This study aims to explore how East Asian flagship universities develop understanding of academic entrepreneurialism, reconsider forms of scholarship and transform the strategic planning of university missions. This study collected data from government and institutional documents related to academic entrepreneurialism and “scholarship of engagement” of University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Seoul National University (SNU) during 2011-2020. This study applied the Critical Discourse Analysis, which explores the relationship between academic entrepreneurial discourse and social structures as dialectic. We found that HKU and SNU present a hybrid image while they are reconsidering the scope and forms of scholarship. Portraying themselves as public institutions, the two East Asian flagship universities emphasize community engagement and social contribution in their pursuit of academic entrepreneurialism. Copyright © 2022 AERA.