SungKyunkuan University
Sungkyunkwan University (also known as SKKU or simply Seongdae) is a private
research university in Seoul (About this sound listen (help·info) and Suwon, South
Korea. It was originally authorized in 1398 as Sungkyunkwan, the foremost
educational institution founded by the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. The Korean language
Hangul and most parts of the Korean culture had been archived by Sungkyunkwan
scholars over hundreds of years. The literal meaning of "Sungkyunkwan" is "an
institution for building a harmonious society of perfected human beings". During the
period of Japanese rule, the traditionally higher education Sungkyunkwan had been
degraded and then closed by the Japanese colonial authority for the new Imperial
universities of which were transformed as by the industrial modernization. After the
Liberation from the Japanese Imperialism, the present form of the university was
established in 1946 by the ex rector of the Sungkyunkwan, Kim Changsook. The will
of such an attempt is thereafter to be more modernized than the broadly spreaded
occidental approach of mechanical education, and at the same time traditionally to be
in succession of the Sungkyunkwan's academic spirit by all Korean confucians, all
confucian schools of Korea, and the Sungkyunkwan foundation. Today, the university
has two campuses: the Humanities and Social Sciences campus in Seoul, and the
Natural Sciences Campus in Suwon. Eighteen schools and three colleges offer degrees
at the bachelor's level, and twelve graduate schools confer various degrees at both the
masters and doctoral levels. With funds by Samsung's reacquisition of the university
in 1996, SKKU has advanced as one of the world leading business schools for
planning the best global academic R&D centre of the South Korea. And today SKKU
also has progressed as one of the best medical schools in South Korea, affiliated with
its teaching hospital, the worldly famous Samsung Medical Center in the international
clinical services.
According to Anglo-American's editorial view with public confidence, the
International Ranking of Sungkyunkwan University is rapidly getting higher, and in
2013, the university was ranked 5th in South Korea after Postech, SNU, KAIST,
Yonsei, 23rd among Asian universities by Times Higher Education World University
Rankings.
History
Sungkyunkwan was established in 1398 to offer prayers and memorials to Confucius
and his disciples, and to promote the study of the Confucian canon. It was located in
the capital Hanseong, modern-day Seoul. It followed the example of the
Goryeo-period Gukjagam, which in its later years was also known by the name
"Sungkyunkwan". Sungkyunkwan was Korea's foremost institution of higher learning
under the Joseon Dynasty education system.
After the period of Japanese rule, with the emergence of the Republic of Korea, the
old Sungkyunkwan was reincorporated as a private institution without the sanction of
defunct Joseon Dynasty. As Korea modernized and underwent social and economic
reforms, the university grew rapidly to keep up with the diverse demands of the
advancing country. In 1946, the entering class numbered 155. The number of
graduates now totals approximately 130,000.
Sungkyunkwan now operates two campuses: the Humanities and Social Sciences
Campus in Seoul and the Natural Sciences Campus in Suwon.
Faculties and enrollment
Data from April 2008
Full-Time Professors: 1,138 / Emeritus Professors: 137 / Research Professors: 201 /
Clinical Professors: 63 / Associate Professors: 1,687 / Lecturers: 633 / Adjunct
Professors: 290 / Visiting Professors: 104 / Exchange Professors: 2 / Others: 4
Total: 4,259
Data from March 2008 Enrollment of Undergraduate: 27,639 / Master Course: 5,980 /
Doctor's Course: 1,210 / Unified Course: 215
Total: 35,044
Campus
Humanities and Social Sciences Campus
The deep roots of the university are so strongly entwined with Seoul that the
university cannot be described in isolation from the city. Like the university, Seoul is
the center of Korea's remarkable economic growth over the past 40 years with its
unique tradition and current modernity. Seoul was the seat of government as early as
the Baekje Kingdom for over 1,500 years. However, the city became more important
with the establishment of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392, when it became the capital city.
The university is located inside Seoul city walls, within the original capital of Joseon.
Located uphill from the original Sungkyunkwan site, the Humanities and Social
Sciences Campus is spread over a hill looking down on Jongmyo Royal Shrine, which
has been designated by as a National Treasure. Just like Seoul, the university grew
rapidly, and the expansion called for a new campus.
The original site was preserved as the Humanities and Social Sciences Campus, while
the expanding science programs were moved to a new campus in Suwon. Currently, 6
schools, 3 colleges and many graduate schools call the Humanities and Social
Sciences Campus their home. To commemorate the founding philosophy of the
university, the 600th Anniversary Memorial Hall, which houses the Academy of East
Asian Studies, was constructed on this campus. This new facility has a floor space of
31,930 square meters as well as four underground levels and six above-ground
storeys.
Natural Sciences Campus
The university's modern Natural Sciences Campus was established in 1978. This
campus is situated 45 km away from the south of Seoul, on a 250-acre (1.0 km2) site.
The campus is home to 5 schools, 2 colleges and various graduate schools. The
management of the Natural Sciences Campus is considered a paragon of educational
administration in Korea.
When the new campus was built, the idea of an equal dual campus system was new to
Korean higher education; this system remains unique in Korea. Some comprehensive
universities located in large cities have tried to meet the need for expansion by
founding separate, usually smaller campuses in rural areas. Besides solving the
problem of physical expansion, the separate campus system brought the University
many opportunities for growth.
Suwon preserves the traditional beauty of the Joseon era (1392–1910), but it also now
flourishes as a center for business, education and economic research, due to its
proximity to major industrial complexes.
In an effort to serve society by building a bridge between academia and the industrial
sector, another initiative, the Science Technology Park (STP), is being developed at
this campus. The university, industries in the surrounding area, and the government
have combined forces in this project.
Sungkyunkwan Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology
SAINT is the abbreviation of Sungkyunkwan Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology.
This institute opened on March, 2005.
SAINT was founded on March 1, 2005 as one of the 4 core programs of
Sungkyunkwan University’s VISION2010+ plan to be ranked in the top 100
universities in the world. With the financial support from Samsung Advanced Institute
of Technology (SAIT), Its goal is to become one of the top 5 nanotechnology-related
institutes by the year 2010, Dr. Sumio Iijima who discovered carbon nanotubes is the
Dean of SAINT now.
Sungkyun Language Institute
Background
Sungkyun Language Institute (SLI) is a semi-autonomous division of Sungkyunkwan
University. English, Japanese, Mandarin and Korean are all taught, though Mandarin
is not taught at the Suwon campus. Korean is taught at 6 levels from beginner to
advanced levels. There are 18 lecturers of Korean and 16 foreign lecturers of English
at the campus in Seoul, with 14 foreign English lecturers in Suwon, while the 2
Japanese lecturers based in Suwon are themselves Korean. There are also several
foreign lecturers of other languages in Seoul and Korean lecturers of English on both
campuses. SLI is managed separately from the university and the management
follows different systems of organisation on the two campuses, yet they both fall
under an umbrella level of administrative management.
Courses
Both credit and non-credit classes are taught. The English credit courses are chiefly in
Academic Writing and Academic Presentations, though there are also ESP (English
for Specific Purposes) classes in Business English, English for Scientific Purposes,
English Literature and Current English at the Suwon campus. Non-credit classes are
less specialised, and are therefore more typical of ESL environments. These are also
open to people who are not registered as students at Sungkyunkwan University to
attend. It is not uncommon for members of staff or local residents to attend such
classes. For the main courses (Academic Writing and Presentations), SLI produces its
own books, which are published by Sungkyunkwan University Press and which have
thus far been revised on a yearly basis.
Facilities
SLI has a "Global Zone" – a room in which students may relax, study, read, browse
the web, view online lectures, attend conferences, watch international TV, or seek
English assistance from the lecturers – on each site. These are relatively recent
additions, that in Seoul having been added in 2004 and that in Suwon in 2005.