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Seoul National University

서울대학교
File:Seoul national university emblem.png
Latin: Universitas Nationalis Seulensis
Motto	Veritas lux mea (Latin, literal translation: "The truth is my light". non-literal: "The truth enlightens me".) [진리는 나의 빛] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
Type	National
Established	1946
Endowment	KRW 134.2 billion (USD 145.6 million)
President	Lee Jang-Moo, Ph.D.
Academic staff	2,064 (2008)
Students	26,605 (2008)
Undergraduates	16,006
Postgraduates	10,559
Doctoral students	2,602
Location	Gwanak , Seoul , South Korea
Campus	Urban, 1.4 km² (350 acres) 16.57 km², including the arboretums and other campuses.
Colors	Blue
Affiliations	AEARU, APRU, BESETOHA
Mascot	Crane
Website	www.snu.ac.kr
Seoul National University Logotype

Seoul National University
Hangul	서울대학교
Hanja	서울大學校
Revised Romanization	Seoul Daehakgyo
McCune–Reischauer	Sŏul Taehakkyo
Note: The word 首尔大学 is frequently used in many Chinese context, as in Chinese Wikipedia. This is, however, not traditional 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 transliteration. 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 August 1946, the university is the first national university of South Korea. SNU has been recognized for its leading role in South Korean academia and served as a model for the many other national and public universities established later in the state.

Throughout its 60-year history, SNU 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 SNU comprises 16 colleges and 6 professional schools, with a student body 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 field, from the liberal arts to nursing.

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"(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)

Establishment

The university campus

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] 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 (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.

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 Itō Hirobumi.

The 60th anniversary commemoration emblem of Seoul National University

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.

Academics

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

Graduate schools 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 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

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% . 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.

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 World University Rankings 2007 lists SNU at No. 51. 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. No South Korean has won a Nobel Prize, except for the former South Korean president Kim Dae Jung, who became Nobel Peace Prize winner for his policy towards North Korea. Seoul National also had the third highest number of students who went on to earn Ph.D's 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

File:SNU main gate.jpg

The main gate of Seoul National University, known by its nickname, the Sha (샤) 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.

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 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, 5513, 5515, 5516, 5614, 6511 and Gwanak 02.
    • Noticeably, line 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

The passageway through the Central Library building

Seoul National University 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

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.

Museum of Art

Museum of Art, Seoul National University (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. The building designed 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.

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

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Politics

• Ban Ki-moon: current Secretary-General of United Nations; former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of South Korea
• Han Seung Soo: president of the 56th General Assembly of the United Nations
• Kang Kum-Sil: 55th Minister of Justice of the Republic of Korea (2003~2004)
• Kim Young-sam: former president of South Korea (1993~1998)
• Goh Kun: former mayor of Seoul and prime minister of South Korea
• Chung Mong-jun: Vice president of FIFA
• Kim Moon-soo: current governor of Gyeonggi-do
• Chin Dae-je: former Executive of Samsung Corporation and former minister of Ministry of Information and Communication
• Lee Hoi-chang: former prime minister of South Korea and the Grand National Party's presidential candidate in 1997, 2002.
• Kwon Young-ghil: presidential candidate in 1997, 2002 and 2007, and former chairman of Democratic Labour Party.

Science

• Lee Jong-wook: former WHO Director-General

Entertainment

• Kim Tae Hee: actress
• Kim Jeong Hoon, actor and singer. He attended the College of Dentistry but dropped out to pursue acting.
• Lee Soo Man: CEO of SM Entertainment
• Honey Lee: gayageum player who finished in the top 5 as 3rd runner-up in the Miss Universe 2007

Literature

• Choi In-Hoon, novelist.
• 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.

Athletics

• Enccer: College of Engineering soccer team (official web site)
• 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 (여민락,與民樂) : a Korean traditional music club, specifically Jeong-ak(정악,正樂). Students take one or more of the muscial instruments. It also holds its yearly performance. (http://ymr.snu.ac.kr)

• Please note that There are more than 100 clubs in SNU, and few represented here do not represent the all the other clubs.

Further reading

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

See also

• TEPS
• Seoul National University Bundang Hospital
• Seoul National University Station

External links

• Seoul National University English Website
• SNULIFE, SNU students' portal site
• Gwanaksa, students' dormitory of Gwanak Campus
• Central Library, Official Library of Seoul National University