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

Gangnam District Gangnam District ( ; , ) is one of the 25 local government districts which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Gangnam translates to "South of the ( Han) River". Gangnam District is the third largest district in Seoul, with an area of . ...

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, and its counterpart is , also located in

. 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. 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 Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) was the monarch of Korea from 1864 to 1907. He reigned as the last King of Joseon from 1864 to 1897, and as the first Emperor of Korea from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. He is known ...

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 Choi Kyu-hah (; ; July 16, 1919 – October 22, 2006), also spelled Choi Kyu-ha or Choi Gyu-ha, was a South Korean politician who served as the fourth president of South Korea from 1979 to 1980. Early life Choi was born in Wonju-myeon, Wonj ...

: politician, the 4th

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*Lee Soo-young: businessman, former President of the Korea Employers Association * Chung Un-chan: economist, former President of Seoul National University *

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 and ...

: politician *

Kim Woo-choong Kim Woo-Choong (December 19, 1936 – December 9, 2019) was a South Korean businessman who was the founder and chairman of Daewoo Group until its collapse in 1999. Background Born in Daegu, he was the son of the provincial governor. He was a ...

: founder and former chairman of Daewoo Group *

Koo Jun-yup Koo Jun-yup (; born September 11, 1969), also known by his stage name DJ Koo, is a South Korean singer, DJ, music producer, dancer, and songwriter. He is well-known as a member of the legendary K-pop duo CLON. Koo is one of the first-generat ...

: singer and member of K-pop 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

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: baseball player, Olympic gold medalist *

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: inventor of video art, recipient of the 1st Class Order of Cultural Merit, the Picasso Medal, the Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy and the Golden Lion at the

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: swimmer, the first-ever South Korean Olympic gold medalist in swimming * Kuk Young: physicist, the 4th President of

Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) (Korean: 대구경북과학기술원) is a public science and engineering university located in Daegu Technopolis, Daegu, South Korea. DGIST is one of the four public universities in So ...

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 Seoul National University *

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 Gy ...

: politician and the former governor of

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

* Hong Seok-hyun: former South Korean ambassador to the United States and the Chairman of JoongAng Holdings *

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Park Jin-young Park Jin-young (Hangul: 박진영; born December 13, 1971), also known by his stage names J. Y. Park and The Asiansoul or the initials JYP, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer, record executive, and reality television show ju ...

: actor and member of the South Korean boy band GOT7 *

Pak Hon-yong Pak Hon-yong (; 28 May 1900 – 18 December 1955) was a Korean independence activist, politician, philosopher, communist activist and one of the main leaders of the Korean communist movement during Japan's colonial rule (1910–1945). His nick ...

: 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