Seoul National University

Lore & Background

Seoul National University originates from various educational institutions established by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. After the proclamation of the Korean Empire in 1897, Gojong created more modern education institutions. During Japanese rule, Keijō Imperial University was established. After World War II and Korean independence, the name changed to Gyeongseong University.

SNU was founded on August 27, 1946, by merging ten institutions. The first president was Harry Bidwell Ansted. The university's second president was Lee Choon-ho, who served beginning in October 1947. During the Korean War, the university was occupied by North Korea, and the Seoul National University Hospital massacre occurred.

The university then temporarily moved to Busan. Originally the main campus was in Dongsung-dong, Jongno District. After construction of a new main campus in Gwanak District in February 1975, most colleges relocated to the Gwanak Campus between 1975 and 1979 by the request of president Park Chung Hee. Part of the former main campus in Jongno District is still used by the College of Medicine, the College of Dentistry and the College of Nursing and is now called Yeongeon Campus.

From Royal Decrees to a National Institution

SNU's roots stretch back to the late 19th century, when King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty sought to modernize Korea's educational landscape. A royal order on March 25, 1895, established the law academy Beopkwan Yangseongso, which produced 209 graduates including the later envoy Yi Tjoune. That same year, Hanseong Sabeomhakgyo, a training school for teachers, opened, and by 1899 a medical school, Euihakkyo, followed—eventually evolving through name changes to Daehan Euiwon Gyoyukbu and Gyeongseong Euihak Jeonmunhakgyo before becoming SNU's College of Medicine. A nursing department added in 1901 became the forerunner of the later College of Nursing.

During Japanese rule, Keijō Imperial University was established as one of Japan's nine imperial universities. After World War II and Korean independence, the name changed from Keijō Teikoku Daigaku to Gyeongseong Daehak, with the Hanja read in Korean and 'Imperial' removed and changed to 'National'. On August 27, 1946, ten separate higher-education institutions across the Seoul area were formally merged to create Seoul National University.

Protests, War, and Survival

The university's first years were marked by intense political upheaval. Under its inaugural president, Harry Bidwell Ansted, students and faculty mounted a sustained protest lasting over a year and a half against a U.S. military government decree that mandated the merging of colleges. The crackdown was severe: 320 professors were dismissed and more than 4,950 students left the school. Lee Choon-ho took the helm in October 1947, but the institution faced an even graver threat in 1950, when North Korean forces occupied the campus during the Korean War.

During that occupation, the Seoul National University Hospital massacre took place. The university was forced to relocate temporarily to Busan, where it merged with other South Korean universities to keep operations alive. This period of displacement and loss left a lasting imprint on the institution's identity.

A Fortress of Fierce Competition

Gaining a seat at SNU is extraordinarily difficult. During the period from 1981 to 1987, when applicants could submit to only one university per cycle, more than 80% of the top 0.5% scorers on the national scholastic achievement test applied to SNU—and many of them were still unsuccessful. Today the university houses nearly 16,000 undergraduates and 16,000 graduate students spread across sixteen colleges offering 83 undergraduate degree programs.

Postgraduate study is organized through a single graduate school encompassing 99 programs across five fields of study, plus twelve professional graduate schools. Interdisciplinary programs, created and run by collaborations of two or more departments, add another layer of academic breadth. As a member of the SKY universities and part of the Flagship Korean National Universities, SNU maintains a reputation for being one of the most selective and academically demanding institutions in the country.

Three Campuses and a Relocation Saga

SNU's physical footprint has shifted dramatically over the decades. The original main campus sat in Dongsung-dong, Jongno District, housing the College of Humanities and Sciences and the College of Law. In February 1975 a new main campus opened in Gwanak District, and between 1975 and 1979 most colleges migrated there at the request of President Park Chung Hee, who disliked the student protests at the site where the Gwanak golf club (founded in the early 1960s and relocated to Hwaseong) was formerly located.

The former Jongno site, now called Yeongeon Campus, still serves the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing. A third campus exists in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province. In 2012, lawmakers reported that the ruling Saenuri Party seriously proposed relocating the university to the newly established special autonomous Sejong City as part of a decentralization effort, a plan the university reportedly considered withdrawing from the following year.

Reader's Guide

Seoul National University occupies two Seoul-based campuses and one Pyeongchang-based campus: the Gwanak Campus in Gwanak District; the Yeongeon Campus in Daehangno, Jongno District; and the Pyeongchang campus in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province. The Gwanak Campus is served by its own subway station on Line 2. The defunct Suwon Campus used to be located in Suwon, but the agricultural campus moved to Gwanak in Autumn 2004, though some research facilities remain in Suwon. In February 2010, SNU initiated a memorandum with the city of Siheung to establish a global campus, planning to open in 2014.