<Education & Perspective> examines the issues in primary, secondary, and higher education amidst the decline in school-age population and fluctuating college admission systems, while also exploring sustainable alternatives. At times, it offers a cold yet warm perspective on our society.
With staffing levels stagnant, those remaining have taken on extraordinary responsibilities from planning to editing and logistics, feeling isolated in their efforts. Even the pride of maintaining quality publications is overshadowed by a harsh environment that leaves university publishers feeling completely marginalized. The number of four-year university presses has dwindled from over 70 to just around 40, a decline rooted in low morale and structural neglect.
Independent Accounting System and AI Challenges Push Presses to the Brink
At the heart of the cold reality and structural limitations faced by university presses is the burden of the 'independent accounting system.' University press regulations prioritize supporting faculty research and disseminating knowledge to society, with no clauses mandating profit generation. These presses serve as the last bastion for basic academic disciplines and niche fields that commercial publishers often overlook.
For instance, a specialized foreign language textbook with only about 20 students enrolled may incur production costs in the millions of won for just a handful of copies. However, universities have cut budget support, pushing presses to operate like profit-driven businesses, leading to a vicious cycle of staff reductions and halted new publications.
The pandemic has further tightened the grip on university presses. According to those working in these presses, the situation is far more severe than anticipated. The culture of sharing illegally scanned PDFs via tablets in classrooms has become commonplace, causing textbook sales to plummet annually. Additionally, indiscriminate departmental mergers focused on employment rates have eliminated thousands of humanities and social science majors who regularly purchased textbooks, while newly established AI-related majors have little demand for specialized texts. Only a few top-tier universities manage to turn a profit from Korean language textbooks for international students, leaving most university presses in a precarious position.
The rise of generative AI has pushed university presses even closer to the edge. Students increasingly rely on AI-generated summaries rather than reading entire books, stifling critical thinking. A more fundamental crisis arises as decades of scholarly data painstakingly refined by academics and presses are being absorbed without permission as training data for large platforms, with virtually no system for fair copyright compensation. If the current structure persists, where knowledge is created by authors and publishers but the profits are seized by big tech, the intellectual landscape will become barren, ultimately depriving AI of new knowledge to learn from.
![]()
For instance, a specialized foreign language textbook with only about 20 students enrolled may incur production costs in the millions of won for just a handful of copies. However, universities have cut budget support, pushing presses to operate like profit-driven businesses, leading to a vicious cycle of staff reductions and halted new publications.
The pandemic has further tightened the grip on university presses. According to those working in these presses, the situation is far more severe than anticipated. The culture of sharing illegally scanned PDFs via tablets in classrooms has become commonplace, causing textbook sales to plummet annually. Additionally, indiscriminate departmental mergers focused on employment rates have eliminated thousands of humanities and social science majors who regularly purchased textbooks, while newly established AI-related majors have little demand for specialized texts. Only a few top-tier universities manage to turn a profit from Korean language textbooks for international students, leaving most university presses in a precarious position.
The rise of generative AI has pushed university presses even closer to the edge. Students increasingly rely on AI-generated summaries rather than reading entire books, stifling critical thinking. A more fundamental crisis arises as decades of scholarly data painstakingly refined by academics and presses are being absorbed without permission as training data for large platforms, with virtually no system for fair copyright compensation. If the current structure persists, where knowledge is created by authors and publishers but the profits are seized by big tech, the intellectual landscape will become barren, ultimately depriving AI of new knowledge to learn from.
While Others Cultivate Intellectual Assets, We Neglect University Publishing
Looking abroad, could there be clues to resolving these structural issues? The ways in which leading universities overseas nurture their presses as core components of higher education competitiveness offer significant insights.
Institutions like Harvard and Yale in the United States leverage substantial endowments to create intellectual assets free from commercial constraints, leading the way in open access platforms linked to libraries. China invests in national publishing funds to elevate university presses as central to its academic branding, while Japan supports their independence as public goods through institutional frameworks. In contrast, initiatives like 'Creating 10 Seoul National Universities,' 'Glocal University 30,' and 'Anchor' in Korea, which involve billions of won in national projects, show no consideration for the infrastructure needed to publish and distribute knowledge.
Institutions like Harvard and Yale in the United States leverage substantial endowments to create intellectual assets free from commercial constraints, leading the way in open access platforms linked to libraries. China invests in national publishing funds to elevate university presses as central to its academic branding, while Japan supports their independence as public goods through institutional frameworks. In contrast, initiatives like 'Creating 10 Seoul National Universities,' 'Glocal University 30,' and 'Anchor' in Korea, which involve billions of won in national projects, show no consideration for the infrastructure needed to publish and distribute knowledge.
Academic Publishing Voucher as a Solution for Reviving University Knowledge Ecosystem
Amidst the bleak reality of university publishing, the 'academic publishing voucher (university textbook e-subscription voucher)' is seen as a viable solution. This initiative aims to provide students with electronic textbooks at half the price of print versions or through semester-based rentals, with the government and universities subsidizing part of the costs through vouchers.
Shin Seon-ho, former president of the Korean Association of University Presses, described the introduction of the voucher as 'a lifeline for the academic ecosystem.' He stated, "Creating an environment where using legitimate e-books is much cheaper and more convenient than illegal scans is a stronger copyright protection measure than any enforcement. The revenue generated from vouchers will provide stable income for presses, encouraging universities to actively promote textbook writing among faculty." He explained that the profits generated could lead to a virtuous cycle of publishing pure basic academic texts and works by emerging scholars.
Encouraging news has emerged regarding the voucher initiative. The publishing industry and academic organizations have successfully persuaded the National Assembly to allocate budget for a pilot voucher program within the Ministry of Education, marking a promising first step. The government and National Assembly should significantly expand this budget to establish it as a mainstay program and include support for presses in university evaluation criteria to hold university administrations accountable.
If universities cannot compile their own knowledge and insights into books, they risk becoming mere vocational training centers focused solely on selling degrees. University presses are not profit-driven commercial entities; they are public goods that support foundational scholarship and intellectual heritage in our society. As the guardians of the written word face the dwindling heartbeat of knowledge, it is time for the government and universities to make responsible decisions before the light of scholarship is extinguished.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Shin Seon-ho, former president of the Korean Association of University Presses, described the introduction of the voucher as 'a lifeline for the academic ecosystem.' He stated, "Creating an environment where using legitimate e-books is much cheaper and more convenient than illegal scans is a stronger copyright protection measure than any enforcement. The revenue generated from vouchers will provide stable income for presses, encouraging universities to actively promote textbook writing among faculty." He explained that the profits generated could lead to a virtuous cycle of publishing pure basic academic texts and works by emerging scholars.
Encouraging news has emerged regarding the voucher initiative. The publishing industry and academic organizations have successfully persuaded the National Assembly to allocate budget for a pilot voucher program within the Ministry of Education, marking a promising first step. The government and National Assembly should significantly expand this budget to establish it as a mainstay program and include support for presses in university evaluation criteria to hold university administrations accountable.
If universities cannot compile their own knowledge and insights into books, they risk becoming mere vocational training centers focused solely on selling degrees. University presses are not profit-driven commercial entities; they are public goods that support foundational scholarship and intellectual heritage in our society. As the guardians of the written word face the dwindling heartbeat of knowledge, it is time for the government and universities to make responsible decisions before the light of scholarship is extinguished.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.