Seoul National University

This advanced topics course covers reinforcement learning, search, and test-time scaling of large language models that are expected to drive the next generation of AI systems. 

Topics include: Basics of RL (Markov Decision Process and Policy evaluation), Basics RL (Imitation learning, Deep policy gradient methods), Basics of RL (Deep Q-Learning, Rainbow DQN); Symmetric alternating Markov games, Monte Carlo tree search, expert iteration, and AlphaGo; Imperfect information games, Counerfactural regret minimization, and Pluribus; NLP basics (RNN, beam search, tokenizers); NLP basics (Transformers, encoder-decoder architectures); Instruction fine-tuning, Scaling laws of LLM pre-training; Reinforcement learning with human feedback, direct policy optimization, Group Relative Policy Optimization (GRPO); Chain of thought, Process reward models, Prover-verifier games; In-context learning, Scaling LLM Test-Time Compute; DeepSeek-R1. 

This covers how international disputes are settled (or not) under international law. The class focuses on international disputes and examines how international law is applied to legal issues of disputes. Students obtain a critical approach to international law in perspective of its role and limits. This course also examines other mechanisms of dispute settlement developed in specific areas of international law. There are no prerequisites, and no prior knowledge in international law will be assumed. This course is primarily for students who have not studied international law before. Students with different backgrounds in international law are also welcome in this course. 

This course provides students with an opportunity to explore various actual cross-border M&A (merger and acquisition) transactions including outbound and in-bound investments and related contracts and processes from a practitioner’s perspective. 

Under the guidance of professors or lawyers at legal clinics or legal counseling centers on campus or at law offices off campus, students gain experience through participation in planning, due diligence, contract drafting and negotiation exercises. The course allows students to experience the practical aspects of working on cross-border M&A transactions and to equip them with the ability to spot potential issues and come up with solutions in the context of such transactions, thereby helping to prepare them for a future career as an international corporate practitioner. The course is conducted in English, with an emphasis on enhancing the students’ ability to communicate in English and handle English language documents, which are critically important skills for engaging in international transactional work. 

The emphasis of this course is on 'Sagunja,' the symbolic paintings of the four traditional virtues of gentlemen. Instructions will be given on the ideal of literati painting tradition, and students are encouraged to capture the essence of the form rather than its superficial representations, and ultimately discover their own style and techniques. 

The Four Gentlemen Painting is an ink wash painting that compares the thoughts and spirit of a gentleman to plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums, and bamboo. The Four Gentlemen Painting clearly displays the characteristics of literati painting, which emphasizes the divine over the formal, emphasizes the poetic sentiment and the intention of the painting, and expresses thoughts and emotions through objects. By learning the Four Gentlemen Painting, which reveals the essence of literati painting, students encounter the theoretical foundation of literati painting and traditional ink wash techniques. 

This course introduces and analyzes various economic problems. The class focuses on the following questions: How are national income, prices, interest rates, unemployment rates, employment, wages, consumption, and investment determined and what are the relationships between them? By what principle is national income decided and allocated? Why do booms and recessions occur and how can they be controlled? By what process does the economy experience growth? What place does the Korean economy occupy in the world and how are exchange rates and balance of payments determined? What effect does the government's economic policy have on economic activities and how are we to evaluate the merits and demerits of those economic policies? 

Topics include definitions of wealth, issues of growth and wealth, business cycle theories, classical dichotomy and quantity theory of money, and monetary and fiscal policies. 

This course equips pre-service teachers with knowledge of Educational Psychology and develops pre-service teachers' understanding of teaching-learning processes. Practical implications of various theories of Educational Psychology are dealt with in depth, including cognitive development, affective development, learning theories, intelligence, students with special needs, learning motivation, and evaluation.

This course promotes comprehensive understanding of international environmental law, one of the fastest growing fields of the international law. It reviews theories, historical developments, and major international environmental agreements. The course takes interdisciplinary approaches, considering distinctive features of environmental problems, the development of principles and the formation of the international environmental regimes, the roles of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the inter-linkages that exist between the environment and trade, investment, and human rights. Various simulation negotiations will be used to encourage students' participation.  

This advanced undergraduate course delves deeply into Internet technology. It covers the structure of the Internet and its protocol applications in detail. Students examine the basic design principles, implementation, and operating principles of computer networks used in modern Internet and cloud/data centers, and study in detail the design principles and functions of the transport layer, network layer, link layer, and physical layer, including client-server models, web, video streaming, and smart phone network applications. If time permits, the course includes ultra-low latency/ultra-bandwidth networking issues in data centers. An understanding of the OSI protocol and basic concepts of data communication is required. 

This course covers general chemistry for non-chemistry majors. Basic chemical theory and phenomena are considered in the course. This course equips students with the ability to apply fundamental concepts and principles of chemistry to real-world contexts. By exploring the structure of atoms and molecules, which are the building blocks of matter, and the principles governing chemical transformations, students develop skills to analyze and predict chemical changes. 

This course is an introductory survey of the art and nature of philosophy, i.e., the ability and activity of articulating one’s views about a philosophical problem and defending them with good arguments. The course examines problems representative of and fundamental to both Western and Asian philosophical traditions and provides perspectives related to current philosophical issues. The main readings are selected from classics in both traditions.