Handong Global University Admissions

A Brief History of HGU 

 

Handong University was founded in December 1994. The founder of the university, Song Tae-Hun, was also the owner of a medium sized company, and donated land and funds to establish a Christian university. He invited Dr. Kim Young-Gil to be the first president. Dr. Kim was well-respected as a Christian leader, and had formerly worked as a research scientist at NASA and also as a professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

The university faced many challenges in the beginning. The founder’s company went bankrupt while President Kim was recruiting the first professors and students. The university also met local opposition from Pohang citizens who expected the university to serve primarily Pohang residents. When it became known that the university would be a Christian university, recruiting students from all over Korea, many Pohang residents opposed the establishment of the university. This led to many lawsuits, and in one of these suits, President Kim was accused of having used government subsidies for purposes which had not been officially approved. He was acquitted and freed after spending 56 days in prison.

Due to the shortage of finances, the university faced many crises of bankruptcy. President Kim and the vice-president visited many churches and met Christians both in Korea and abroad to ask for donations. Many Korean churches and Christians contributed so that Handong would not be bankrupt. The pastor of Onnuri Church (Seoul) became the chairman of the Handong University board, which helped to establish a long relationship between the two institutions. President Kim himself donated his severance pay from KAIST. Many professors worked without payment for several months. Evaluated by the Ministry of Education as reformative in education, Handong won various government educational projects, and the university was financially able to operate.

Since the foundation of the university, Handong University has continued to pursue excellence in innovative education and in internationalization. Despite financial hardships, many competent Christian professors and students came to Handong. Pursuing the integration of spirit, academics, and character, the university has worked to accommodate all students inside campus dormitories. With required computer courses and English courses, the university became popular among recruiters of large corporations for its competent and practical graduates. In 2007, Handong University joined the University Twinning and Networking (UNITWIN) program, an initiative of UNESCO. The university was selected as an “Advanced College Education” institution by the Korean Ministry of Education in 2010 and 2011. It was also nominated as one of the 10 UNAI hub universities in 2010.

In 2014, Dr. Jang Soon-Heung was inaugurated as the 2nd president of Handong Global University. After President Jang assumed office, he announced new primary objectives for the university, framed as “Ten World-Changing Projects,” which he hopes will guide the university’s future endeavors.

 

The BASICS 

 

Handong Global University strives to be a “World-Changing Global Leadership University,” educating 21st century leaders for Korea and the world. To achieve this goal, the university emphasizes academic excellence, moralcharacter, language skills, social development, computer proficiency, Christian commitment, interdisciplinary majors, a global perspective, and service projects. International programs are available at both the graduate andundergraduate levels.

The student body numbers 3500 students and comes from 62 different countries.

Undergraduate programs are organized under twelve schools: Global Leadership School, School of International Studies, Languages, and Literature, School of Management and Economics, School of Law, School of Communication Arts and Sciences, School of Counselling Psychology and Social Welfare, School of Spatial Environmental System Engineering, School of Industrial and Information Design, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer Sciences and Electronic Engineering, School of Mechanical and Control Engineering, Global EDISON Academy

While the university offers 30 to 35% of its courses in English in any given semester, the majors that English speaking foreign students can pursue are: Information Technology, Global Management and Business, US and International Law, Psychology and Counseling, and Korean Studies

To graduate, a student must complete 140 credits, including two 33 credit majors, 21 credits of liberal arts courses, 12 credits of Korean language, 9 credits of Christian studies, 8 credits of computer studies, 6 semesters of chapel attendance, courses in both English and Korean Language, and mandatory courses in leadership training, character development, and reading.

Graduate programs are offered by seven schools. Although graduation requirements vary from one school to another, all programs emphasize active scholarship, Christian vocation and values, appreciation for objective truth, problem-solving and practical knowledge, creative and critical thinking, research and service, especially in the developing countries throughout Asia and Africa. About 700 Handong students engage in social service and development projects in developing countries every semester (as of Nov. 2007).

Trained in a strong academic program, several graduates from Handong Global University were accepted to graduate programs at Harvard, Yale, UCLA &Columbia and Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea University and Korea Advanced Institute for Science & Technology. And 10% of graduates are currently employed at Samsung electronics company and LG electronics company. Graduates are also working at world leading firms like IBM, Microsoft, Yahoo& Google and Korean multinational corporations like Samsung SDS, Hyundai motors, Kia Motors, Shinhan Bank, SK Telecom, Korea Telecom and others. Handong International Law School is producing lawyers and attorneys; out of 120 law graduates, 64 passed American bar exams (NY, Alabama, Kentucky, Kansas & Tennessee).

 

Our Students

 

• 3,972 undergraduate students 

• 52% women and 48% men

• 3.42% foreign and exchange students

• Freshmen competition rate is 4.5:1