Korea University was the nation's first university funded and administered solely by Koreans. The university was founded in 1905 by Lee Young-Ik, Treasurer of the Royal Household, whose idea and vision was that only by educating the younger generations could Korea secure its independence and grow and prosper as a nation. For one-hundred years now, Korea University continues to maintain the spirit of its founder. Today, the university strives to educate its students to become effective citizens, highly capable in their chosen fields, who will dedicate themselves to serving the nation and world to the best of their abilities.
Korea University is home to over 33,000 students from all parts of the nation and ever corner of the globe. Students at the university are enrolled in eighteen colleges and divisions, and eighteen graduate schools, ranging from the Humanities to Engineering and Science, the East Asiatic Research Center, the Korean Cultural Research Center, and the recently established inter-disciplinary Graduate School of International Studies.
The university also has highly regarded professional schools of Law, Medicine, Engineering, and Business Administration. In addition, the university maintains a fine teaching hospital, Korea University Hospital, which provides excellent medical care for its patients, and trains student doctors and nurses who will serve the nation and the world in the years to come.
The university's spacious and wooded campus of over 182 acres is in the heart of Seoul in the An-Am neighborhood and is convenient to subway and metro bus lines. The architecture of the campus is in the Gothic style of Middle Ages Europe. Inside the majestic buildings students enjoy learning in comfortable, attractive classrooms and modern, up-to-date laboratories. In addition, fully equipped computer centers are located all over campus. For the students' convenience and relaxation, there is the new Central Plaza with restaurants, coffee shops, a book store, and study rooms.
The university faculty numbers more than 1,10095 percent of whom hold a Ph.D., or the highest degree in their fields. Although many faculty members have achieved international reputations through their scholarly work and research, itis their teaching that most distinguishes them and the university, and benefits the students. All of the faculty share the commitment of bestowing on the students of Korea University an education of the highest quality that will prepare the students to be leaders and innovators in their fields of endeavor.
Korea University achieved much in its first one-hundred years, but this is only a beginning. As the university continues to attract highly capable and deserving students and provide them with the best educational opportunities possible, the university also strives to maintain itself as not only one of the best universities in Korea and in Asia. The goal of the university is to be nothing less than to be one of the great universities on Earth.
