What Kind of Treatment Will “KAIST Mechanical Engineering Professor” G-Dragon Receive at School?
The appointment of G-Dragon (Kwon Ji-yong) as an invited professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) has garnered significant interest due to the unexpected nature of the appointment
Despite G-Dragon’s leading role in K-pop culture, many are puzzled by his appointment to a field seemingly distant from his expertise.
On June 5th, G-Dragon received his appointment certificate as an invited professor at the “Innovate Korea 2024” event held at the Ryu Keun-chul Sports Complex at KAIST’s main campus in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon.
This appointment aims to integrate the latest scientific and technological developments from KAIST with K-content and the cultural industry to enhance the global competitiveness of Korean culture. As part of this initiative, KAIST will establish the “Entertech Research Center” within the Department of Mechanical Engineering in collaboration with G-Dragon’s agency Galaxy Corporation.
G-Dragon is scheduled to give special lectures on leadership to undergraduate and graduate students, sharing his experiences and life as a global artist to provide vision, insight and inspiration for students to pursue their own paths and challenges.
The term of his appointment is two years, ending in June 2026.
As an invited professor at KAIST, G-Dragon falls under the category of non-tenure-track faculty, according to the Higher Education Act. Typically, professors are categorized into tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty. Invited professors belong to the latter.
Tenure-track faculty are those usually envisioned when one thinks of university professors. They require specialized research achievements such as publications for hiring and promotion. Positions such as assistant professor, associate professor, full professor and university president are included in this category, and they are usually salaried with guaranteed tenure.
Non-tenure-track faculty include various types of professors and instructors who are not tenure-track. Their role is to bring in experts who might be difficult to recruit as tenure-track faculty, thereby facilitating research and higher education in specialized fields.
In addition to adjunct, visiting, honorary and part-time instructors specified in the Higher Education Act, there are titles such as chair, endowed, special appointment and visiting professors, most of which fall under non-tenure-track faculty. They generally receive hourly wages and are contracted for periods ranging from several months to one or two years.
When celebrities are appointed as professors, they are typically non-tenure-track faculty, similar to G-Dragon. It’s not uncommon to find celebrities serving as professors, often in departments related to their fields such as broadcasting, acting, film and music.
Examples include musical actress Ock Joo-hyun, who served as an adjunct professor in the Performing Arts Department at Dong Seoul University and as an invited professor in the Performing Arts Department at Dankook University, and actor Lee Soon-jae, who is an endowed professor in the Department of Performing Arts at Gachon University.
In 2010, comedian Kim Young-chul made headlines when he was appointed as an adjunct professor in the Hotel Tourism Interpretation Department at Seoul Arts College, leveraging his English skills rather than his major.
