"The First & The Best," The Allure of Korea University Business School 

[New Faculty Interview for the 2023-1 Semester] Professor Lee Kyu-han 

The KUBS (Dean. Kim Sang-yong) appointed two new faculty members, Professor Lee Kyu-han (MIS) and Professor Lee Jae-min (Management) in March 2023. In light of this, the Business News conducted an interview with the newly appointed professors, Lee Kyu-han and Lee Jae-min, to introduce their aspirations to the readers. 

Professor Lee Kyu-han graduated from Seoul National University with a major in Business Administration and obtained a master's degree in MIS from the same university. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in the United States. From 2021, he served as an assistant professor at W. P. Carey School of Business - Arizona State University. In March 2023, he joined the KUBS as a professor of MIS. 

Q. Please introduce yourself, Professor Lee Kyu-han. 

A. Hello, I'm Lee Kyu-han, who joined Korea University in March 2023. I started majoring in Management Information Systems (MIS) during my master's degree. There are various branches within MIS. For example, it involves studying the effects of certain variables based on quantitative economics and understanding human behavior based on surveys. I have been conducting research on developing deep-learning models. In terms of domains, I am also striving to conduct research on socially impactful issues such as misinformation. 

Q. What prompted you to choose Business Administration? Do you have any specific reasons? 

A. Business Administration is a field that allows for various career paths. When I was young, I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I wanted to pursue an open field of study. The KUBS itself is divided into seven majors; like this, It is an open and diverse field of study, so I chose it to explore what I could excel in. 

Q. As mentioned earlier, Business Administration offers various career paths. Was there any specific reason for choosing an academic career after undergraduate studies? 

A. During my undergraduate years, I had several internship experiences. I gained experience in various industries, including duty-free shops, IT venture companies, and large corporations such as LG Electronics. Of course, internships alone cannot provide extensive experience, but I could indirectly understand corporate life and work. 

Being an academic allows me to pursue the fields I'm interested in and provides autonomy. I have a habit of seeking and working on tasks on my own rather than being assigned specific tasks. Therefore, I felt that being an academic was more suitable for my aptitude, and that's why I chose an academic career. 

Q. What led you to join KUBS? 

A. I had always thought that someday I would return to Korea. I didn't expect to come back so soon. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to join KUBS because it is considered the best business school in Korea. Fortunately, I was given a good opportunity and was able to take up the position. 

Q. What do you think is the appeal of KUBS, which is evaluated as the best business school in Korea? 

A. I believe it is the excellent students, senior professors, and strong support. The composition of the senior professors was great. KUBS values diversity in research areas and backgrounds, which is very appealing to me. I also found many aspects to learn from the research achievements of senior professors. Additionally, I felt that it would be rewarding to teach the best students in Korea. In terms of research, I felt that it would be an environment where I could excel. 

Assuming that we consider the education and research system in the US as an advanced system, KUBS’s' educational and research environment is not significantly different from that of the US. I think the students' level is higher than most schools in the US. "The Best" is a word that adequately describes the appeal of the Department of Business Administration at Korea University. 

Q. Can you introduce the courses you currently teach? 

A. I am currently teaching "Data Management and Knowledge Management" as an undergraduate course. It is an English lecture and can be considered fundamental in the field of Data Analytics (DA). From the perspective of the data analytics process, it can be understood that I am teaching the basic knowledge required for storing and developing foundational data. Data management and knowledge management are the fundamental courses in data analytics. 

I also include coding in my lectures. This aspect makes it somewhat similar to mathematics because you need to understand the principles to apply them. While it is important for me to teach the principles well, I believe it is meaningful to show how they are applied even if students don't fully understand them. Therefore, I make an effort to show them roughly how it is utilized, even if they don't understand it 100%. 

Q. As a professor at Korea University's College of Business, what kind of research achievements would you like to demonstrate? 

A. I plan to continue the research I mentioned earlier. Along with that, I want to explore areas I haven't previously studied. For example, although I have focused on advancing AI models and deep learning models, I now want to examine how AI or deep learning models affect people. As this is slightly different from the areas I have been researching, I would like to receive a lot of help from senior professors. 

Q. What does KUBS mean to you as Professor Lee Kyu-Han sees it? 

A. Personally, I would like KUBS to be like "paint" or a "palette." I had the opportunity to talk to first-year students at the mentoring day for advising professors. When I asked them, "What do you want to do?", I received a few standardized answers. For example, professions like Certified Public Accountants (CPA). 

Of course, I’m not saying that professions like CPAs are bad. They can pursue their creativity and feel a sense of fulfillment in those occupations. However, I hope that undergraduate students would explore various experiences rather than having a specific occupation in mind from the first year. In that aspect, if KUBS could provide a foundation for such explorations and offer a variety of colors, it would be great to be described as "paint" or a "palette." 

Q. What kind of professor do you want to be remembered as by your students or disciples? 

A. I don't necessarily want to be remembered as a great mentor, but it would be nice if students remember me as a professor who taught them something relevant to their practical experiences. I have noticed among my friends, who are now in their mid-30s or later, that they are engaging in various tasks and projects independently. 

The common story they share is that what they learned during their undergraduate studies has a direct or indirect relevance to their current work. At that time, they might have wondered if such knowledge would be useful. If students have similar thoughts in the future, I would be happy to be among the list of professors who come to mind.