Channel PNU met Cha Jeong-In, 21st President of Pusan National University (PNU), on May 15th to hear about the "Beautiful Campus" business plan, learning space, building construction plans, and parking facilities. He presented a vision of the "Beautiful Campus" that prepares for the future, where history and nature are beautiful, and people want to walk and stay. The Interview took place on April 26 at the Jin-ri Garden.

Q. We would like to know about the “Beautiful Campus” vision.

A. Making the campus beautiful is one of the president's essential duties. The beauty of the campus directly inspires the education and academic activities of university members. People make buildings, but the buildings also affect people.

In 1957, Kim Jung-Eop designed the Humanities Building after studying in France, and it was completed in 1959. It was the main building of PNU at that time. Four years after the Korean War in 1953, UNESCO said it was a “waste” due to designing such a magnificent building. In response, our first president Yoon In-Gu said, "The building has to be this big to make a big person" and expressed expectations for a big person. I think that such a building should not be a Humanities Building but a few more.

Q. How do you plan to create a beautiful forest campus?

A. When architect Seung Hyo-Sang visited our university, he said, "If you look from the main gate, the skyline of the Humanities Center set in Geum-jeong Mountain is the core of the beauty of PNU campus." It's a pity that other high-rise buildings have been built behind the Humanities Center.

The beauty of our campus is that it has a big valley, and it's next to a significant sloping mountain stream. I made a campaign promise for "Beautiful Forest Campus," which I think is the basis for becoming the most beautiful campus. But there should be a few more campus buildings like the size of the Humanities Center.

The center of the campus will be greened to make it a space where vehicles and people want to walk comfortably, and large buildings will be moved to the outskirts. The Natural Science building is the first building to be demolished after completing the Ultramodern Technology Building. No new facilities will be built on the site, but a beautiful museum of stone behind it will be shown in the foreground. The space between the Humanities and the Physics building has become the most beautiful center of our PNU campus.

In addition, a small forest with a badminton court near the College of Living and Environment had a steel parking lot planned. But the plan was utterly suspended because it was judged that the steel parking lot should not be built by tearing down the beautiful green area surrounding the valley. It will be put in the campus master plan; to be preserved as our school's green space forever.

Furthermore, Min-ju hills in the past have been abandoned. People didn't even go to the hill much as usual. But after repairing and making over the path, it became their favorite place. The Sa-yu path next to the Mirinae Valley, the Unjukjeong and Jin-ri garden was fixed and renovated to a space full of water falling sound. We will continue to protect the green area in the center of the school and make it more beautiful.

Q. What is your idea of a student learning space?

A. My idea is to create many suitable spaces for students to learn. Recently, the Library and Student Center Cafe in Miryang Campus were made with distinct characteristics, and the first floor of the SaeByeokBeol Library was renovated. I heard that students are so satisfied that there is fierce competition for seats. We are discussing the renovation of the 2nd floor of the SaeByeokBeol Library by securing more budget after looking at the utilization rate.

In addition, what has expanded a lot over the past year is the "Teum-sae Learning Space." This space is very economical because it is created by utilizing unused space in large buildings. We have made 12 places so far, and the number of seats is plenty. It will cost ten times more to build a new library. We change the whole space in the building into a studying atmosphere. It would be nice to make it an atmosphere where everyone is studying. It is slowly shaping up over the past year.

The number of users of Unjukjeong has increased by about five times. Most of the students were studying when I went there. We are pushing for this learning space to be significantly expanded, advanced, and diversified.

Q. I know that there is a plan to build a new building.

A. The building plan of the IT Department has been confirmed. The IT Hall blueprint came out, and it came out very nicely. The building on the left side of the main gate, located at the second annexed factory will be demolished and the IT Building will be constructed there. The next confirmed one is the renovation of the Engineering Building No. 6 under Unjukjeong. It is a perfect location. The design hasn't come out yet, but I'm going to build a beautiful facility like the Humanities Building.

It has not been confirmed yet, but we plan to renovate the Social Center to solve the lack of space in the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Society Buildings. The site is also on the outskirts, and the outskirts are planned to solve the lack of space by increasing the degree of building integration.

Yangsan Campus has a problem with a lack of facilities and lecture rooms. The establishment of the multipurpose building of Yangsan Campus is signed up second in line. We will resolve the inconvenience of Yangsan Campus students by constructing the building next year if it does not work this year. It is also planned to be a beautiful building.

The Engineering Building No. 3 is planned to be used as the buffer space (temporary living spaces in new construction) after being vacated. It will be rebuilt if we have a new plan.

Q. There are constant problems about the lack of parking facilities.

A. Lack of parking lots is the problem of our school site on Busan Campus. The area near the College of Pharmacy and the Ultramodern Technology Building is crowded with cars. We will free up parking lot spaces in spare moments and make the 58-*myeon parking lot at the 20-myeon parking lot in front of the Indeok-kwan. We will free up spaces of the parking lot down the unused Management building next to the Mujigae-door.

Furthermore, the IT Building, Engineering Building No. 6 and the Society Building will be reconstructed into the Piloti structures. Piloti is the structure that goes up from the second floor with pillars on the first floor like the Humanities Building. The Piloti structure is the modern architecture concept of Le Corbusier of France, who was the mentor of Kim Jung-Eop, and is referred to as a departure from the irregular earth's surface. This method can put the building in the air neatly. The building made in Piloti structure will be our school concept. And I think it will resolve the parking difficulties due to the installation of Piloti.

Currently, there is a 200-myeon parking lot behind the Jayu Gwan, but it is not fully used. The problem is PNU staff and students do not use the parking lots and want to park next to their office and lecture rooms. We cannot be satisfied with both green spaces in the school and parking close at the same time. That is why I want PNU members to have the bond of sympathy that the school is a "place to walk around," "Consensus" in English. Otherwise, we will not be able to resolve this issue.

It's not a good idea on campus to build a parking lot close to the building. Making an underground parking lot is the right method, but it costs a lot. So, it is a good way for the disabled and pregnant women to use parking spaces next to the building, and for healthy people, it will be better to walk from further away.

Q. Lastly, please say something to the members about campus improvement.

A. I have great pride in the PNU Campus. No matter what college you go, there are not many universities with this environment where buildings naturally lie in the natural beauty of Geum-jeong Mountain like here, Busan Jangjeon-dong Campus.

The important thing is that the school should have a “Master Plan.” If we continue with the principles like "Greening the center of campus and creating a campus where you want to walk," "Moving the big buildings on campus to the outskirts," and “Relocating parking lots to the outskirts and make people walk around," PNU campus will be the most beautiful campus in 10 to 20 years.

*Myeon: The area unit. One Myeon in general-type is 2.5m x 5.0m and expanded-type is 2.6m x 5.2m.

Reporter Kim Ye-Shin

Translated by Shin Ji-Won