At first glance, the Department of Free Majors offers students a unique opportunity: the freedom to explore. Undergraduate students enter university without declaring a major and are given a year to discover their academic interests before making a final decision. While this may seem like an ideal way to reflect and make thoughtful choices, the reality is often more complicated. To better understand the challenges, we spoke with an interviewee, a 2025 freshman in the Department of Free Majors at Gachon University. When asked about the difficulties the interviewee has faced, she shared: “It is the difficulty of connecting with seniors in the departments students plan to enter. What’s more, in engineering, deepened major courses typically begin in the second year, while first-year students can take only foundational courses. So it is difficult to conclude whether the department is suitable for me.”As a result, students in the Free Majors often have limited exposure to upper-level content in their first year, making it harder to judge whether a certain field truly fits their interests or skills. She also pointed out a structural issue within the system: “There is confusion about the concept of ‘freedom’ in Free Majors. While students with free majors are free to take classes in theory, when registering for a course, we must compete with the students of the department who are included in that course because the number of students with free majors is limited. So, it is helpful to offer trial classes to give students better access to a variety of subjects.” Though the Department of Free Majors is certainly a promising system that promotes academic exploration, students report real limitations, especially in terms of course access and curriculum structure. Some lectures remain out of reach due to enrollment competition or departmental restrictions. To ensure the Free Majors program lives up to its promise, universities must offer structured trial classes, improve course access, and provide stronger support systems. Yet as the interviewee’s experience shows, true academic freedom requires more than time—it needs thoughtful structure and real opportunities for exploration. Without support to navigate course registration, connect with departments, and experience advanced study, that “freedom” can quickly become confusion. The idea of freedom is appealing, but to make it real, institutional effort and student initiative must work together. Photo Credit : 가천대학교 자유전공학부 학생회