|
|
|
|
Seoul National University
|
| |
|
| |
Seoul National University (????? Seoul Dae Hakgyo), colloquially known in Korean as Seouldae, is a public research university located in Seoul, Republic of Korea, ranked 1st in the world and 1st in Asia by US News and World Report (citing a survey performed by ), and 24th in the world in publications by the Science Citation Index.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Seoul National University' Start a new discussion about 'Seoul National University' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Seoul National University (????? Seoul Dae Hakgyo), colloquially known in Korean as Seouldae, is a public research university located in Seoul, Republic of Korea, ranked 1st in the world and 1st in Asia by US News and World Report (citing a survey performed by ), and 24th in the world in publications by the Science Citation Index. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University was the first national university in South Korea, and served as a model for the many national and public universities in the country. Seoul National University has been recognized for its leading role in Korean academia.
Throughout its history, Seoul National University has been regarded as the most eminent of all post-secondary educational institutions in South Korea. It is regarded as the most renowned university by the general public and recruits top-notch high school students.
Today Seoul National University comprises sixteen colleges and six professional schools, with a student body of about thirty-thousand. 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 field, from aerospace engineering to Western history.
History
Pre-establishment
Although the University was founded in 1946, some of its colleges, and its former main campus (the current medical campus) can trace their lineage to Kyongsong University, formerly Keijo Imperial University, established as one of Japan's 9 imperial universities.
The schools merged were
- "Gyeongseong University"(?????)
- "Gyeongseong Law College"(????????)
- "Gyeongseong Industrial College"(????????)
- "Gyeongseong Mining College"(????????)
- "Gyeongseong Medical College"(????????)
- "Suwon Agriculture College"(????????)
- "Gyeongseong Business College"(????????)
- "Gyeongseong Dentistry College"(??????????)
- "Gyeongseong Education College"(??????)
- "Gyeongseong Women Education College"(????????)
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: Kyongsong University, Kyongsong 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. For over a year and a half, there was a large protest movement by students and professors against the law of the US military government in Korea merging colleges. Finally, 320 professors were fired and more than 4950 students left the school.
The university's second president was Lee Chunho , who served beginning in October, 1947.
The college of law was founded by merging the law department of Kyongsong University with Kyongsong Law College. The university absorbed Seoul College of Pharmacy in September, 1950, as the College of Pharmacy. This had previously been a private institution.
During the Korean War, the university was temporarily merged with other universities in South Korea, located in Busan.
College of Medicine
Seoul National University Hospital and the College of Medicine trace their history to Gwanghyewon, also known as Jejungwon, which has been claimed as the first western medical institution in Korea, founded by royal support in 1885. This assertion has however been disputed by medical historians, as lacking any tangible evidence.It is widely accepted that Gwanhyewon is instead a direct predecessor to Severance Hospital and Yonsei University's College of Medicine. 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 Ito Hirobumi.
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 sixtieth anniversary of the university. In January, the university ambitiously announced a twenty-year vision to make Seoul National University a world-leading research based university.
Academics
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%.
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.
Rankings
The Times Higher Education Supplement lists SNU at No. 50, going up one rank compared to being listed at No. 51 in 2007. In 2006, this university was listed at No. 63.
The Shanghai Jiao Tong university ranking places Seoul National University at No. 164 which places more emphasis on publications in the area of natural sciences as well as on the number of alumni who became Nobel Prize winners. Seoul National also had the third highest number of students who went on to earn Ph.Ds in American institutions in 2006.
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.
Location
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.
Public transit access
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 buses between the station and the campus on weekdays. The dormitories can be reached from Nakseongdae Station.
- Airport bus 603 connects the university with Incheon International Airport.
- There are several Seoul metropolitan buses that stop by the main gate of the university:
- Trunk buses (Blue): 501, 651 and 750.
- Branch buses (Green): 5412, 5511, 5513, 5515, 5516, 5614, 6511 and Gwanak 02.
- Note: Bus numbers 5511 and 5513 circulate in-campus while other lines just stop by the main gate.
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): 101, 102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 140, 143, 150, 160, 161 and 162.
- Branch buses (Green): 2112, Jongno 07 and Jongno 08.
Facilities
Library
is located behind the university administrative building in the 62nd block of the Gwanak Campus. In December 31, 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 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.
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.
Museum of Art
Museum of Art, Seoul National University () was established in 1995, with contributions from the Samsung Cultural Foundation, after a proposal from Dr. Lee Jong-sang, a professor of Oriental Art. The building designed by the Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas, with construction entrusted to the Samsung Group. This 4450m˛ 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.
Newspaper
The first edition of the paper was launched while seeking refuge from the ravages of the Korean War, on February 4, 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 led 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.
Notable alumni
Politics
Literature
- Choi In-Hoon, novelist.
- Kim Chi-Ha: poet.
- Kim Seung-ok, novelist.
- Lee Hyo-Seok, novelist.
- Lee Yangji, a second-generation Zainichi Korean Japanese novelist.
- Park Wan-Seo, novelist.
- Yi Munyol, novelist and political commentator. He attended the College of Education but did not graduate.
- Yi Sang, novelist.
Science
Arts
- Hwang Byeong-gi: gayageum player.
- Sumi Jo: soprano.
- Unsuk Chin, composer.
Entertainment
Athletics
- Enccer: College of Engineering soccer team ()
- Rugby
Clubs
- Passionate Pioneers of the Good Rich (Seoboodong): an academic club dedicated in studying the method of accumulating, augmenting, and utilizing wealth. (official website: http://www.snurich.com)
- Yeo Min Rak (???,???) : a Korean traditional music club, specifically Jeong-ak(??,??). Students take one or more of the musical instruments. It also holds its yearly performance. (http://ymr.snu.ac.kr)
- Please note that there are more than 100 clubs at SNU, and few represented here do not represent the all the other clubs.
Further reading
- Seoul National University, ""(The 40 years history of Seoul National University), 1986.
See also
External links
|
| |
|
|
