered on the 2011 issues of 《Marquis Who’s Who》. Professor Kim, who is also very active outside of the school, is currently the PR secretary for the Korea Society of Applied Pharmacology and an editing committee member of the SCIE class international science journal 《Biomolecules & Therapeutics》. From January of this year, she has began serving as a research planning secretary for the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea to work on research planning activities for developing new medicines in preparation of the act on pan-government new medicine development project and promotion of pharmaceutical industries (passed the National Assembly in March 2011). In addition, while working as a PM (project manager) operation committee member for the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, she is in charge of providing research support for the new technology task force team so that the collaboration of different researchers for new medicine development can operate effectively. For two years from 2009 to 2010, Professor Kim worked as an academic secretary for the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea and oversaw the special symposium for Daegu to host the ‘2010 Spring Academic Conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea’, and for the development strategies and the construction of the Pharmaceutical Development Support Center in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Advanced Medical Complex. She is also continuously working as a committee member for the establishment of a successful establishment plan of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Advanced Medical Complex. Professor Kim is also serving as the secretary-general of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Bio Forum since January 2010. She was also recognized for playing a pivotal role in the launching of the Association of Daegu-Gyeongbuk Women in Science and Engineering and won the ‘Science Technology Development Award’ from the governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do in 2007. At the university, she served as the dean of the School of Pharmacy, head professor of the Graduate School of Pharmacy, and the director of the Women’s Career Development Center, and is currently the director of the Yeungnam University Medicine Development Research Center.
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Dr. Xue Zhigang becomes a professor at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in China Acquired PhD in polymer chemistry at Yeungnam University in 2009 [November 1, 2011] A Chinese student who earned his doctorates at Yeungnam University recently returned home in glory as a professor of one of China’s most respected universities. Xue Zhigang (32, photo), who majored in polymer chemistry at the Yeungnam University Graduate School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, earned his PhD in February 2009. He was hired as a professor at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Huazhong University of Science and Technology is a hub university of the ‘985 Project’ and ‘212 Project’ that concentrates support on fostering world-class universities by the Chinese government. In 2011, it was ranked ninth in the university rankings of China. It is said to be second only behind Tsinghua University among science and engineering universities. Dr. Xue earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Lanzhou University, which is a sister university of Yeungnam University, and enrolled in the Yeungnam University Graduate School PhD program in March 2005. During this course, he was the center of attention for his extraordinary research achievements such as publishing 7 SCI theses. In particular, he also published a thesis on 《Angewandte Chemie》, which is one of world’s most recognized journals in the chemistry sector with an impact factor of 11.829, being recognized worldwide. Thanks to such achievements, he was selected in 2008 by the Chinese government to be the most excellent Chinese student in a doctorate program studying in Korea and thus received a separate scholarship as well. After receiving his PhD from Yeungnam University in February 2009, he went on to work on his post-doc at the French CNRS (Centre National de la Researche Scientifique). Professor Noh, Seok-kyun (56, School of Chemical Engineering), who provided guidance for his PhD thesis, stated, “In addition to his outstanding research performance, he had a diligent attitude and easy-going personality, making it possible for him to maintain amicable relations with his colleagues. He truly was a student with a bright and promising future.” He added, “I am very happy that we have one more Yeungnam University School of Chemical Engineering alumni being recognized in the global arena.” Dr. Xue Zhigang (far left) and Professor Noh, Seok-kyun (center, sitting) and colleagues in the lab pose for a photo.
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Awarded the International Dairy Federation’s ‘2011 IDF Award’ [October 18, 2011] Professor Cho, Suk-jin (65, Department of Food and Resource Economics, photo) of the College of Natural Resources will become the first Korean to win the IDF’s (International Dairy Federation) ‘IDF Award’, which is also called the ‘Nobel Prize of the dairy industry’. The IDF announced on the 18th that it chose Professor Cho, Suk-jin of Yeungnam University as the winner of the ‘2011 IDF Award’. The IDF Award is given to just one science technology researcher in the world by the IDF. Professor Cho has contributed in the development of the dairy industry for the past 30 years both domestically and internationally. He was also a leader for presenting visions for the dairy industry in preparation of opening Korea’s door to imports as well as in domestic dairy policies and improvements in systems. In recognition of such efforts, he was selected as the winner of this award. Professor Cho conducted a number of researches on the demand and supply systems of dairy industries, as well as on establishing dairy policies. He is a key scientist that provided theoretical support for the establishment of the quarter system that contributed greatly in the stabilization of Korea’s dairy industry. Professor Cho, whose specialty is in agricultural economy and livestock policies, has emphasized that the dairy industry is very important in maintaining the sustainability of rural economy. He also conducted joint research as a visiting professor at Japan’s Hokkaido University and Obihiro University, thus contributing in promoting cooperation among Asian nations. Professor Cho also served as the chairman of the Korea Association of Livestock Management and a policy advisor for the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. He earned his PhD in Architecture at Japan’s Hokkaido University and has worked as a professor for Yeungnam University since March 1979.
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Working as an international exchange agent at the Nara Prefecture Office’s Bureau of International Tourism [October 10, 2011] “I received my orders from the Nara Prefecture Office in Japan on April 15 after a competition rate of 25 to 1. My mission is to work to promote exchange with Korea. This is truly fortunate for me since I majored in Japanese language and literature.” Moon, Yoon-jeong (24, photo), who graduated from the Yeungnam University Department of Japanese Language & Literature in February, is living a new life as a public officer for Nara Prefecture, Japan. She was officially hired in April as an international exchange agent selected by the Japanese Embassy in Korea at the request of CLAIR (Council of Local Authorities for International Relations) and is working in the Bureau of International Tourism for Nara Prefecture’s Tourism Department. The cornerstone for her becoming a public officer for Japan, rather than Korea where she was born and raised in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk, was during her studies in Japan for one year from October 2008. While studying at the Nara University of Education as a scholarship student of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, she volunteered as an interpreter for a Korea-Japan faculty exchange program. Here, she met her Korean predecessor who was working as an international exchange agent for Nara Prefecture. They continued to keep in contact even after she returned to Korea and dreamed of becoming an international exchange agent. Finally, she passed her written test and interview and made her dreams come true. “It was nerve-racking to prepare for this because it was a deep interview in front of three secretaries from the Japanese Embassy that lasted for 30 minutes, in which I was asked about many things including personality, politics and current events. However, Yeungnam University’s Office of International Programs gladly provided a place to conduct trial interviews and a Japanese friend who was studying at the Korean Language Institute also helped me playing the role of the interviewer. The excellent recommendation written by my teacher, Professor Kim, Yang-sun of the Department of Japanese Language & Literature, as well as her encouragement helped me a lot too. I would like to thank everyone once again for all the help.” Her main duties for the past six months were to act as a bridge to promote friendly exchange with Korea. Due to the particularly close relations with ancient Baekje, Nara Prefecture is actively pursuing exchange with Chungcheongnam-do. In particular, she stood by the director as an interpreter for signing mutual exchange agreements and other related international meetings between the two government bodies, exhibiting her proficient skills in Japanese. Also, due to the recent craze over Hallyu, she is serving as an instructor in Korean for public officers of the prefecture and is also cast on the in-company Korean broadcast programs during lunch. Furthermore, she is also playing an active role in making Korea known to the locals such as in the planning and of international exchange events and operating Korean booths, four times a year, and is thus actively engaged in promoting Korean tourists. Together with colleagues of the Nara Prefecture Bureau of International Tourism (Moon, Yoon-jeong holding up a Korean flag) She is always looking for new challenges. She said, “I can work for up to five years as an international exchange agent. Afterwards, based on this experience, I would like to become a foreign affairs officer for Korea and work on making Korean known worldwide.” She also added, “I hope that other students also set out to present Korea to the world in various fields. If you knock enough, the door will always open. The world is vast and there are so many things to do.” Together with Moon, Shin, Hye-ji (24), who also graduated from the Yeungnam University Department of Japanese Language & Literature in February, has also began working for the Kumamoto City Hall since April. With the growing Hallyu throughout the world, it is expected that more Korean youths will more actively go out to work in other corners of the world.
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Increasing number of new students from non-Asian countries such as Europe, Middle East, South America and Africa at the Yeungnam University Korean Language Institute Reconfirming the globalization of the Korean wave [October 6, 2011] “National TV in Poland airs Korean TV dramas. I really enjoyed ‘Iris’ and ‘Chuno’. A few months ago, the Hallyu Concert was held in Paris and some of my friends took a flight all the way from Poland to Paris. There are growing numbers of students who want to learn Korean and about 20% of the students in the Foreign Language Department of our university are currently learning Korean.” Niewiadomska Marta Alicja (20, female), who newly enrolled at the Yeungnam University Korean Language Institute this semester after taking leave from University of Warsaw in Poland, where she majored in Korean for one year, testifies just how awesome Hallyu, is in Poland. She said her favorite song is TVXQ’s ‘Mirotic’ and hums to it in Korean, as she explained that her dream was to become a Korean interpreter. Chaib Yacine (22) who came to learn Korean in order to properly understand the movies of Kim, Ki-duk and Park, Chan-wook from France said, “K-pop and Korean TV dramas are very well planned and designed cultural contents. I think the Hallyu frenzy will continue for at least the next five years, and if the Korean emotions and culture are placed in these more, they will be even more attractive by fans around the world. I’m sure it will result in more foreigners coming to Korea to learn about Korea and to learn Korean.” He added, “The more I learn Korean, the more I think that the language is scientific and beautiful. I am going to live in Korea until I become fluent in Korean.” Foreign students learning Korean at the Yeungnam University Korean Language Institute (from left to right – Yacine, Millen, Zinmarphyo, Marta, Julia) The Hallyu is causing excitement throughout the world. It has now passed Japan and East Asia, and is quickly spreading to Europe, Africa, and the Americas. In addition, there is a rapidly growing number of people who are becoming interested and wanting to learn Korean. As evidence of this, there has been a stark increase of foreigners that have come to Yeungnam University Korean Language Institute from non-Asian countries for the past two year. On its opening year in 2004, all 58 students were from China, but in 2009, the student body surpassed 100 from five countries including China, Southeast Asia and the US, and it is appearing to become internationally diversified. The nationality diversification started in 2010. It is the same time when the globalization of Hallyu began. Last year, 110 students from 17 countries came to the Yeungnam University Korean Language Institute to learn Korean. While 80 of them were from China, 14 from 11 non-Asian countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Cameroon, Tunisia, and Peru also came to learn Korean. This year, while the number of Chinese students are 73 among the 104 total students, foreigners from non-Asian countries grow to 24 from 16 countries. Percentage-wise, it doubled. There were students that represented their nation for the first time such as the 67 year old British professor, as well as students from France, Poland, Spain, Guatemala and Ethiopia. Garcia-Prat Julia (28, female) from France has a master’s degree in international commerce and marketing. She worked at a marketing firm, but left the company and came to learn Korean. “From three months ago, I learned Korean for hours a week at a Korean class offered by the Korean Embassy in Paris, but it was not enough. I left my job for this so I have to study harder. I want to learn all I can about the Korean language and Korea, so that I can work on cultural exchange programs that link Korea and France.” On such trends, Professor Joo, Sang-woo (52, School of Mechanical Engineering) who is the director of the Yeungnam University Korean Language Institute, said, “We can reconfirm that Hallyu is spreading to the entire world through pop-culture such as K-pop, TV dramas, and movies.” He added with emphasis, “Since the interest on Hallyu is spreading to interest in the Korean language, Korean people, and Korean society, we should make as much preparations and efforts to make the most out of this opportunity. As part of this, the Yeungnam University Korean Language Institute is also offering various Korean culture experience and field trip programs in addition to the Korean class-by-level programs so that foreigners can better understand Korea. This year, 104 foreign students from 20 countries are registered to learn Korean at the Yeungnam University Korean Language Institute.
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Professor Choi, In-ho succeeds in cultivating cell strain for producing vaccines for foot and mouth disease [October 4, 2011] * World’s first customized serum research considering ‘gender specifics’ * Korean Intellectual Property Office recognized business profitability, applied for domestic and international patents * Domestic serum market that depended entirely on imports, expected to substitute imports worth 20 billion won per year The cost of damages in Korea caused by foot and mouth disease last winter amounts to about two trillion won. Also, it is estimated that 40 billion won in importing foot and mouth disease vaccines needed twice for inoculating the 13 million cows and pigs grown in Korea will be needed. However, the appearance of livestock farms with foot and mouth disease outdoor virus (NSP) antibodies without receiving vaccines were recently reported nationwide. Therefore, there are many concerns over the recurrence of foot and mouth disease. At such point, a professor in a Korean university published research results that opened the doors to possible localization and mass production of serum needed in producing animal vaccines. This was done by Professor Choi, In-ho (47, president of the Bovine Genome Resources Bank, photo) of the Yeungnam University School of Biotechnology. After years of research, he succeeded in cultivating cell strains for developing foot and mouth disease vaccines using serum extracted from the blood of Hanwoo cattle. By reusing the 15,000 tons worth of blood that were thrown away for the most part from the 600,000 Hanwoo cattle in Korea as of 2010, it can substitute 20 billion won worth of imports for the domestic serum market that was entirely dependent upon imports. Furthermore, it can also minimize risks of the blood that contains a high amount of gender hormones being thrown away without proper precautions to act as environmental hormones that disrupt the natural ecology. In particular, the research of Professor Choi is noteworthy in the fact that it is research on customized cow serum production that is ‘gender specific’. While other cow serum were extracted and processed without giving consideration to the gender, Professor Choi became the world first to conduct research on gender (female, male, neutered) specific cow serum with funding by the Rural Development Administration based on the fact that due to the different constituents and hormones in the blood depending on the gender of the animal, there could be different effects on cell cultivation. In result, he found that for the cell strain (BHK-21) that is normally used for producing foot and mouth disease vaccine, grows better in the serum from adult Hanwoo cattle than the imported fetal bovine serum. He also discovered that it grows better in male serum than female serum. This suggests that the development of gender specific serum (also called ‘customized serum’) of optimal cultivation for different virus or cells is possible. The research results of Professor Choi’s gender specific cow serum production already acquired patents in Korea and it is also undergoing the application process for international patents. In addition, it was also selected as a ‘Lab Patent Strategic Project’ funded by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and was diagnosed as ‘very high possibility for industrialization’, and was revealed to have the potential to help in the development of vaccines for foot and mouth disease in Korea. “Vaccines use inactive or weak viruses, or parts of viruses, and inject them in animals and people to have the immune system respond to the virus. Therefore, it is possible for the body to resist the particular virus when it infiltrates the body later. Ultimately, the key point for developing vaccines is the mass production technologies of viruses that can be used as vaccines. For this, a certain amount of nutrition is needed. Currently, the serum of cows is used the most throughout the world and the global market is worth two trillion won per year. Of this, 85% is being produced in the US. Thus, in events like the mad cow disease outbreak in 2008 in North America, sudden shortages of supplies can occur at any time, and procuring a sufficient amount of cow serum is a key requisite for the localization of vaccines. Due to this, Professor Choi became interested in producing cow serum in Korea since 2008. He conducted preliminary tests for two years with the funding of the National Research Foundation of Korea and confirmed the potentials by providing other researchers with the Hanwoo cattle serum that were produced. And since 2010, he received funding for research expenses by the Rural Development Administration to conduct full-fledged research on the industrialization of Hanwoo cattle serum, and finally opened the doors to the industrialization of livestock blood, which thus far were simply environmental wastes. Professor Choi said, “In the event that gender specific serum becomes industrialized, it will be possible to produce them at affordable costs for imported cow fetus serum, and thus take a financial load off on farms. In addition, it will be possible to procure safety that can protect us from various diseases that may possibly occur in the future.” He added, “Of course, there will be many obstacles to overcome such as modernizing slaughterhouse facilities to produce clean serum with consistent quality and changing the cattle raising system of some farms so that they are suitable for producing serum to be used to make vaccines. However, if interest and research on producing the serum is made, Korea will also be able to produce vaccines of international standards in the near future.” Accordingly, Professor Choi will hold a symposium on ‘Hanwoo Cattle Serum Research and Industrialization Plan for Producing Vaccines’ at Yeungnam University, sponsored by the Bovine Genome Resources Bank on October 7 (Friday), to examine the recent research trends of the biotechnology sector, while looking for possibilities of industrialization.
