It has yet to be officially confirmed how the second semester classes of 2020 will be conducted. As in the first semester, classes could be conducted through online lectures or we could return to normal face-to-face lectures. There could also be new types of classes, such as those which combine online and face-to-face lectures. At this point, we don't know what will happen, but to better understand this issue we had a discussion with two students, one of whom said they should give face-to-face lectures while the other said they should give online lectures.

Each side, please make your argument clear and brief.

Non face-to-face : I think the second semester’s lectures should be completely online. Currently, Korea is relatively safe from COVID-19. However, there are still daily confirmed cases, and in severe instances, the infected indiciduals can total a three-digit number. Under these circumstances, universities where students gather from all over the country are prone to spread COVID-19. Especially, since our university has more than 10,000 students, I think an infected student will quickly spread COVID-19 to other students.

Face-to-face : I think the second semester’s lectures should be taught in face-to-face classes. At first, I agreed with holding online lectures in the face of the national crisis called COVID-19. However, there were various problems while

conducting online classes in the first semester. While conducting face-to-face lectures in some subjects in the first semester, the unicersity implemented measures such as installing heat detectors, making it mandatory to wear masks,

and conducting classes at intervals. After all this effort, there was not a single confirmed person in the classes. For this reason, I insist that the second semester's classes be conducted as face-to-face lectures.

Each side, please provide the basis for the argument.

Non face-to-face : First of all, our university is not just for Korean students. Exchange students of various nationalities are also enrolled in Kyonggi University. Currently, though Korea is one of the safest countries with regard to COVID-19, but this is largely because people are following the quarantine measures of the social distancing system. It would be a big problem if students from countries where the medical system is relatively unstable and they can’t even count infected cases properly come into our country and attend face-to-face lectures. What justifies this concern is the status of daily confirmed cases in our country. Currently, the daily number of confirmed patients in Korea is higher than that of confirmed patients from outside Korea. In other words, due to the university receiving exchange students, it is impossible to safely conduct face-to-face lectures. Also, it is problematic to let only Korean students attend school without accepting exchange students. Furthermore, there are now a growing number of asymptotic patients. If someone kept going to school because that they believed they were not sick, who in fact that person was infected with COVID-19 the negative effects would be terrible. I can’t help but be afraid of this situation.

Face-to-face : First of all, there were professors who replaced 3-4 weeks of lectures with assignments, professors who did not post lectures on time, and professors who only recorded their voices because of poor computer equipment. Second, online lectures are less communicative than face-to-face lectures. Third the professors were not well prepared for the lectures, and the lectures were of limited benefit without properation. University lectures are conducted in various ways, including discussions, presentations, and group projects. This is because the purpose of the university is not just for students to learn knowledge, but to cooperate with each other, share their opinions, and develop their intellectual abilities. However, online lectures are taught in one direction, so students cannot share various opinions. Also, the ability to debate and listen effectively to other people’s opinions are two of the things to learn in college, but you can’t learn these things through online lectures. The fourth reason why online lectures are less effective is the use of other auxiliary facilities. Studying is not the only thing students do in college. In order to prepare for the future, we immerse ourselves in carious experiences. However, if you take online classes you will not be able to have these experiences as they require utilizing the facilities available at the university, such as the library, gym, university job center, and university counseling center. I think face-to-face lectures are possible because university students are intelligent enough to listen to lectures while keeping their social distance.

Each side, please provide grounds for opposition to the other person’s claim.

Non face-to-face : I fully admit that the quality of the class is bound to decline with online classes. However, as the situation remains serious, I think that everyone must cooperate to minimize the inevitable limitations of the online lecture. Also, I think the first semester’s online classes were confused because the classes were opned without any preparation due to the sudden onset of Since we have conducted online lectures for a semester, I think all the faculty and students have accumulated know-how about this. Finally, the use of extracurricular facilities has decreased a lot compared with the past, but the university is still in operation, so I think there will be no shortage of employment preparation opportunities or other experiences.

Face-to-face : Thank you for your non-face-to-face arguments. You told us that students of various nationalities go to the school and will attend face-to-face lectures, which might spread COVID-19. However, once they come to Korea from abroad, they will have to go thorough a self-quarantine process for two weeks. If they are found to have COVID-19, they will not be able to come out of the house on the 14th day. That's how much I think we’re preparing for the foreign student inflow. Also, foreign students come to Korea to set a top-notch education, but if they take only non-face-to-face lectures, it will be meaningless for them to study abroad.

If there is a compromise, please present it and make the final statement.

Non face-to-face : There are experimental and practical subjects in my department due to the characteristics of my department. I think those are classes that require face-to-face lectures. As far as I know, there are many departments in Kyonggi University that cannot change to online classes due to their major characteristics. I think the art colleges and physical education colleges belong to this group. Therefore, I think it is good to combine face-to-face and online lectures properly.

Face-to-face : I think we should switch to face-to-face lectures immediately, particularly for experiment practical courses, and classes that have experienced a significant decline in quality. I think the problems you mentioned can be solved if students check their body temperatures and symptoms at the entrances of the buildings and work to thoroughly prevent the spread of the virus.

Through this discussion, we listened to two students’ opinions on the form at the second semester’s lectures. It is inconclusive whether non-face-to-face or face-to-face lectures are more appropriate. This is because both sides have justified their positions well. On July 28, the school decided to give full-scale non-face-to-face lectures only in the third stage of the social distancing program. Yet in the first and second stages, the two students suggested a method of combining online and face-to-face classes, as was shared above. However, other voices have criticized the school for not having full face-to-face or all face-to-face. I wonder what the many readers who read this debate will think. Currently, students are suffering from new types of problems about which many opinions are given and appropriate countermeasures are needed.