Kyunggi High School () is the oldest modern high school in Korea, located in Gangnam District,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. The school is an

all-boys school Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

, and its counterpart is , also located in Gangnam District,

. Kyunggi High School has educated many leaders of the South Korean society. It is the "K" in the so-called "K-S mark," an informal reference to educational credentials said to ensure career success, with the "S" standing for

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

. Before the abolition of the high-school entrance exams in 1974, it was the highest-ranked school in the country. Alumni associations for the school are widespread throughout Korea and abroad. Famous alumni may be found in all sectors of society and include many past and present politicians (as well as four Prime Ministers), high-ranking government officials, award-winning scientists and scholars, business executives and national athletes.

History

The school was established by an edict of Emperor Gojong on April 4, 1899, and opened its doors on November 10, 1900. The school's original name was Gwallib Middle School (관립중학교). Its establishment was part of a general program of educational modernization. This effort at modernization was swallowed up by the Japanese annexation in 1910, but the school itself survived. Originally chartered as a

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

, it became a high school in 1906, though it continued to offer middle-school classes until 1971. In 2000, the South Korean government issued a commemorative 170-won stamp, marking the school's 100th anniversary. *September 1, 1906: Renamed to National Hansung High School. *November 1, 1910: Annexed Hansung Foreign Language School and renamed to Kyungsung High School. *April 1, 1911: Opened a one-year course for producing teachers and renamed to Kyungsung First Middle School. *April 1, 1938: Renamed to National Kyunggi Middle School. *June 4, 1938: Set the school's flag. *October 1, 1945: Lee Hun-gu (이헌구) was the 15th principal of the school and was also the first ethnic Korean to be a school principal since World War II began. *August 31, 1951: Divided into two schools (Kyunggi Middle School and Kyunggi High School) according to the new law. *June 25, 1954: Set the school's new flag. *August 15, 1955: Constructed a new building for Hwa-dong (화동) middle school. *January 27, 1956: Set the school's motto to liberal, culturally advanced, and peaceful people. *February 28, 1971: Kyunggi Middle School is closed. *November 11, 1971: Opened a hall of residence for freshmen. Every freshman spends two weeks/per year in this dormitory. *March 1, 1974: The government abolished the high-school entrance exams. This highest-ranked high school was populated by the students who live near the school. *February 20, 1976: Relocated to 74-4 Samsung-dong Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea. *August 3, 1981: Founded a juridical foundation named Hwa-Dong-Yuk-Young-Hoe. (화동육영회) *October 3, 1983: Constructed a new building for the alumni association. *October 3, 1990: Built a school motto stone. *December 6, 1997: Constructed a new building named Hwa-dong-kwan (화동관) for accommodating more students. *February 2010: Hosted the 106th annual graduation commencement. *July 2010: Selected as a high school specialized on science. *Summer 2010: Principal Lee Jung-gon (이정곤) resigned over power abuse scandals. *February 2011: Hosted the 107th annual graduation commencement.

Notable alumni

* Choi Kyu-hah: politician, the 4th

President of the Republic of Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is ...

*Lee Soo-young: businessman, former President of the Korea Employers Association *

Chung Un-chan Chung Un-chan (born March 21, 1947 in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, South Korea) is a South Korean politician who was the Prime Minister of South Korea (2009–2010). He was a professor of Seoul National University from 1978 to 2009, servin ...

: economist, former President of

Kim Geun-tae Kim Geun-tae (14 February 1947 – 30 December 2011) was a democracy activist and politician of the Republic of Korea. Life Kim was born in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do. He studied in Kyunggi High School and entered Seoul National University ...

: politician * Kim Woo-choong: founder and former chairman of

Daewoo Group Daewoo ( ; Hangul: , Hanja: , ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "dae" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerat ...

* Koo Jun-yup: singer and member of

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...

dance duo CLON *

Benjamin W. Lee Benjamin Whisoh Lee (; January 1, 1935 – June 16, 1977), or Ben Lee, was a Korean-born American theoretical physicist. His work in theoretical particle physics exerted great influence on the development of the standard model in the late 20th ce ...

: theoretical physicist *

Lee Hoi-chang Lee Hoi-chang (; born June 2, 1935) is a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the 26th Prime Minister of South Korea from 1993 to 1994. He was a presidential candidate in the 15th, 16th and 17th presidential elections of South K ...

: politician, former

Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea The prime minister of the Republic of Korea (PMOTROK or PMOSK; ) is the deputy head of government and the second highest political office of South Korea who is appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea, with the National Assembly's app ...

Seung-hwan Oh Seung-hwan Oh (Hangul: ; ; ; born July 15, 1982) is a South Korean professional baseball relief pitcher for the Samsung Lions of the KBO League. He previously played for the Lions in South Korea, the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Bas ...

: baseball player, Olympic gold medalist * Nam June Paik: inventor of video art, recipient of the 1st Class Order of Cultural Merit, the Picasso Medal, the

Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy The Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy is awarded once a year by the Inamori Foundation for lifetime achievements in the arts and philosophy. The Prize is one of three Kyoto Prize categories; the others are the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology ...

and the Golden Lion at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

* Park Tae-hwan: swimmer, the first-ever South Korean Olympic gold medalist in swimming *

Kuk Young Kuk Young is a South Korean physicist, former physics professor and vice-provost of research of Seoul National University, distinguished professor of Ewha Womans University, and chairman of the Samsung Science and Technology Foundation. He is a fel ...

: physicist, the 4th President of Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology *

Oh Se-jung Oh Se-jung is a South Korean politician and physicist. He has served as the director of the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies, the first president of the Institute for Basic Science, and the 27th president of Seoul National Uni ...

: politician and the 27th President of

Son Hak-gyu Sohn Hak-kyu (born 22 November 1947) is a South Korean politician and the former governor of Gyeonggi-do, the most populous province in Korea. He became a politician in 1996 as a congressman of Grand National Party, and became a governor of Gye ...

: politician and the former governor of Gyeonggi Province *

Hong Seok-hyun Hong Seok-hyun (born October 20, 1949) is a noted figure in South Korean media industry. He is the chairman of JoongAng Holdings, Korea Peace Foundation and Korea Baduk Association. He is a brother-in-law of Lee Kun-hee. In 1994 he became the pr ...

: former South Korean ambassador to the United States and the Chairman of JoongAng Holdings * Bang Si-hyuk: songwriter and producer, founder and chairman of HYBE Corporation * Park Jin-young: actor and member of the South Korean boy band GOT7 * Pak Hon-yong: Korean independence activist during the Japanese colonial rule

External links

Kyunggi Alumni Associations in America

School website

Kyunggi Washington Alumni Association

References

{{reflist Education in Seoul High schools in Seoul Educational institutions established in 1900 Boys' schools in South Korea 1900 establishments in Korea

History

Notable alumni

See also

External links

References