Seoul National University

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Not to be confused with the University of Seoul.
Seoul National University
서울대학교
Image:Seoul national university emblem.png
Latin: Universitas Nationalis Seoulensis[1]
Motto:Veritas lux mea
(Latin, literal translation: "The truth is my light". non-literal: "The truth enlightens me".)
진리는 나의 빛
EstablishedChartered: August 22 1946
Opened: October 15 1946
Type:National
Endowment:KRW 134.2 billion[3]
(USD 145.6 million)
President:Lee Jang-Moo, Ph.D.
Faculty:1,955[4]
Staff:991[4]
Students:29,295[4]
Undergraduates:19,209
Postgraduates:10,086
Doctoral students:2,705
LocationImage:Flag of South Korea.svg Gwanak, Seoul, South Korea
Campus:Urban
1.40 km² (Gwanak Campus)
16.57 km², including arboretum and other campuses.
Colors:Blue       
Mascot:Crane
Affiliations:AEARU, APRU, BESETOHA
Website:www.snu.ac.kr
Image:Seoul national university logotype.png
Seoul National University
Hangul서울대학교
Hanja서울大學校
Revised RomanizationSeoul Daehakgyo
McCune-ReischauerSŏul Taehakkyo
Note: The word 首尔大学 is frequently used in many Chinese context, as in Chinese Wikipedia. This is, however, not hanja name, because Chinese characters used in the word do not represent Korean sound of the word, but Chinese one. Thus it is only Chinese name. Other names as 汉城国立大学 have been used historically.

Seoul National University (SNU) is a national research university in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, SNU was the first national university in South Korea, and served as a model for the many national and public universities in the country.

Through its 60-year history, SNU is the most prestigious of all post-secondary educational institutions in South Korea.

Today SNU comprises 16 colleges and 6 professional schools, with overall students of about 30,000. It has two campuses in Seoul, the main campus in Gwanak, and the medical campus (named Yeongeon Campus after its neighbourhood) in Jongno. SNU is notable for its "fleet-style" system, offering diplomas for virtually every academic fields, from the liberal arts to the nursing.[5]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Pre-establishment

Although the University claims it has a beginning in 1946, many of its colleges, and its former main campus (current medical campus) can trace lineage to Kyongsong University, formerly Keijo Imperial University, which was established in 1924 by the Japanese, and was one of Japan's 9 imperial universities. By incorporating what used to be Keijo Imperial University, and using the old Keijo campus as its main campus, Seoul National University already had a reputation for being Korea's best academic institution on the day it was founded. The connection to KIU is now downplayed, as SNU has added much more to the reputation in its own right.

The schools merged were

  • "Gyeongseong University"(경성대학교)
  • "Gyeongseong Law College"(경성법학전문학교)
  • "Gyeongseong Industrial College"(경성공업전문학교)
  • "Gyeongseong Mining College"(경성광산전문학교)
  • "Gyeongseong Medical College"(경성의학전문학교)
  • "Suwon Agriculture College"(수원농림전문학교)
  • "Gyeongseong Business College"(경성경제전문학교)
  • "Gyeongseong Dentistry College"(경성치과의학전문학교)
  • "Gyeongseong Education College"(경성사범학교)
  • "Gyeongseong Women Education College"(경성여자사범학교)

[edit] Establishment

Seoul National University was founded on August 22, 1946 by merging ten institutions of higher education around the Seoul area, pursuant to "The Law Concerning the Foundation of Seoul National University." The schools merged were: Kyŏngsŏng University, Kyŏngsŏng Colleges of Law, Industrial Engineering, Mining, Medicine, Economics, Dentistry, the Normal School, the Women's Normal School, and Suwon Agricultural College. The first president was Harry B. Ansted. [1] There were the students and professors severe protesting movements against the law of the US military government in Korea merging colleges for more than one and half years. Finally, 320 professors were fired and more than 4950 students left the school.

The university's second president was Lee Chunho (이춘호; 李春昊), who served beginning in October, 1947.

The college of law was founded by merging the law department of Kyŏngsŏng University with Kyŏngsŏng Law College. The university absorbed Seoul College of Pharmacy in September, 1950, as the College of Pharmacy. This had previously been a private institution.[6]

During the Korean War, the university was temporarily merged with other universities in South Korea, located in Busan.

[edit] College of Medicine

Seoul National University Hospital and the College of Medicine trace their history to Gwanghyewon, also known as Jejungwon, which was the first western medical institution of Korea, founded by royal support in 1885. The statement is criticized, however, by many medical historians as being hollow, lacking any tangible evidence.[neutrality disputed] It is widely accepted that Gwanhyewon is instead a direct predecessor to Severance Hospital and Yonsei University's College of Medicine.[citation needed] It is suggested that Seoul National University Hospital and the College of Medicine are related, rather, to Daehan Hospital founded in 1907, which was supported by Japanese Resident-General Itō Hirobumi.

Image:Seoul national university 60th anniversary emblem.png
The 60th anniversary commemoration emblem of Seoul National University

[edit] Relocation

Originally, the main campus (which embraced the College of Humanities and Sciences and College of Law was located on Daehangno (University Street) in Jongno. Most parts of the university relocated to a new campus in Gwanak in the period between 1975 and 1979. Part of the former main campus in Jongno is still used by the College of Medicine, the College of Dentistry and the College of Nursing and is now called Yeongeon Campus.

In 1975 the main campus of the university moved to the newly constructed Gwanak Campus.

2006 was the 60th anniversary of the university. In January, the university ambitiously announced a 20-year vision to make Seoul National University a world-leading research based university[citation needed].

[edit] Academics

[edit] Undergraduate colleges

  • College of Humanities
  • College of Social Sciences
  • College of Natural Sciences
  • College of Nursing
  • College of Business Administration
  • College of Engineering
  • College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
  • College of Fine Arts
  • College of Law
  • College of Education
  • College of Human Ecology
  • College of Veterinary Medicine
  • College of Pharmacy
  • College of Music
  • College of Medicine
  • College of Dentistry

[edit] Graduate schools

[edit] General programs

  • Graduate School of Humanities
  • Graduate School of Social Sciences
  • Graduate School of Natural Sciences
  • Graduate School of Engineering
  • Graduate School of Arts
  • Graduate School of Medicine
  • Interdisciplinary Programs

[edit] Professional schools

  • Graduate School of Public Health
  • Graduate School of Public Administration
  • Graduate School of Environmental Studies
  • Graduate School of International Studies
  • Graduate School of Dentistry
  • Graduate School of Business

[edit] Admissions

Seoul National University is considered the most competitive university in South Korea. From 1981 to 1987, when an applicant could apply only to one university at a time, more than 80% of the top 0.5% scorers in the annual government-administered scholastic achievement test applied to SNU, many of them unsuccessfully. The fraction of SNU applicants among the top 0.1% scorers exceeded 95%[citation needed]. No comparable data are available for direct comparison between SNU and non-SNU applicants after 1988, due to an extensive change in South Korea's college entrance system.

[edit] Reputation

SNU graduates dominate South Korea's academics, government, politics and business. The concentration of SNU graduates in legal, official, and political circles is particularly high. Two-thirds of South Korean judges are SNU graduates, although the country's judicial appointment system is based solely on open competitive examinations. In government, slightly more than half of South Korea's elite career foreign service corps, recruited on the basis of a competitive higher diplomatic service exam, are from SNU. Similarly, among the high-ranking government officials who were recruited by an equally competitive higher civil service exam, SNU graduates take up more than 40 percent. On the political side, four out of seven presidential candidates in 2002 were SNU graduates. The school is also often criticized by some South Koreans for being elitist and bureaucratic.[citation needed]

[edit] Rankings

The Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings 2007 lists SNU at No. 51. in 2006, this university was listed at No. 63.[7]

[edit] Campus

Seoul National University is made up of two Seoul-based campuses: the Gwanak Campus is situated in the neighborhood of Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu; and the Yeongeon Campus is north of the Han River in Yeongeon-dong, Jongno-gu. The main campus in Gwanak-gu was established in 1975 by the SNU Comprehensive Plan. At present, there are about 200 buildings, over half of which have been constructed since 1990. The school’s medical, dental and nursing schools, as well as the main branch of Seoul National University Hospital, are located on the former site of Kyungsung University’s medical department at the Yeongeon Campus. In 2003, the Colleges of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Veterinary Medicine were relocated from Suwon to Gwanak.

[edit] Location

Image:SNU main gate.jpg
The main gate of Seoul National University, known by its nickname, the Sha gate

Gwanak Campus, the main campus, is located in the southern part of Seoul. It is served by its own subway station on Line 2. Yeongeon Campus, the medical campus, is located on Daehangno(University Street), northeast Seoul. The defunct Suwon Campus, the agricultural campus, also known as the Sangnok Campus (Evergreen Campus), used to be located in Suwon, about 40 km south of Seoul. The agricultural campus moved to Gwanak in Autumn 2004, but some research facilities still remain in Suwon.

[edit] Public transit access

[edit] Gwanak Campus

  • Gwanak Campus is served by Seoul National University Station of Seoul Subway Line 2. Although the station is named after the university, it is located about a 1.5 km away from the campus. The university runs shuttle bus between the station and the campus. Also, dormitories can be reached from Nakseongdae Station.
  • Airport bus 603 connects the university with Incheon International Airport.
  • There are several Seoul metropolitan buses that stops by the main gate of the university:
    • Trunk buses (Blue): 501, 651 and 750.
    • Branch buses (Green): 5412, 5511, 5512, 5513, 5515, 5516, 5518, 5614, 6511 and Gwanak 02.
      • Noticeably, line 5511, 5512 and 5513 circulate in-campus while other lines just stop by the main gate.

[edit] Yeongeon Campus

  • Yeongeon Campus is located near Hyehwa Station of Seoul Subway Line 4.
  • Buses that stop on Daehangno (University Street) connect Yeongeon Campus with other areas:
    • Trunk buses (Blue): 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 107 and 109.
    • Branch buses (Green): 1012, 1011, 1018, 1019, 2112, Jongno 07 and Jongno 08.

[edit] Facilities

[edit] Library

Seoul National University Library is located behind the university administrative building in the 62nd block of the Gwanak Campus. In December 31st, 2005, the library’s total collection of books, including all the annexes, was approximately 2.6 million volumes. The present chief librarian, Dr. Park Myeong-jin, professor of media and information in the College of Social Sciences, took office in 2006.

Furthermore, the Central Library has constructed a digital library, which in addition to the regular library collection provides access to university publications, ancient texts, and theses. Included here are countless images of pamphlets, lecture slides, and insects. The digital library also offers access to video of university exhibitions, scientific events, symposia, and seminars.

The library was first opened in 1946 as the Seoul National University Central Library, inheriting its facilities and books from Kyungsung University. In 1949, the name of the library was changed to the Seoul National University Library Annex. When the main branch of the library was relocated to the Gwanak Campus in January of 1975, it was renamed the Seoul National University Library, and then renamed again in 1992 the Seoul National University Central Library.

In 1966, provisions were made to systematize the library's collections. As the measures came into effect, the original library was organized into 12 separate annexes for each of the university’s colleges: engineering, education, physics, art, law, theology, pharmacology, music, medicine, dentistry, administration, and agricultural sciences. Two years later, in 1968, libraries for newspapers and the liberal arts were added to bring the total number of annexes to 14. However as the main branch was moved to the Gwanak Campus, the education, physics, legal, theological, administrative, newspaper, liberal arts, and pharmacological libraries were combined in a single building. The following year the art and music libraries were also added to the main branch, while the dentistry and medical libraries were amalgamated into one. With the integration of the engineering library into the main branch in 1979, only the agricultural and medical libraries remained as separate annexes. A new law library was established in 1983 with funds from alumni, and in 1992 the Kyujanggak Royal Library was subdivided from the main library as an independent organization and is now known as the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies.

With the transfer of the College of Agricultural Sciences from the Suwon to Gwanak Campus, the Agricultural Library was also moved in 2005. As of 2006 there were seven remaining library annexes for management, the social sciences, agriculture, law, medicine, dentistry, and international studies.

[edit] Museum

Seoul National University Museum is located at the Gwanak Campus. It originally opened alongside the university in 1946 under the name, "The Seoul National University Museum Annex." The original 2-story Dongsoong-dong building, which was erected in 1941, had served as the Kyungsung Imperial University Museum until it was transferred intact to SNU. When the museum was moved to the sixth floor of the Central Library, in 1975, it was renamed the Seoul National University Museum. The museum was then moved to newly constructed facilities, next to the Dongwon Building, in 1993, which it has occupied to this day. Dr. Park Nak-gyu is the present director.

[edit] Museum of Art

Seoul National University Museum of Art (SNUMoA) was established in 1995, with contributions from the Samsung Cultural Foundation, after a proposal from Dr. Lee Jong-sang, a professor of Oriental Art. Design was by the Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas, with construction entrusted to the Samsung Group. This 4450m² structure sits three stories above and below ground. Its major distinguishing feature is the forward area which almost appears to be floating in the air. Construction was undertaken from 2003 to 2005, just off the Gwanak Campus’ main gate while the opening took place on the June 8, 2006. Dr. Jung Hung-min assumed the directorship of the gallery in 2006.

[edit] Newspaper

The first edition of the paper was launched while seeking refuge from the ravages of the Korean War, on February 4th, 1952. In 1953 it was moved to Dongsoong-dong in Seoul, where from 1958 even editions for high school were published. Financial difficulties in 1960 lead the paper to cease printing for a time. It was relocated to the Gwanak Campus in 1975 where it has been in continuous publication until the present day. At the time of its first launch the paper was sold for 500 won a copy, sometimes twice a week. Now, however, it is distributed for free every Monday. The school paper is not available during schools breaks or exams.

[edit] Notable alumni

This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness.
Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

[edit] Politics

[edit] Science

[edit] Entertainment

[edit] Literature

  • Hong Se-hwa, journalist and progressive political activist
  • Yi Munyol, novelist and political commentator. He attended the College of Education but did not graduate.

[edit] Business

  • Lee Jae-Yong: Executive of Samsung Group
  • Kim Shin Bae: CEO of SK Telecom
  • Yun Jong-Yong: Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics
  • Kim Beom-soo: Founder of HanGame and former CEO of NHN
  • Hwang Chang-Gyu: CEO of Samsung Electronics
  • Dongjin Kim: Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motors
  • Nam Yong: CEO and Vice Chairman of LG Electronics

[edit] Athletics

[edit] References

  1. ^ Website of Roman Law Study Group (Korean). College of Law, Seoul National University. Retrieved on July 28, 2007.
  2. ^ Originally a poem by Chung Hee Song, Here is the sanctuary of blazing light, published in 1975 on the Daehak Shinmun(The University News). This phrase is often regarded as the university slogan, being popularized and sometimes used as the source of parody phrases. Reference sites: Internet Hankyore, Joongang Ilbo, China1 News.
  3. ^ Seoul National University Foundation Facts (Korean). Seoul National University Foundation. Retrieved on December 28, 2005.
  4. ^ a b c Seoul National University Facts (Korean). Seoul National University. Retrieved on July 28, 2007.
  5. ^ Lee, Jung-hoon, "With its 60th anniversary coming, SNU seeks for future plan" (Korean). Shin Dong A (July 2006): 136-161. Retrieved on September 30, 2007
  6. ^ History of the College of Pharmacy. SNU College of Pharmacy website. Retrieved on July 24, 2005.
  7. ^ The Times Higher World University Rankings. The Times Higher Education Supplement. TSL Education.

[edit] Further reading

  • Seoul National University, "서울대학교 40년사"(The 40 years history of Seoul National University), 1986.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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de:Seoul National University es:Universidad Nacional de Seúl fr:Université nationale de Séoul ko:서울대학교 id:Universitas Nasional Seoul la:Universitas Nationalis Seoulensis mn:Сөүлийн Үндэсний Их Сургууль ja:ソウル大学校 ru:Сеульский национальный университет zh:首爾大學

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