Konkuk University

Konkuk University (Korean: 건국대학교, Hanja: 建國大學校) is a private university located in Seoul and Chungju. The Seoul campus is located in the southeastern part of Seoul, near the Han River, and is served by a metro station of the same name. The Seoul campus has 16 undergraduate colleges and 13 graduate schools, whereas the GLOCAL campus in Chungju is composed of 6 undergraduate colleges and 4 graduate schools. As of 2014, approximately 25,600 undergraduate and graduate students were enrolled in the university, which has more than 3,000 faculty and staff.

History

People’s Hospital

Konkuk University’s founder Dr. Seok-chang Yoo, was raised by a father who moved from Korea to Manchuria to join the country’s independence movement to end Japanese occupation. Trained as the medical doctor, Dr. Yoo opened the People’s Hospital on May 12, 1931, in order to provide medical care to the general public.

Chosun School of Politics

As agriculture was the main pillar of the Korean economy under the Japanese occupation, Dr. Yoo brought his attention to young leaders in rural areas. In 1946, Dr. Yoo and his supporters, who later became benefactors of Konkuk University, established the Chosun School of Politics, a junior college for future politicians. Kang Kideok, a leader of Korea’s independence movement, became the first president. The school was accredited by the Ministry of Education in 1948. During the Korean War, the school had to be temporarily relocated to Busan.