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Look Back and Look Forward

When the late Dr. Seok-Chang Yoo opened a small non-profit hospital in 1931, nobody expected that it would grow into a large-scale university like Konkuk. After all, it was an era marked by Japanese colonial rule with little hope left for the Korean people. Undeterred by the discouraging conditions, he continued his life-long journey as an educator and a social reformer. Indeed, Konkuk University is just a part of his dedication to and love of the ordinary people whom he wanted to be extraordinary. To him, if running a hospital was meant to cure people’s physical ailments, offering affordable education was meant to enhance the intellectual level of underprivileged people. No wonder that he put sincerity, fidelity, and righteousness before academic excellence. No wonder that Konkuk graduates have turned out to be men and women of integrity, influencing the growth of Korea. No wonder that Konkuk has been more sensitive to helping students in need than its competitors. No wonder that Konkuk University Hospital has been highly rated in taking care of its patients.

All of us at the Konkuk Foundation have been exerting every effort to continue what Dr. Yoo had started: we have added new buildings, invited world-class researchers, and enhanced teaching methodologies and systems. The on-going Star City project is only a part of our multi-facet efforts to make his visions concrete. We at the Konkuk Foundation want all of Konkuk family to be more creative than Dr. Yoo had ever imagined. That way, Konkuk will be able to reinvent itself into a true world-class university in every respect. Chair, Board of Trustees


Kyung-Hee Kim