Link for signing the statement: secure.avaaz.org/community_petitions/en/myongji_university_don_t_abolish_the_department_of_baduk_go_studies_at_myongji_university/?cvlrntb&Ben&fbclid=IwAR0VeUrNYuWznSNcMbFStC0nOHIsfhlqPjXKxeEx4NOuNWUIeBdtfTCUGRw 发声链接: mp.weixin.qq.com/s/tAn3tcLQ_-mQalGU142lDg
Just a casual player in Finland, but even I learned about this department more than a decade ago. I thought it's really cool that it exists. Some history and CS majors might do research related to Baduk, but it's not quite the same.
In the 60s and 70s in europe, and particularly in Belgium, they started destroying old historical houses and buildings, including several that were trully one of a kind, and remarquable. They replaced them by soulless concrete towers. Now 60 years later, everyone wishes regrets it. The situation with this baduk departement feels a bit like that.
(2022-12-14 USA) - As an older honorary member of the Empty Sky Go Club at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), in Rochester, New York USA, I have had the pleasure of meeting Thomas Xiang vice president of the International Go Federation (IGF). If Thomas feels it is unwise and disappointing to close the college, that is good enough for me. All the players I have played from Korea have been very strong. Please keep in mind the global excitement that the deep mind AlphaGo computer competitions have raised go to skyscraper Heights. To me, it sounds like the current chairperson does not want to work with the Baduk curriculum. So let a fresh new chairperson step in at the college to keep Baduk running strong. The game also provides a chance to make new friends and to learn and accept global cultures. Please keep the Baduk college going even stronger and dedicated to deep study of this very ancient multi-thousand year old game. Kam-sa-hap-ni-dah (Thank you very kindly!) ~~ Dave Bippy Boyer, Rochester ,New York, USA
If the interest in Go is falling then the solution is to include it in elementry school curriculums, not abolish it. I'm willing to bet money there was a recent shake up with the heads of the university and now they want to leave their mark.
That is a very well thought out and argued presentation. I hope the school changes their mind. Korea has been such a powerhouse in Baduk and it is such a source of pride for many Koreans that it is a shame not to celebrate it for cultural reasons.
I went ahead and signed the petition, although I wish I knew more about job prospects for those who went, since I feel like many universities (at least here in the USA) have effectively become corporatized with the intent of generating profits, which leads to many individual pursuing degrees that are unable to qualify them for positions with reasonable compensation levels - all the while they incur egregious debt to attend the institution. If that is the case, then that is truly a disservice to the students.
The arguments for closing the baduk department sound strange to me. If 10% of the South Korean population play baduk, that's an impressive number. I don't think the university understands what they are doing. Maybe they decided kids can just study at home with AI?
Closing a school is a choice, and not one for people to be proud of. I hope the Baduk community's efforts are enough for this decision to be returned to the void, where it belongs. I also hope that this situation becomes a learning opportunity for the Baduk community, because it's somewhat disappointing that nobody rang the alarm earlier.
Hello! You are missing the important point, which is that they want to shut down the philosophy department as well. Philosophy is literally the oldest academic field, since the word "Academy" comes from the location where Plato had his school. What I am saying is that academic departments are not chosen merely for financial reasons or for their popularity, but for the inherent importance of their field of study.
For most AI researchers, the triumph of AlphaGo is really just one more instance of AI surpassing human cognition since Go was long considered one game in which computers would take many years to surpass top human players in Go ability. Not many of them became Go devotees just because they saw AlphaGo display its power. I imagine that those AI researchers that do play Go, do so as an artistic pastime, not unlike playing the violin, painting, playing a sport, or playing poker.
