The study called Entrepreneurship is under the spotlight as it provides a systematic support system for business establishments by helping identify promising business opportunities in the global management environment which is becoming more and more intensive these days. Our campus SMU has launched the first entrepreneurship undergraduate program in Korea. The Sookmyung Times (SMT) interviewed Professor Han Yoo Jin (HAN) to learn about Entrepreneurship. What Is Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which is a French word meaning “one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods. ”This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response to a perceived opportunity. The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting new businesses. However, in recent years, the term has been extended to include social and political forms of entrepreneurial activity. When entrepreneurship is describing activities within a firm or large organization, it is referred to as intra-preneurship and may include corporate venturing, when large entities spin-off organizations.1 What Kind of Studies Are There in Entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship is closely related to management and it studies subjects such as World Business Environment, Global Intellectual Property Strategy, Development Aid and Global Cooperation, New Service Creation Strategy, New Product Development Strategy, Managing a Growing Business, Entrepreneurial Marketing, Intellectual Property and International Relations.
SMT What is so special about Entrepreneurship in SMU? What kind of features and merits does this study have?
HAN One of the most distinctive features about the Entrepreneurship in our campus is that it is launched as the undergraduate study, unlike other colleges overseas. As SMU is the first University offering an Entrepreneurship study in Korea, it is not very well-known among students here. However, most of American and British Colleges offer this study in graduate courses. We benchmarked the curriculums from about 150 colleges including the Ivy League, Stanford, Cambridge and other colleges with high academic and social status, but still aimed to maintain our own distinct and distinguished curriculum. In the Entrepreneurship major, we deliver the balanced programs both in theory and practice aspects at a one to one ratio, so that students can establish their own enterprises or work for the new business planning departments of global companies, especially based on women-specific delicacy and humanism. SMT What kind of future careers are there after the graduation from the Entrepreneurship major?
HAN There are numerous possible careers after majoring in Entrepreneurship, but I will introduce only the primary ones here. The first is to become an actual entrepreneur with the discovered promising item. In this case, the Entrepreneurship program will financially assist students with ideas for marketable business items by funding their startup ventures. Graduates will also gain sufficient language proficiency and professional knowledge to immediately enter international corporations such as IBM, HP, Microsoft, and Google, or overseas branches of domestic multi-national corporations such as Samsung, LG, and POSCO. Graduates seeking to obtain a professional or graduate degree would be well prepared for graduate studies in the areas of business and management. SMT What kind of accomplishments or capabilities do students need to major in Entrepreneurship?
HAN Firstly we want our students to be not afraid of challenges but determined to overcome them. As Entrepreneurship reflects the im-jeonmu- twae mind (knowing no retreat at a battlefield) in the battlefield of business, we want our students to be the courageous leaders who can give others vision. Secondly, Entrepreneurship requires fast and efficient learning ability as students need to cover various kinds of studies. Lastly, having a good command of languages is also very important. All Entrepreneurship courses are proceeding in English and students are required to take Chinese or Japanese lessons to become capable people in the global market including the Asian market. Recommended Books for Future Global Leaders - Nobuyuki Hayashi, The Great Choice of Steve Jobs, Icon Book, 2010.06.25
- Cara Carleton Sneed Fiorina (Carly Fiorina), Tough Choices , Hae-name publisher, 2006.11.10
Han Yoo Jin 
Education PhD, Management of Technology, Seoul National University MBA, Seoul National University B.S., Industrial Management, KAIST Current Assistant Professor, Affiliation School of Global Service, SMU Director, APEC Women e-biz Center, Asian Pacific Women’s Information Network Center, SMU E-mail yjhan@sookmyung.ac.kr
