QIKJS-Part.V.F Qualitative Inquiry of Korean Judicial System Kiyoung Kim Professor of Law and Public Policy Dept. of Law, Chosun University Gawng-ju South Korea Week 11 Journaling In Transition from the Coursework to Dissertation Track As the doctoral student moves to the prospectus presentation stage, we feel that the qualitative transformation would occur within the attitude and assumption of students. What I may simplify would be about the three types of relationships, i.e., top-down, equal and bottomup. Despite a superfluous ontology or mores for the right college education, we may yet defy at all that the undergraduate studies in the university would be instructional and cramming of existing knowledge with the vertical or top-down interchange between the teachers and learners. On the other, the coursework of graduate studies as experienced thus far would be held on equal participation or weekly discussion, the kind of seminar type usual across the brick and mortar universities and as if the students and instructors would be convening knights on the ancient Round Table. As last, our new stage led to the 9000 course, say, dissertation credits course, will be postulated as primarily independent or on the bottom-up context of interchange between the chair and dissertators. Given this attribute of educational frame, the prospectus stage or class has a certain thrust in implications and transition toward the new frame of doctoral work. This is not to say that I had a tough prospectus class last term, but may be a concern and fear of class instructor, who finally has to check up with the student's preparation and capacity to deal with his new responsibility as a dissertator. The roadblocks in this transition stage would be many, but most importantly with the skills and know-how to deal with the purpose of student for a successful completion of dissertation. The prospective dissertator at this stage would likely be a bank with the stash of money, which should not be tucked away. He learnt much over his undergraduate education, the weekly seminars on-line with peers, as well as his experience within the workplace and real world. He or she must be a most knowledgeable person to work on his long embraced theme. He now turns to collect the data and structures his thought to conform or disconform his hypothesis and assumptions. The freedom of expression would surely benefit this prospective 2 researcher, who often neither has an experience to write a professional type of books or journals nor theses and dissertations except for the college exam or pages of term paper. Without the skillful deals about the standard and contract with the university and supervisors, however, he might fail or has to suffer from the general expectations about doctoral study. A stash of money impliedly or expressly stored into his whole would be tucked away ineffectively and unsuited to the requirement of doctoral protocol. The discussion prospectus would be a brunt and vantage point leading to the dissertation proposal, preliminary draft and final draft. It could form a vertebral of his doctoral research that needs to be carefully prepared. We never have to fear, however, that a course to respond with the importance of preparing the discussion prospectus has been well incorporated into the Walden doctoral program. The instructors would be stern and austere to set the students free into the sea of independent research. The model discussion prospectus would kindly be made available for the reference of prospectus student, and the training would be proper to qualify the researcher to work independently. Besides the aspect of formality and requirement as above, the concerns of researcher would be such that the topic or theme of research would not be submissive to the objective standard and general skills of doctoral research. The real world would constantly change and scholars in the field of dissertator's interest would publish daily about his theme. The research environment of this kind would be undeniable and impel the researcher to change or modify his initial thought or dissertation prospectus as he progresses. This fluid side of reality encroaches upon a type of researchers besides the doctoral students in the coursework, dissertators as well as college or university and other professional researchers. In this respect, I consider that any most important concern about the science and research lives would be a self-management of not losing the appetite and interest of his topic. He or she would do best to keep up with the taste and curiosity as well as if in some humble or trepid way than complacency on his success. Then he or she could even look forward to what is preferred to complete his research. Of course, this is not to say that the researcher would lean on his personal claims and position or may be biased, but to say that the attention and focus could make the researcher salient, competitive and diligent. An Example: Flexibility and Responsiveness For example, new research piece heralded through the social website of researchers had awakened my dormant ignorance of gender element within the market and capitalism. A homo-capitalism would guide us with the theme of gender within the historical transformation of liberal capitalism. The propositions and analysis had pointed out resilience and progress on the gender equality of labor relations long waked within the history and contingencies of postcolonial states. A paternity and gender discrimination within the modern capitalism had been struggled into the current form of west, not shortly attainable in time. It evoked my hypothesis that the social progress within the post-colonial states and neo-liberal reform to respond with the influence or norms of international obligations would be variegated to be little distinct. From the empirical data, we can know that the female professionals, private lawyers, state 3 attorneys and judges in Korea had grown remarkably along the social progress and new law school education. Now the state attorneys hired annually yielded an equal share of influx into the position between female and male applicants. A share must have been 3 or 4 percents about three decades ago. The interesting finding is that the public or intelligent circle generally showed no interest to comment or critique on this point of social injustice at that time and less surprise of such remarkable progress on gender equality recently. One interviewee adverted, "We see no difference between the female and male peers....They are equally paid and obliged to perform in the same commitment and goals...I also suppose that the feel of such progress (in response with my tender of note for the recent statistics) toward the gender equilibrium is no surprise personally, but see both same..." With many of such witnesses from my test pool, I had found the vast attitude of Korean public and professionals. The implications would follow. First, it generally corroborates the hypotheses that Korea, one of post-colonial states, had progressed on the distinct socio-cultural experience not generizable with the western history. While the gender inequality in the labor relations still would be some of top agenda in the society as we know of window ceiling or compulsory quota of cabinet and corporate directorate within the major firm, this notion would not be made popular or salient within the professional community in Korea. Second, while the public relations involved with the modern capitalism and democracy rapidly can be diffused into the society, the familial or gender issues, perhaps true pillar to sustain the public or social system, would highly be neglected or seen differently within the context of post-colonial experience of Korea. No serious discourse to deal with the gendered society in terms of materialism or public relations would be less voiced if any. A focus might be more inclined to deal with the sexual misconduct or abuse than the workplace promotion or capitalistic interest, which ironically would be higher-toned than the west showing a feudal attitude of Koreans. In other words, the gender issue of west had long been interwoven with the materialism and liberal market, which differs if the concern is biological and personal in Korea. Third, while the diffusion of policy by importing the western system rapidly happens, a socio-cultural adaptation from the policy reform or new institutionalization would be complicated and resilient in fact, and even absorbed without the stage of criticism and due public attention. For example, the affirmative action, one of most notable tools to restore the social justice, had been widely accepted by the Korean policy makers, which shows Koreans very publicly agile. This could open up the possibility of radical action or policy reform. A progressivism or deliberative aspect of modern democracy based on the family and market, as known of private sector, would not be prioritized than the politics or public policy in Korea. This could bring a sudden shift of affirmative action on the gender ground which leads to more than female leaderships in KPO and KSC, for example. Forth, the implications would be that the policy makers need to have an awareness and 4 learning about the history and particulars of society in order to devise an effective, sustainable and best public policy (Kim, 2014; 2015a,b). A kind of reflexivity from the discursive structure and values or ideals for the post-modern professionals also seems an essential thought process for the specters, regulators and interest generators of the market and capitalism. In dealing with this epistemological challenge, the particulars of society would also factor the social progress, which could configure with the Turner's proposition about the politics of expert or policy makers on the field of interest. In this way, I was made up for the dissertation stage that the reception and critical reading of new research would present a roadblock at the first instance and can be incorporated thankfully later. 5 References Kim, Kiyoung, Ethics, Law and Social Justice (April 10, 2015a). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2592876 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2592876 Kim, Kiyoung, Public Policy and Governance: Some Thoughts on Its Elements (April 3, 2015b). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2589526 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2589526 Kim, Kiyoung, The Relationship between the Law and Public Policy: Is it a Chi-Square or Normative Shape for the Policy Makers? (September 10, 2014). Social Sciences. Vol. 3, No. 4, 2014, pp. 137-143. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20140304.15. . Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=