Korea University’s 118th Anniversary Ceremony and Korea University Day Event Held:
Stressing the social role of the university to provide a place for communication and varied experiences for local residents
Presenting the development plan and vision of KU to mark its upcoming 120th anniversary in 2025
     

In celebration of the 118th anniversary of Korea University, Korea University and the Korea University Alumni Association held both events for local residents and those commemorating the history of the university.

May 5th is Korea University’s anniversary and also Children’s Day. Considering the social role and characteristics of the school, Korea University opened its campus to local residents and offered them opportunities to experience varied programs so that they could also enjoy the event.

Programs were held throughout the campus, performances for both KU members and local residents (e.g., busking club, hip-hop club, Nongak band, a cappella choir), KU cheerleading teaching, museum visits and docent tours, one-on-one admission consultations, and special lectures on health and longevity.

Korea University Museum, the oldest university museum in Korea, is a comprehensive museum holding approximately 100,000 items of wide-ranging interest, whether historical, archeological, folkloric or artistic. Free admission and docent tours were held from 9 am to 5 pm at KU Museum.

One-on-one consultations with Korea University admissions officers began at 12:30 pm in the lobby of the SK Future Hall. The topics of consultation included 2024 admissions, the 2023 admissions results, comprehensive admissions, department introductions, and career status.

From 1 pm, KU Minju Plaza began filling with fun performances featuring varied groups, such as a cappella choir composed of KU graduates who had matriculated in 1979, the KU busking club ATP, the hip-hop club TERRA, and Nongak band. The performances were enjoyed both by KU members and by local residents, who also had opportunities to learn KU cheerleading from the KU cheerleading squad.

At 2 pm, Professor Cho Kyung-hwan of the College of Medicine gave a special lecture on adult and geriatric diseases at Choi Jonghyeon Hall in the SK Future Hall of Korea University.

At the anniversary ceremony held in the Inchon Memorial Hall starting at 10 am, a presentation was held on the development plan and vision of Korea University, which marks its 120th anniversary in 2025. This was followed by an awards ceremony for the Proud KU People Award, Social Service Award, Development Achievement Award (Crimson Award), KU Pride Club Award, Seoktop Teaching Award, Seoktop Research Award, Seoktop Technology Award, Seoktop International Cooperation Award, Seoktop Achievement Award, Long-term Service Award, KU Family Award, and Exemplary Branch Award.

At the anniversary ceremony, Chairman Kim Jae-ho of the Korea University Foundation said, “In the history of Korea, former KU students regained the sovereignty of the nation and protected the democracy of the people. They achieved the economic development of the nation with the spirit of ‘public good first,’ by putting the community interest before private interests, and they are still leading changes in wide-ranging echelons of society. Now we are passing through an era in which changes are occurring faster than ever, and unexpected crises occur. In order to nurture the talent needed to cope with this era, university innovation that surpasses existing notions and education methods must be top priority. We must think more earnestly than any other university and challenge ourselves more courageously than anyone else to develop a new path. I hope all members of Korea University will come together as one and support this innovation led by our new president, so that KU’s upcoming 120th anniversary in 2025 will mark the first year of its global expansion.”

Korea University President Kim Dong One said, “This 118th anniversary ceremony is of great significance since it is a place to declare Korea University’s new vision for the next 120 years and to share it with KU members. As we prepare for KU’s 120th anniversary, we first face the reality of the crisis ahead of us, but I am confident that if we overcome this crisis and upheaval wisely, we will have the opportunity to take a bigger step forward. I will share the vision of Korea University for its 120th anniversary and other plans with you, so that we can work towards them together.”

Firstly, President Kim promised that Korea University would develop into a university that contributes to future society. He pointed out that the recent university crisis is largely due to universities’ obsession with transcendent studies and classical education, which does not reflect the changing times, ignoring the varied challenges faced by humankind. He announced that Korea University would become a university that presents a long-term vision for the future of the nation and humankind based on research that proposes solutions to the threats of rapidly changing technology, diseases including infectious diseases that people suffer from, food and environmental issues, and the social polarization, aging, and unification issues of Korea. He also proposed various specific plans to allow these goals to be met: carrying out innovative research and leading educational reform; creating K-Club, where world-renowned scholars are united into one research network for innovative research; increasing research support for the fields of natural science, engineering, and medicine through the KU-Nobel project, which actively supports KU alumni and faculty to produce future Nobel, Fields, and Turing Prize winners within the next ten years; jointly holding an annual academic forum with Oxford University and Yale University; and creating the K3 Convergence Science Belt by linking KU, KAIST, and KIST. He added that, as part of innovative educational reform, Korea University would reorganize curricula to meet social demands and nurture game-changing leaders able to change the world through consumer-centered education.

Secondly, he said, “We will achieve Korea University’s sound financial and balanced development.” He talked about the development of educational programs tailored to each generation based on the cycle of life, focusing on the middle-aged as well as those in their 20s. They would be offered to the Korean-speaking population around the world through various degree/non-degree programs via an innovative metaverse education platform. In addition, he said that Korea University would actively attract foreign students so that they would account for 30% of the total student body, and proposed the introduction of a zero-base budget system to reduce unnecessary costs through the establishment of a decentralized financial system.

Finally, President Kim stated, “We will successfully complete our 120th anniversary project to pave the way for Korea University to become a world-class university. Korea University will stand tall as an indispensable global university, solving long-cherished projects and achieving quantum leaps in fields of research and education, and in its infrastructure of facilities and information, taking the lead in solving the problems of the country and humanity.” Then, he shared that he expected that the project with the slogan ‘The Next Intelligence’ would hold great significance not only for the next 120 years of Korea University, but also for the next 120 years of Korea and humanity.

President Kim continued, “Korea University shows strong cohesion. Based on this, in order to take a big leap forward to become a stronger university, the balanced development of the campus is necessary. We will increase support for pure academic fields in the humanities and social sciences, and drastically expand the industry-university cooperative research of each college in the natural sciences and medicine. We will develop the Sejong Campus into an administrative capital base university specializing in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We will also support our three hospitals affiliated with the medical school and medical center to develop them into world-class research hospitals by achieving specialization and the balanced development of human and physical infrastructure. When all KU members walk the path of innovation together for a brighter future, the glory of a strong Korea University will surely be realized.”