After the University, Where is Knowledge Headed?

Today, universities no longer function as stable centers of knowledge. Around the world, higher education is undergoing structural transformations. South Korea is no exception. A sharp decline in the college-age population, intensified centralization in the Seoul metropolitan area, reform policies focused on educing enrollment quotas, and the rapid development of digital technology have all led to fundamental questions about the university’s purpose.

South Korea has experienced numerous political and social upheavals—from the Japanese colonial period through the era of military dictatorships—including the March 1st Movement (1919), the April 19 Revolution (1960), the Gwangju Uprising (May 18, 1980), the June Democracy Movement (1987), the 2016–17 Candlelight Protests, and the presidential impeachments. Throughout these moments, universities played a critical role in driving democratic maturation by organizing and amplifying student-led resistance and civic engagement.

In particular, South Korea’s tertiary enrollment rate stands at 74.9 percent, well above the OECD average. Driven by this strong commitment to education, higher institutions have leveraged their academic expertise to contribute practically—through policy critique, social activism, and collaboration with local communities. As a result, higher education has evolved from a mere provider of knowledge into a firm foundation for democracy

However, South Korea is no exception to these shifts. Regional universities in particular are facing a severe crisis. Their total freshman enrollment capacity has plummeted from 678,000 in 2000 to 567,000 in 2010, 433,000 in 2021, and just 373,000 in 2024. The precipitous decline in the school‐age population since 2020 now threatens the very existence of many of these institutions: numerous universities are confronting department mergers, unfilled incoming classes, and financial distress, with some teetering on the brink of closure.

As a result, the exodus of young people to the Seoul metropolitan area has accelerated, depriving local communities of educational, economic, and cultural vitality. The demise of a university often presages the collapse of an entire region—local industries struggle to attract talent, while healthcare and welfare infrastructure also wither. Universities serve not merely as centers of learning but as essential infrastructure at the heart of regional ecosystems.

Meanwhile, metropolitan universities in Seoul maintain relative stability, but the resulting competition and concentration of resources deepen overall social inequality. This is not merely an educational issue, but one tied to the allocation of national human capital and the fairness of social opportunity. The dominance of the capital area produces a dual exodus of local youth-first from their hometowns and then from higher education altogether-triggering demographic decline and economic stagnation. Ultimately, “education that leaves the region” becomes a mechanism that dismantles it.

These structural issues are mirrored in national policy. Government funding is largely based on performance evaluations, pushing universities into a cycle of administrative reporting. Academic autonomy and long-term planning are deprioritized. Disciplines such as the humanities, arts, and basic sciences, which are less directly tied to short-term profitability, are increasingly marginalized. Programs like Brain Korea 21 further intensify the focus on quantitative results, shifting attention away from long-term academic inquiry.

Faculty and researchers are also affected. Pressured to produce performance metrics over meaningful teaching or research, many are experiencing burnout. Early-career researchers face unstable employment, administrative overload, and limited career prospects. Adjuncts and postdocs, in particular, are treated as outsourced labor within the university system. Leading to fractured academic careers. The ethos of scholarship as a vocation is eroding.

Technology is also reshaping the landscape of knowledge production and access. YouTube, MOOCs, and generative AI democratize learning while weakening the university’s traditional gatekeeping role. Learning no longer requires institutional affiliation or physical presence. As courses become content, degrees give way to credentials, and community-driven learning platforms expand, it becomes clear that universities are no longer the sole hubs of knowledge dissemination.

Universities now face a choice: remain relics of the past or transform themselves within shifting technological and social contexts. This is not just about digitization-it requires reexamining the “why” and “how” of knowledge itself.

The question is no longer how to protect universities, but where and how knowledge will be produced and shared. We need decentralized, locally grounded, and technologically attuned knowledge ecosystems. Community research, digital public platforms, and participatory academic networks may offer alternatives. Citizen science projects-where locals and scholars jointly define problems and seek solutions-can enhance both the relevance and accessibility of knowledge. Further, partnerships with public libraries, social enterprises, and local media can help take academic practice beyond institutional boundaries.

“After the university” does not mean “after knowledge.” Rather, it signals a new beginning for a different kind of knowledge. Universities should not be ends in themselves, but means to connect knowledge with society. We must ask what kind of communal life knowledge should support–and through that question, reimagine the university.  

South Korea’s case should not be viewed in isolation but as part of a global restructuring of higher education. In countries like Korea, which simultaneously experience rapid demographic change and centralized economies, failure to reform universities as regional and social institutions risks systemic failure.

Japan has already begun redesigning regional campuses in response to similar population declines, positioning them as platforms for local innovation. Taiwan and Germany are experimenting with localized vocational training and regionally embedded research networks. Korean universities must also expand their boundaries, attune themselves to community needs, and rebuild knowledge through socially responsive practices.

This demands a new imagination of the post–university world. Universities should evolve from elite spaces accessible only to a select few, into “social learning commons” where all citizens can pursue their intellectual interests. This involves rebuilding an academic ecosystem that connects communities, civil society, public administration, and the private sector. Universities must become “networks”, not “buildings”, grounded in the timeless value of knowledge as a public good.

The crisis of Korean universities is also a crisis of youth and social integration. As regional institutions collapse, young people either give up on higher education or migrate to the capital–rarely returning. Seoul becomes overcrowded and expensive; the provinces grow older and emptier. Education policy becomes housing, labor, and demographic policy.

Universities are the link between youth, place, and future. Instead of merely “saving” universities, we must rethink how they function. Pilot projects like public–interest conversions of private institutions should be expanded. Universities must anchor themselves in local knowledge–cultural heritage, sustainability practices, community traditions–and help rebuild regional identity.

To ask “what comes after the university” is to ask “what kind of society do we want to create?” The university should no longer promise the future–it should help build it. Knowledge must be open, actionable, and local. Then, and only then, can we fall in love with the university again.

References

Kim, J. (2019). The death of the intellectual. Seoul: Sagyejeol.

Kim, N. (2022). The betrayal of the university. Seoul: Haenaem.

Ministry of Education (Korea). (2023). Basic university capacity evaluation 2023. Sejong:

Ministry of Education. Korean Educational Development Institute. (2023). Higher education statistics yearbook. Jincheon: KEDI.

Jeong, B., et al. (2021). Crisis in Korean higher education and the future of regional universities. Wonju: Korea Research Institute for Local Administration.

OECD. (2022). Education at a glance 2022. Paris: OECD.

Yonezawa, A. (2020). Challenges of the Japanese higher education amidst population decline and globalization. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 18(1), 43–52.