Sejong University


Sejong University is a private university located in Seoul, South Korea known for its standing in hospitality and tourism management, dancing, animation and rhythmic gymnastics. Founded as the Kyung Sung Humanities Institute, it was renamed in 1978 to its present name in honor of Sejong the Great, the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty and overseer of the creation of the Korean alphabet Hangul.
Sejong University has nine colleges: College of Liberal Arts, College of Social Sciences, College of Business Administration, College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, College of Natural Sciences, College of Life Sciences, College of Electronics and Information Engineering, College of Engineering, and College of Arts and Physical Education, and has a Faculty of General Education and seven graduate schools.

History

Beginnings (1940–1987)

The history of Sejong University began in May 1940 when the Kyung Sung Humanities Institute was founded by Dr. Youngha Choo and Dr. Okja Choi. In 1947 the institute grew into the Seoul Women Teachers' Institute, with Dr. Choo as its first Director; the following year it was reorganized and became a junior college. In 1954 the school became Soodo Women Teachers' College. The college became a four-year institution in 1961 and in 1962 moved to its present campus in Kunja-dong. In 1966 the Graduate School was established. In 1973, the Soodo Museum, established to house the founders' collection of Korean antiquities, opened its doors to the public. In 1979 Soodo Women Teachers' College changed its name to Sejong College and admitted male undergraduates for the first time.

1987-2000

In October 1987 Sejong College grew into Sejong University, consisting of five colleges with an enrollment of 6,000 students. In 1996, Dr. Choo Myung-Gun became Chairman of the Board of Trustees. That year saw the establishment of two new graduate schools and four new engineering departments, as well as a Ph.D. program in Hotel Management and master's programs in Public Administration, Applied Statistics, and Computer Engineering. Total enrollment rose to over 7,000 by the fall semester of 1997 and since then enrollment has increased by about 1,000 new students each year. In 1998 the College of Tourism and the department of Biological Engineering were founded. Construction began on five new buildings, including the Library, the Chapel, and the engineering laboratories.
In 1999 three new graduate schools were added: Software Engineering, Science and Technology, and Performance Art Administration. The Materials Engineering department was established.
As a result of a cooperative agreement with Lockheed Martin Aerospace, the Sejong-Lockheed Martin Aerospace Research Center was founded to promote the development of the Korean aerospace industry, and similar agreements to cooperate in the development of science and technology were made with Hanaro Communication, Hansol PCS, Onse Communication, and Prime Company.
In 2000 the Graduate Schools of Film Art and Techno Design were founded; the Graduate School of Business Administration became the Graduate School of Global Business Administration; the College of Tourism became the College of Hotels and Tourism. The new Library opened, housing more than 400,000 volumes; it is the first WTO library in Korea.

2001-present

In 2001 a collaborative relationship was established with the Korea Science and Culture Foundation. Two new programs taught in English opened: an M.A program in Asian Studies, and a Global M.B.A. program operated jointly by Sejong University and Syracuse University in the United States. In January 2002 a University Development Advisory Board, composed of the CEOs of 30 major Korean firms, was founded to strengthen the university's ties to industry. In 2002 the education Reform Deliberation Commission officially awarded Sejong University for successfully restructuring and renovating university. In 2004 the Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development recognized Sejong University for excellence in promoting originality, innovation, and academic achievement. In 2007 the Graduate School of Business received certification from the Association of Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business.

Academics

Schools and Major

Sejong University has nine undergraduate colleges and Faculty of Open major.
The university has announced a plan to build a research complex consisting of the Green Energy Research Institute and the Plant Engineering Research Institute in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do.
In 2002, the Ministry of Science and Technology named the University's Astrophysical Research Center for the Structure & Evolution of the Cosmos as the Best New Research Institute and awarded a research grant of 9 billion won over a 9-year period.
In 2007, the October issue of Molecular Cell published the groundbreaking article by Dr. Soo-Jong Um and his research team entitled, “.” The article describes a nuclear protein and active regulator SIRT1. AROS is the first direct SIRT1 regulator to be identified to be modulating p53-mediated growth regulation.
In 2009, Dr. Jaewoo Lee of the Department of Astronomy and Space Science and his team published a paper in entitled, “”, explaining the process of the formation of globular clusters. He also became the first South Korean scientist to win the right to use NASA's Hubble Telescope in 2010.
In 2009, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology selected the University's Biotechnology Engineering Department as one of the select recipients of funding of 1.2 billion won over a 5-year period to undertake a research project to develop a groundbreaking technology. If successful, the new technology will allow dedifferentiating completely differentiated cells to turn them into stem cells, which will enable patients to use their own cells to repair, for example, their damaged liver.
In May 2010, Sejong University was named a Resource Development Specialization University by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy under the government's initiative to develop a pool of specialists in overseas resource development. The University will receive a funding of 10 billion won from the government to develop and train resource specialists. The Department of Energy and Mineral Resource Engineering has been added to further consolidate its leading position in resource development research in the country. The Department offers three majors: Climate Change Policy, Climate Change Science, and Climate Change Engineering.
In September 2010, Graphene Research Institute of Sejong University was selected as one of
the Priority Research Centers funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea under
the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and will receive a funding of 4.9 billion
won over 9 years.
In October 2010, Sejong University signed an MOU with Syngenta AG, a leading global Swiss agribusiness company, to develop new innovative breeds and research talents.
In December 2010, Dr. Sung-Eun Kim of the Department of Astronomy and Space Science was named as one of the Female Scientists of the Year by the the of Korea. She received the recognition for her continued contribution to science, which includes 60-odd papers on the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Rankings and recognition

In 2001, JoongAng Daily, one of the country's premier dailies, chose Sejong the “Most Remarkably Improved” university among 123 universities in South Korea. The Daily ranked the university at No. 16 overall in its 2002 University Listing. In 2008, the university was ranked No. 9 by the Daily among universities without medical schools and No. 4 in Faculty Research Accomplishments.
In April 2007, the university Business Administration Department became the fourth AACSB accredited business school in the country, following Seoul National University, Korea University and KAIST.
In the QS Asian University Rankings 2010: Top 200, Sejong University was ranked 181st among universities in Asia and 39th in Korea.
In 2010, named Sejong University one of the Best Universities Educational Reform.
In 2012, Sejong University was ranked No. 40 among universities in South Korea by JoongAng Daily.
In 2013, Sejong University was ranked No. 26 among universities in South Korea by JoongAng Daily.
In 2014, Sejong University was ranked No. 4 in South Korea and No. 24 in Asia among small and medium-sized universities without a medical school by Chosun Ilbo-QS
In 2015, Sejong University was ranked No. 4 in South Korea and No. 18 in Asia among small and medium-sized universities without a medical school by Chosun Ilbo-QS

Campus

Sejong University's wooded 118,262 m2 campus is located at 98 Gunja-dong, Gwangjin-gu, in eastern Seoul north of the Han river, the capital of South Korea. Located directly across from the Seoul Children's Grand Park, the campus consists of 23 buildings, including the Sejong Private Elementary School building and the Student Center. The campus is a showcase of buildings built in Korean traditional styles.
The campus can be accessed by public transport by Metro subway and buses.

Sejong Elementary School

Sejong Elementary School, also known as Sejong University Elementary School, is a private elementary school founded by Sejong University. Son Yeon Jae and many other famous alumni have attended the school.

The Sejong University Museum

Located at the eastern end of the campus, the Sejong University Museum exhibits a collection of artifacts and antiques collected by the founders of the university. They have been donated to the university for the purpose of academic research. The history of the museum dates back to 1959. The museum moved to its current location in 1979, when the collection moved from its original location at the ChoongMooRo campus. The collection includes royal regalia, court dresses, personal ornaments, pendants, Korean traditional ink paintings, calligraphies and pottery. The museum is involved in excavation projects. The museum is open to the public and the admission is free. There is a small lake named to 'Asadal' in front of museum.

Traditions and student activities

Sejong University was named after King Sejong the Great, the fourth king of the Chosun Dynasty, who has introduced Hangul, the native phonetic alphabet system for the Korean language.
Sejong University offers 90 kinds of scholarship to its students, including the Sejong Scholarship. Student facilities include a 2,800-seat multi-purpose performance hall, main athletic field, sports complex, tennis courts, health clinic, restaurants, cafeteria, coffee shops, bank, post office, bookstore, stationery store, and travel agency.
Dae Dong Je is a university-wide festival held during the fourth week of May every year to celebrate the university's birthday. The students celebrate with events that include concerts, artistic performances, film festivals and exhibitions.
There are 45 student clubs.

Notable people

Alumni

The university has nationally renowned celebrities on faculty. They include:

http://library.sejong.ac.kr/index.ax Sejong University Library

Established in 1947, the library was renovated as a 12-story building in 2000. It houses 840,000 books, 1,500 journal subscriptions, 20,000 e-journals and 23,000 e-books. It has reading rooms with 3,200 seats and group study areas. It is the first WTO library in Korea.

Continuing Education Center

The Continuing Education Center complements the education provided by existing universities and offers open and lifelong learning opportunities. It deals with the Sejong Global Program for Studying Abroad, Specialized Program for Casino Dealer Course, Digital Contents, Culinary and Food Service Business, Hotel Business, Physical Education, Music and runs a bachelor's degree program based on Academic Credit Bank System.

Information Services & Technology Center

The Information Services & Technology Center provides information technology support and its related services for all Sejong students, faculty, and staff. Support and services include operation and maintenance of the IT infrastructure such as leading-edge wired and wireless networks, servers, etc., protection of administrative and academic systems and their data, and development and operation of the unified system of the university information technologies.

The Sejong International Language Institute

Sejong International Language Institute provides language programs for three languages: Korean, English and Chinese. The language programs being offered are Korean language programs at six levels ; English as Second language programs ; Chinese language programs.