Sogang University (SU,

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 서강대학교

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

: 西江大學校, literally "West River University") is one of the most prestigious private research universities in

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 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. It was established in 1960 by the Wisconsin Province of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. Sogang is the oldest Jesuit institution of higher education in South Korea, and it has been ranked as one of the top 3 Catholic universities in Asia.Top Catholic Universities in the world , 2021 World University Ranking
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History

Beginnings

At the initiative of the

Catholic Hierarchy The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gift ...

of Korea,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

gave assurance that a Catholic institution of higher learning would be established in Korea. In 1948 he entrusted the task to the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. In October 1954 Jesuit Fr. Theodore Geppert, SJ from

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private research university in Japan. Sophia is one of the three ''Sōkeijōchi'' (早慶上智) private universities, a group of the to ...

of Tokyo came to Korea in search of a suitable site to establish a Jesuit college. In February 1955

Jean-Baptiste Janssens Jean-Baptiste Janssens (22 December 1889 – 5 October 1964) was a Belgian Jesuit priest who was the 27th Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was born in Mechelen, Belgium. Early life and schooling Janssens' first schooling was in ...

, SJ, the twenty-seventh Superior General of the Society of Jesus, assigned the task of establishing the college to the Wisconsin Province of Jesuits. Fr. Leo Burns, SJ, Superior of the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus, came to Korea and, with the Korean

, began negotiations with the

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

government for the establishment of a

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...

. In January 1957 the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

purchased a property of 67,075 pyong (217,323 sq. meters, 53 acres) at Nogosan,

Sinsu-dong Sinsu-dong is a '' dong'', neighbourhood of the Mapo-gu district in Seoul, South Korea. See also *Administrative divisions of South Korea South Korea is made up of 17 first-tier administrative divisions: 6 metropolitan cities (''gwangyeoks ...

Mapo-gu Mapo District () is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. Mapo has a population of 381,330 (2015) and has a geographic area of 23.87 km2 (9.22 sq mi), and is divided into 24 '' dong'' (administrative neighborhoods). Mapo is located in w ...

. The site was prepared for construction of an Administration Building, which was completed in November 1959. Sogang College was opened in 1960 and was granted research university status in 1970.

Development

The 1979

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

Laureate

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...

visited Sogang in May 1981 and gave addresses in the auditorium and at the basketball court, appealing for all to practice a charity that is universal. In 1984 the Korean Catholic Church celebrated its bicentennial. For the celebration

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

visited Korea on May 5, meeting with priests along with men and women religious in the gymnasium and with Korean intellectuals in the auditorium. Sguniv

On April 24, 1985, Sogang's 25th anniversary was commemorated, with Sogang's founder Fr. Geppert, SJ as a special guest.

University symbol and slogan

The cardinal red university color symbolizes love, the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

dom, loyalty, and victory. The silver chevron comes from the first letter 'ㅅ' of 서강 (Sogang), representing the intellectual spirit of Sogang and an

ivory tower An ivory tower is a metaphorical place—or an atmosphere—where people are happily cut off from the rest of the world in favor of their own pursuits, usually mental and esoteric ones. From the 19th century, it has been used to designate an e ...

. The "IHS" comes from the first letters of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

name for

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and is also found on the seal of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

religious order that founded the university. The medieval crown stands for the Virgin and

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

, symbolizing wisdom. Sogang University also has a famous slogan which is: Be as Proud of Sogang as Sogang is Proud of You (Korean: 그대 서강의 자랑이듯, 서강 그대의 자랑이어라).

Reputation

Admission to Sogang University is highly selective and competitive in

. Sogang's freshman intake belongs to the top 1% of their high school academic performance in the country, and the university is widely regarded as one of the top private universities and one of the most prestigious elite schools in

. However, the university's ranking lags behind its reputation and evaluation results because it has no medical school and fewer students than some other Korean universities.

Rankings

*QS World University Ranking 2022: #494 *QS WUR By Subject Ranking 2021: #201–250 *QS Graduate Employability Ranking 2021: #301–500 *QS Asian University Rankings 2021: #78

Sogang Business School

In October 2009 Sogang University received accreditation in business from the

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, also known as AACSB International, is an American professional organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to ...

(AACSB) . It is among the top five business schools in Korea. Located near the financial hub in Seoul, it had the highest job-landing ratio for undergraduates among universities in Korea in 2006, 2007 and 2008: the percentages of employment in major companies measured by the Ministry of Education have been 55.1%, 53.3% and 54.9% for these years.

The "Sogang school of economics"

The university has contributed significantly to the rapid economic growth of Korea during the last six decades since 1960. Faculty members have been deeply involved in the design of Korea's early economic development model through top-level cabinet positions in the government. Due to these important engagements, a group of economists affiliated with the university and engaged in policy-making came to be called the "Sogang School." Based on its reputation, the school has consistently attracted young talent of the highest caliber, mostly from the top 1% in the national college entrance exam. Reflecting its excellent research capacity, the Economics Department has been recognized by RePEc as near the top in Korea in international journal publications.

Sogang Korean Language Education Center

Sogang Korean Language Education Center (KLEC) was established in 1990 with the goal to popularize and spread the Korean language and Korean culture throughout the world. Since its establishment, over 30,000 students from overseas have learned about Korean culture and language by participating in its programs. Currently, an average of 3,500 students register for the Korean Language Education Center every year.

Notable alumni and faculty

Alumni

Politics

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...

, 11th president of the Republic of Korea *

Park Young-sun Park Young-sun (; born 22 January 1960) is a South Korean journalist-turned politician previously served as the second Minister of SMEs and Startups under President Moon Jae-in from April 2019 to 2021 and the first woman to lead SME-specialise ...

, minister of SMEs and startups (2019–present); former member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

(2008–2020) * Suh Byung-soo, member of the

; former

mayor of Busan The Mayor of Busan () is the head of the local government of Busan who is elected to a four-year term. List of mayors Appointed mayors (before 1995) From 1946 to 1995, the Mayor of Busan was appointed by the President of South Korea, Presiden ...

(2014–2018) *

Kim Young-joo Kim Young-Joo (hangul: 김영주; born December 30, 1957) is a former South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land bor ...

, member of the

; former minister of employment and labor (2017–2018) * Lee Hae-sik, member of the

Yang Yiwonyoung Yang Yiwonyoung or Yang Yi Wonyoung (; born 14 May 1971) is a South Korean environmentalist currently serving as an Independent member of National Assembly. Before entering politics, Yang has dedicated her career in civil societies - specifica ...

, member of the

Cheong Yang-seog Cheong Yang-seog (; born 25 November 1958) is a South Korean politician in the conservative People Power Party who was elected member of the National Assembly for Gangbuk, Seoul, in the 2016 parliamentary election. He previously represented ...

, former member of the

(2016–2020) * Kim Tae-young, former

minister of national defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

(2009–2010) * Jeon Yeo-ok, former member of the

(2012) * Choi Soon-hong, former

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

chief information technology officer

Business

* Kwon Hyuk-bin, founder & CEO, Smilegate Holdings * Kim Suk-won, former chairman of SsangYong Group

Academia

Lee Bae-yong Lee Bae-Yong (born January 1, 1947) was the 13th president of Ewha Womans University, in central Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972 ...

, former president of

Ewha Womans University Ewha Womans University () is a private women's university in Seoul founded in 1886 by Mary F. Scranton under Emperor Gojong. It was the first university founded in South Korea. Currently, Ewha is one of the world's largest female educational ins ...

(2006–2010) * Yoon Min-joong, chemist

Literature

Ahn Jung-hyo Ahn Junghyo (This is the author's preferred Romanization per LTI Korea) is a South Korean novelist and literary translator."안정효" biographical PDF available at LTI Korea Library or online at: http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do# Life He wa ...

, novelist, translator * Baik Sou-linne, author * Choi Si-han, writer * Hwang Ji-u, poet, art critic * Kim Kyung-ju, poet *

Kim Seung-hee Kim Seunghui is a South Korean poet, essayist, and novelist. Life Kim was born in Gwangju on March 1, 1952. She graduated from Chon-nam Girls' High School. She majored in English Literature at Sogang University in Seoul, Korea from which she ...

, poet, essayist, novelist * Kim Won-u, novelist *

Lim Chul-woo Lim Chul-Woo (Hangul: 임철우) is a South Korean writer born in 1954, known for his subversive works. Life Im Chul-woo was born October 15, 1954, on Wando Island in Jeollanam-do. He moved to Gwangju at age 10 and attended Sung-il High School ...

, writer

Broadcasting and entertainment

Notable faculty

* Choe Yun, professor of French literature *

Almas Heshmati Almas Heshmati is a Swedish-Iranian economist. Currently, he is professor of economics at Sogang University and Jönköping International Business School. He is a member of IZA, the Bonn-based Institute for the Study of Labour. His publications i ...

, professor of economics *

Yoon Kyung-byung Yoon Kyung-byung is a South Korean chemist. Education Yoon received his B.S. in chemistry from Seoul National University in 1979 and his M.S. in chemistry from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Seoul in 1981. From ...

, professor of chemistry *

Brother Anthony Brother Anthony (born as Anthony Graham Teague 1942; Korean name An Sonjae (Hangul: 안선재)) is a translator, scholar, and member of the Taizé Community who has become a naturalized Korean citizen, and lives in Seoul. Life Brother Anthony o ...

, emeritus of English literature *

Yoon Nung-min Yoon Nung-min (윤능민 尹能民, November 21, 1927 – April 1, 2009) is a South Korean chemist, known for his research in organic chemistry, specializing in metal hydrides. He received his B.A. at Seoul National University in chemistry in ...

, former professor of chemistry *

Lee Ki-baek Ki-baik Lee (1924–2004) was a leading South Korean historian. He was born in Jeongju-gun, in North Pyeongan province in what is today North Korea. He graduated from the Osan School in 1941, attending Waseda University in Tokyo but ultimately g ...

, former professor of history * Nam Duck-woo, former professor of economics, former

prime minister of South 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 ...

* Chang Young-hee, professor of English literature, columnist, motivational writer *

Kim Chong-in Kim Chong-in (, born 7 July 1940) is a South Korean economist and politician. He was the interim chairman of the Minjoo Party of Korea from January to August 2016 and a member-elect of the National Assembly on the party's proportional list si ...

, former professor of economics; former member of the

Sohn Hak-kyu 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 ...

, former professor of political science; former

governor of Gyeonggi Province The Governor of Gyeonggi Province () is the head of the local government of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, who is elected to a four-year term. List of governors Appointed governors (before 1995) From 1946 to 1995, the Governor of Gyeonggi Pr ...

, former minister of health and welfare; former member of

* Cho Yoon-je, former professor of international studies; former

South Korean ambassador to the United States The South Korean ambassador to the United States () is the chief diplomatic representative of the Republic of Korea accredited to the United States. After the independence of Korea from Japanese rule in 1945, and the founding of Republic of Kor ...

Controversies

In July 2010 four professors in the department of Business Administration were dismissed after exposing the mishandling of grant funds by a fellow professor. The professors appealed to the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. Neither the professors nor the university were satisfied with the Appeal Commission's ruling, with both sides filing suit.

References

External links

*
Sogang University
Official web site {{coord, 37, 33, 04, N, 126, 56, 28, E, region:JP_type:edu_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Universities and colleges in Seoul Catholic universities and colleges in South Korea Jesuit universities and colleges Mapo District Educational institutions established in 1960 Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia 1960 establishments in South Korea Private universities and colleges in South Korea