| Yonsei University | |
|---|---|
| 연세대학교 | |
| Motto | The truth will set you free. (John 8:32) 진리가 너희를 자유케 하리라. (요한복음 8:32) |
| Established | Hospital established in 1885 by royal support, college installed in 1915. The university was established on January 5, 1957 by merger of the two institutions.[1] |
| Type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | Presbyterian |
| President | Kim, Han-Joong |
| Academic staff | 4,305 |
| Admin. staff | 6,714 |
| Students | 36,453 |
| Undergraduates | 25,152 |
| Postgraduates | 11,301 |
| Location | Seoul, Wonju, Incheon, Republic of Korea |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Royal blue |
| Mascot | Eagle |
| Website | www.yonsei.ac.kr/eng/ |
| Yonsei University | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 연세대학교 |
| Hanja | 延世大學校 |
| Revised Romanization | Yeonse Daehakgyo |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yŏnse Taehakkyo |
Yonsei University (연세대학교; 延世大學校) (Korean pronunciation: [jənseː]) is a Christian private research university, located in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1885, it is one of the oldest universities in South Korea, the top private comprehensive universities in South Korea, and is widely regarded as one of the top three comprehensive universities in the country.[2]
Yonsei university is one of Korean universities ranked in all three ARWU World University Ranking, QS World University Rankings, and The Times World University Ranking in 2010, along with Seoul National University, KAIST, and POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology).[3][4] Also, in 2011, Yonsei University was ranked the 129th in QS World University Rankings[5][6], and 190th in the world by Times Higher Education World University Rankings.[4]
The university was formally established in January, 1957 through the union of Yonhi College (연희전문학교; 延禧專門學校) and Severance Union Medical College (세브란스 의과대학; 세브란스 醫科大學). This was a result of a lasting bilateral cooperation between the two colleges which had begun in the 1920s. The institutions were new to Korea at the time of their inception — Yonhi College was one of the first modern colleges, founded originally as Chosun Christian College (조선기독교대학; 朝鮮基督教大學) in March, 1915, and Severance has its roots in the first modern medical center in Korea, Gwanghyewon (광혜원 廣惠院, House of Extended Grace), founded in April, 1885. As a tribute, the name 'Yonsei' was derived from the first syllables of the names of its two parent institutions, 'Yon; 연; 延' from Yonhi College and 'Sei; 세; 世' from Severance Union Medical College.
As of April 1, 2009, Yonsei University has a main campus in Seoul, a secondary campus in Wonju, South Korea, 26,530 undergraduate students, 11,437 graduate students, and 4,178 faculty members.[7]
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The Yonsei University Medical School dates back to April 10, 1885, when the first modern hospital to practice western medicine in Korea, Gwanghyewon, was established.
The hospital was founded by Horace Newton Allen, the American protestant missionary appointed to Korea by the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A (from here on the Church). The hospital was renamed Jejungwon (제중원 濟衆院, House of Universal Helpfulness) on April 23. As there appeared numerous difficulties, the Church appointed Oliver R. Avison to run Jejungwon on July 16, 1893. Initially, Gwanghyewon was financed by the Korean government, while the medical staff was provided by the Church. However, by 1894 when the First Sino-Japanese War and Gabo reforms (갑오개혁) took place, the government was not able to continue its financial support and thus, management of Jejungwon now came fully under the Church. In 1899 Avison returned to the U.S. and attended a conference of missionaries in New York where he elaborated on the medical project in Korea. Louis H. Sevrance, a businessman and philanthropist from Cleveland, Ohio, was present and deeply moved. He later paid for the major portion of the construction cost of new buildings for the medical facility. Jejungwon (제중원) was renamed Severance Hospital in his name.
Jejungwon (later Severance Hospital) was primarily a hospital but it also performed medical education as an attachment. The hospital admitted its first class of 16 medical students selected through examinations in 1886, one year after its establishment. By 1899, Jejungwon Medical School was independently and officially recognized. Following the increase of diversity in missionary denominations in Korea, collaboration began to form — with time, Jejungwon began to receive medical staff, school faculty and financial support from the Union Council of Korean Missionaries (한국연합선교협의회; 韓國聯合宣敎協議會) in 1912. Accordingly, the medical school was renamed Severance Union Medical College in 1913.
The rest of Yonsei University traces its origins to Chosun Christian College, which was founded on March 5, 1915, by another American Protestant missionary sent by the Church, Horace Grant Underwood. Underwood became the first president, and Avison vice president. It was located at the YMCA. Courses began in April with 60 students and 18 faculty members.
Underwood died of illness on October 12, 1916, and Avison took over as president.
On August 22, 1910, Japan annexed Korea with the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty. The first Governor-General of Korea, Terauchi Masatake, introduced Ordinance on Chosun Education (조선교육령; 朝鮮敎育令) in 1911, and subsequently Regulations on Professional Schools (전문학교 규칙) and Revised Regulations on Private Schools (개정사립학교 규칙) in March, 1915. These were intended to stifle private education in Korea; any establishment of schools, any change in school regulations, location, its purpose, coursework or textbooks must all be reported to and authorized by the governor-general, and all courses must be in Japanese. Severance Union College struggled to meet these requirements; school regulations and coursework were altered, faculty evaluated and enlarged, its foundation and its board clarified. It received its recognition as a professional medical school on May 14, 1917.[8] In 1922 the governor-general Makoto Saito issued Revised Ordinance on Chosun Education (개정조선교육령). It called for more strict qualification of the faculty, and Severance reacted obediently and further recruited more members with degrees from credited institutions in North America and Europe. Japan did not completely ignore the competence of this institution; in 1923 Severance recovered its right to give medical license to its graduates without state examination, a right which had been lost since 1912. Moreover in March, 1934, Japanese Ministry of Education and Culture further recognized Severance in allowing its graduates the right to practice medicine anywhere within Japanese sovereignty.
Oh Geung Seon (오경선; 吳兢善) became the first Korean president of Severance in 1934.
Ordinances in 1915 and 1922 also affected the fate of Chosun Christian College. First intended as a college, it was not legally recognized as such, since the Ordinance (1915) did not allow the establishment of Korean private colleges. Hence Chosun Christian College, now renamed Yonhi College, was formally accepted only as a professional school on April 17, 1917, then a joint project from diverse missionary denominations. However, Yonhi in reality had formed the organization and faculty becoming a university; it consisted 6 departments: humanities, agriculture, commerce, theology (this department did not open due to the differences among the founding denominations), mathematics & physics, and applied chemistry. The ordinances, furthermore, prohibited coursework in Korean history, its geography, or in Bible outside the department of theology; council of missionaries reacted with A Resolution on the Revised Educational Ordinance (개정교육령에 관한 결의문)[9] which carefully pointed out that Japan did not apply such rigorous absurdities to its private schools in mainland Japan.
After March First Independence Movement swept the peninsula in 1919, Japan somewhat relaxed its grip on Korea, and this is reflected in the Ordinance (1922). It ceased the arbitrary control of governor-general over the coursework and the qualification of faculty members, and altered its stance on strict separation of religion from all education. It also recognized Yonhi as a professional school equal to its counterparts in Japan, and permitted the Christian programs and the Bible in its coursework. Nevertheless, Japanese literature became mandatory in turn.[10] Under Japanese intervention, Korean history was taught under the name Eastern History and Korean language was taught whenever possible.[11]
Department of agriculture was closed after 1922 when only its first graduates left Yonhi. There were efforts to revive this department, without much success. However, Yonhi installed a training center for agricultural leaders on campus, with impressive results.[12]
Yonhi was liberal in its admission of non-Christians. Its policy was to admit non-Christians relatively freely and allow the majority Christian students to gradually influence and assimilate them.
In the late 1930s, Japan again shifted its policy towards Korea in order to incorporate it to its scheme of expansionism. In August, 1936, the new Japanese Governor-General Jirō Minami began the assimilation of Koreans, in order to exploit them for military purposes; Governor-General enforced Sōshi-kaimei and Shintoism on Koreans, and began to recruit Koreans for Japanese war efforts. In April,1938 the third Ordinance on Chosun Education ordered the acceptance of Shintoism, voluntary removal of Korean language in coursework and further intensification of Japanese and Japanese history education. However, Yonhi Professional School did not follow suit and opened courses on the study of Korean language in November, 1938. This was not tolerated for long and in March, 1940, Yonhi was forced to open courses on Japanese studies for each department and each year. From 1938, English also began to come under pressure following a deterioration of relations between Japan and United States; coursework in English was forbidden and texts of English writers were censored. In 1938, President H.H. Underwood accepted the practice of Shintoism to avoid the fate of Yonhi's termination. Governors-General pushed Yonhi to refuse financial support from United States and financial difficulties amounted.
On individual level, Yonhi faculty members and its students were apprehended or investigated during this period for their involvement in real and alleged resistance movements.[13]
In 1939, the United States government recalled all its citizens and missionaries in Korea; Underwood and some of the faculty refused to leave Korea until forced to in 1941-1942 following the outbreak of the pacific war. Japanese military officers were dispatched in Yonhi for military training of its students in 1940 and forced labor began in 1941. Scientific equipments, building parts, and even the Underwood statue were seized then the school yard was turned into drill ground. Due to their value in the time of war, medical students of Severance were not a target of "voluntary recruitment," but Severance also faced Sōshi-kaimei, military training, and constant surveillance by the Japanese authorities. Severance was coerced into changing its name to Asahi(旭) in 1942.
On August 17, 1942, the board was dismissed and Yonhi was designated as enemy property, and thus was appropriated and further managed directly by an appointee from the Governors-General. Yonhi ceased to be a place of education and was converted into a tool for assimilation of Koreans and exploitation of manpower. By October, 1943, students were practically being conscripted. In 1944 dormitories were converted into barracks and campus was occupied by the Japanese air force. Finally, on May 10, 1944, Governors-General closed Yonhi and replaced it with Kyungsung Industrial Management School (경성공업경영학교), the primary purpose of which was to train engineers required to continue the war.
Both Severance and Yonhi were closely involved in Korean independence movements. Many faculty members of Severance and Yonhi were directly involved in the March First Independence Movement, as were their students. Severance continued its contribution by printing The Independence in the basement of one of its buildings, and Yonhi was as active as any other school, so that by the end of the movement only 17 students were left. Yonhi students were active participants of Chosun Student Council for Scientific Research (조선학생과학연구회), which was one of the leading groups in the Mansei Movement of June 10, 1926. Yonhi Student Council and many faculty members belonging to the clandestine New Stem Association (신간회 新幹會) gave full support to the Gwangju Student Independence Movement (광주학생독립운동); in the aftermath, students were apprehended, and Shin Gan Society was exposed. Later on, students actively participated in V Narod (브나로드) and Student Enlightenment Movement (학생계몽운동) during 1929 - 1930.
The Yonhi School, under Japanese oppression in 1940s, still kept producing Korean patriots who fought for Korean independence. In 1942, the Japanese Colonial Government of Korea arrested 33 Korean scholars of Korean language including three faculty members of Yonhi and prominent Korean language scholars, Choi Hyun Bae (최현배; 崔鉉培), Lee Yun Jae (이윤재; 李允宰), and Kim Do Yeon (金度演; 김도연) and other graduates of the school including Jung Tae Jin (정태진; 丁泰鎭) and Kim Yoon Kyung (김윤경; 金允經) for organizing the Joseon Language Society (조선어학회; 朝鮮語學會; now Korean Language Society; 한글학회; 한글學會), studying Korean language, and attempting to publish a Korean language dictionary. Lee Yun Jae died in jail in 1942 from torture and harsh treatment, 11 were found guilty, and 5 including Choi Hyun Bae were imprisoned. The Japanese Colonial Court found them guilty because "behaviors such as publishing of a Korean language dictionary is a form of nationality movement to maintain the spirit of Joseon."[14] Also, Yun Dong-ju (윤동주; 尹東柱), a 1941 graduate of Yonhi School, joined the Korean independence movement, left many poems about patriotism and self-reflection, imprisoned by Japanese, and died from torture and harsh treatment in 1944.
As tributes to their efforts, Yonsei University has constructed a monument called 'Yonsei Hangultap' (A Monument for Korean Language by Yonsei; 연세 한글탑; 延世 한글塔), a monument for Yun Dong Ju (윤동주 시비; 尹東柱 詩碑), and bust statues of Choi Hyun Bae and Kim Yoon Kyung in its Seoul Campus.
Severance was approved as a college by the liberated Korean government in 1947. Since the majority of medical institutions in Korea was run by the Japanese, medical staff and faculty were in short supply after their departure. Thus many members of Severance staff and faculty left to assist other institutions. Severance also took up the role of student leadership and was outspoken against US-Soviet occupation. In 1950, during the outbreak of the Korean War, Severance functioned as a field hospital until Seoul was overrun. Severance fled hurriedly but some faculty members and students were unable to leave in time; some were killed and others were captured then exploited by the advancing North Koreans. Severance seniors joined the military as army surgeons. Although Severance returned to Seoul for a while after its recapture, it had to flee again in December on a LST in Incheon. When Severance arrived in Busan, its medical school joined the wartime college, a temporary body. Meanwhile, the Severance facility in Seoul received heavy damage, as it was in the center of the city near Seoul station. Severance Hospital again returned on April 1, 1952, and its medical college on June 12, 1952.
The U.S. military initially neglected the restitution Yonhi and held other plans to use it as a military hospital or judiciary training center. With time, nevertheless, Yonhi came to be viewed as a missionary institution that was dispossessed by the Governor-General.
Yonhi was able to open its doors again on January 21, 1946 and, on August 15, 1946, was recognized as a university. Baek Nak Jun became president. It was a period of transition, and Yonhi University faced numerous obstacles including financial ones; after 1947 things settled down. At the time, Korea lacked teachers and Yonhi was asked to provide education and training; the Temporary Training Center for Secondary School Teachers in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry (임시 수물화학과 중등교원양성소) was established. In December 1948, plans for unification of Yonhi and Severance began to take form.[15] The Graduate School was formed in July 1950.
At this point, all progress came to a halt due to the Korean War. The university suspended all courses on June 27 and recruited student soldiers. The North Korean military advanced into the Yonhi campus and established its headquarters there. This was a cause of severe damage to the campus when the U.S. military recaptured Seoul in September. The university reopened following the recapture of Seoul, but it was once more on the run to Busan in December. In February 1951, Yonhi joined the wartime college; however, Yonhi kept an independent body and opened its own courses on October 3, 1951. On April 15, 1953 Yonhi began its work on restoration; Yonhi returned to its campus in the fall.
In 1957, Severance Medical College and Hospital and Yonhi University merged to form Yonsei University. Today, Yonsei operates its main campus in Seoul and a satellite campus in Wonju, Gangwon Province.
Sources: The sections Beginnings, Under Japanese Rule(I), Under Japanese Rule(II): The War Machine, Liberation and the Korean War are largely based on 연세대학교백년사 100 Years of Yonsei University History, Yonsei University Press.
Yonsei University is a school founded on Christian principles[16] and purporting to "produce Christian leaders with the spirits of freedom and truth".[17] The Christian character of the university is also well illustrated by its history as a school originally founded by American Protestant missionaries and by its school motto from the bible, "The truth will set you free" (John 8:32). As of 2007, the Board of Directors of Yonsei University should include a member from 4 Korean Christian organizations, The Presbyterian Church of Korea (대한예수교장로회), the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (한국기독교장로회), the Korean Methodist Church (기독교대한감리회), and the Anglican Church of Korea (대한성공회).[18] In Korea and Japan, Christian schools founded by Christian organizations or individuals, especially by Western missionaries, such as Yonsei University, are commonly called mission schools.
The conflict between a school's founding ideology and a student's freedom of religion has been a controversy in South Korean society for some time. As of 2009, a student does not have to be an active Christian to be admitted to Yonsei University. However, he or she is required to attend weekly chapel hours which consist of sermons and public prayers, similar to other mission schools in South Korea such as Ewha Woman's University, Seoul Women's University, Soongsil University, and Hannam University. As of 2004, a student of Yonsei University is required to attend weekly chapel hours for 4 semesters and take one Christianity-related class in order to graduate. These requirements are enforced strictly by thorough attendance checks. A student in Soongsil University sued the university for the limitation of his freedom of religion in 1995 when he could not obtain his bachelor's degree because he did not attend chapel hours, but the Korean court ruled in favor of the school, stating that the school regulation had not limited students' freedom of religion.[19][20]
Yonsei University recently entered an agreement with The United Methodist Church, in which the university will serve as the regional office for the Methodist Global Education Fund for Leadership Development.[21]
Each claiming to be the best private university in South Korea, Yonsei University and Korea University have had a rivalry that is longer and more intense than any other rivalries between other universities in South Korea. This can be compared to the rivalries between Oxford University and Cambridge University in the U.K., Waseda University and Keio University in Japan, and De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.[22]
The rivalry is well-illustrated by famous annual sports matches between two universities. This event, starting from 1925, is called Yon Ko Jeon (연고전; 延高戰) in the years when Korea University hosts the matches, and called Ko Yon Jeon (고연전; 高延戰) when Yonsei University hosts the matches. The annual one-time matches include soccer, baseball, basketball, rugby, and ice hockey. Many students in each university come to this event to cheer for their teams, and the event has a significant meaning as many influential alumni of each school are very interested in the result for the sake of their school spirit.[22]
In 2011, out of the five sports, Yonsei University lost three (basketball, rugby, soccer), drew on one (ice hockey), and won one (baseball).
The "ㅇ" and "ㅅ" in the University shield derived from the first letters of each syllable in "연세"(Yonsei). The circle "ㅇ" represents the ideal of a complete and well-rounded person, while the "ㅅ" symbolizes the upward-looking striving for scholarly excellence. In addition, the "ㅇ" stands for Heaven(天), the "ㅡ" represents the horizon of the Earth(地), and "ㅅ" signifies Man(人) as expressed in the Chinese character. The open book stands for Truth, the torchlight signifies Freedom, and the shield protects these two core principles of the University.
Originally agreed to on May 8, 2006 between the city of Incheon and Yonsei University, the Yonsei Songdo Global Academic Complex will be an anchor of the R&D aspect of the Songdo area and bolster the Korean education and research industries. Construction will be in two phases with the first phase including the Global Campus, Joint University Campus, R&D Campus, and the Global Academic Village. Phase one is expected to be complete in 2010 allowing phase two to begin the next year in 2011 with further expansion.[23]
The Joint University Campus aspect of the project is expected to be either an overseas campus of a major foreign research university or a joint campus created and managed between such a university and Yonsei University. This joint campus will be integrated and fully compatible with the Yonsei University program.[24]
The Construction of the Yonsei Songdo Global Academic Complex begins on 26, November, 2008.
The list below is tentative and will be confirmed at a future date.
There are more than 100 clubs at Yonsei University; the clubs listed here are not necessarily representative of clubs on campus.
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