“Why
We Korean Students are so Upset”
Please
pray for the Korean students and consider why we feel so mistreated.
On February 4,
2016, we were informed via President Mark Labberton’s email the announcement of the restructuring of the
Korean programs, which included layoffs
of 6 full-time staff members out of 14. Such restructuring came without any
communication with any of the Korean faculty or students. Just two months ago,
a completely different plan that included keeping all 6 laid-off employees plus
a new internationally recognized head person of the center was being finalized
and carried out. Therefore, we the
Korean students feel that this announcement is not ‘hopeful beginnings of the
new Korean Center’, but rather ‘Fuller’s
aggressive, inconsiderate, and hurtful layoffs of Korean staff members’. Needless
to say, our students are shocked, confused, and upset.
Fuller
has long been a good friend to the Korean people. Many of our respected church
leaders have been educated at Fuller. With more than 1,000 enrolled
international students in the Korean programs and a few hundred Korean American
students in the English speaking ones, it is by far the most popular seminary outside
of Korea. When the now-scrapped plan for the new Korean Center was being
finalized, we were ready to joyously celebrate the thoughtful confirmation of
our friendship with Fuller and Fuller’s commitment to our community that the
new center were to signify. Yet here we are, feeling as if our best friend left
and took close to a half of all that we have, ever so suddenly without even
telling us why.
On
February 10, President Mark Labberton hosted a forum for the Korean students.
We all hoped to hear from our friend Fuller that there indeed was an
understandable reason why we Koreans were left in the dark. Yet we were told:
“We have created the new Korean Center because of the disharmony and
disagreements between the Korean programs.” In other words, ‘I left you and
took your goods from you when you thought our friendship was as strong as ever because
you have problems. But I never bothered to talk to you about it.’ Can
you imagine the anguish that our students feel? Please let us remind you that many
KSOT students (about 600 enrolled total) are internationals whose visa
standings depend on Fuller’s treatment of them. Do our programs really have so
many issues that Fuller thought forcing a sudden and massive restructuring
without any consultation with us and consideration of our situation was the
best option?
We do not dare to
claim that the two Korean programs (KSOT and KSIS) are perfect. Far from it.
But we do believe that the “disharmony and disagreements” are only natural. As the two Korean programs respectively belong to two
independent graduate schools of the SIS
and the SOT, they primarily focus on different disciplines using different methodologies for different goals. It is no
wonder that these programs disagree on various administrative and theological
issues. We know that even SIS and SOT English programs have disagreements
between them. Different opinions and frictions are part of human life. It’s
what makes the seminary better.
On
that day, President Labberton never told us what problems he was referring to
when giving us the reason for such harsh treatment. In fact, when asked, he
strongly claimed that the restructuring decision was “neither financial nor
racial.” Consequently, we cannot help but to feel that Fuller’s sudden and
forced restructuring is paternalistic. It reminds us of an unfortunate line of
thinking we learned in history books: ‘Since some people do not have the
capacity to determine their own destiny, they must be dictated and ruled by
a wiser and stronger people’. This feeling is especially hurtful and
frustrating coming from an evangelical seminary called to teach the Gospel that
‘breaks the walls between the Jews and the Gentiles’.
We even feel that Fuller’s integrity as an institution and the ingenuousness of
all that it teaches have been compromised in its dealings with us. Doesn’t
Fuller pride itself in globally contextualized theology and missional practice that
empower all sons and daughters of God to fully be themselves in their cultural
heritage and theological bent as they treat one another equally in mutual
respect and Christ-like love?
On
February 23, we the representatives of KSOT and KSA met with the President in a
private meeting, along with the Provost, the Dean of the SOT, and the Chairman
of the Board of the Trustees. The senior administration members and Mr.
Chairman graciously listened to our explanation of why the Korean students are
so hurt and upset for an hour and a half. However, the result was more and less
the same as that of the earlier forum: no
clear explanation for the forced restructuring that ignored us, and no
considerate care that made us feel like we Korean students and Fuller Seminary
are indeed good friends who can love one another deeply.
The administration did say that they will make an official apology and hold the beginning of the new Korean Center immediately. Yet the draft of that apology sent to us was no apology; it was mostly putting blame on those who have been laid off and lower-ranking members of the administration. It even tried to portray some items of disagreement as if they were agreements. We thus feel that even though the administration listened, they didn’t really hear us.
The
administration also refused to conduct an international search for a new head
person of the Korean Center (we Koreans have a strong culture of evaluating
leaders by certain ‘signature’’ accomplishments exceeding those of colleagues
in the same field, so Fuller needs to have a person with clear name recognition
in Korea and large networks that can well hold the Korean and the Korean
American churches). Without such head person, we believe that even adding 4
staff members back into the center will not do much to maintain the
administrative and academic quality of our programs, let alone guarantee a
sustainable growth for the overall center in the future. As we shared some of the
results with our students at a separate meeting that afternoon, we all felt
like an injury was added to insult.
We
believe that the relationship among Fuller Seminary, Fuller’s Korean community, and
the Korean church will be in serious
jeopardy if this injury is not healed swiftly and decisively. Many of our
students are thinking about transferring to other schools, and some of them
have already been contacted by Golden Gate, Talbot, Azusa Pacific, and likes. They
feel that Fuller has violated its contract with them, which promised a certain
level of academic and administrative quality. We are also hearing from our
alumni associations in Korea as well as in the states. They are concerned that
Fuller has turned its back on the Korean and Korean American churches.
The Korean students at Fuller have loved the seminary, and want to love it again. We are hurt by the forced restructuring and lack of answers that ignored us, and insulted by the paternalistic mistreatment of us by the administration preoccupied to simply place a bandage over our wounds rather than listening deeply and helping us to heal. However, we do believe that there is still hope. We are praying that our good God grants a spirit of reconciliation on this situation, as nothing is impossible with God. Please join us in praying for that.
February 25, 2016
Korean Doctor of Ministry Students – SOT
