Sogang University (SU; ) is a private Jesuit research university in Mapo, Seoul, South Korea. Sogang University was established on April 18, 1960 by the Society of Jesus, with the school being the oldest and only Jesuit institution of higher education in the country. It is widely regarded as one of South Korea's most prestigious universities. It was founded at the initiative of the Catholic Hierarchy of Korea, after Pope Pius XII gave assurance that a Catholic institution of higher learning would be established on the territory of Korea.
Sogang has a variety of undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate programs. The university offers 27 undergraduate departments in 9 schools alongside a multiple major system with more than 600 major combinations, a graduate school, which is equipped with 25 departments and 5 interdisciplinary programs that offer master's and Ph.D. programs, 6 professional graduate schools, and 5 special graduate programs.
Currently, Sogang has joint academic agreements with over 370 partner universities in 65 countries, which includes Catholic and Jesuit institutions. It hosts about 300 incoming exchange students and sends 200 outgoing exchange students every semester. Sogang offers international students various international programs, such as the International Summer Program, also known as the Sogang International Summer Program (SISP), STEM Lab Internship Program, Korean Language Programs, which operate under the Sogang University Korean Language Education Center (Sogang KLEC), Service Learning Program, and other short-term programs.
History Beginnings In 1948, Pope Pius XII entrusted the task to establish a Catholic institution of higher education to the Society of Jesus. In October 1954 Jesuit Fr. Theodore Geppert, S.J. from Sophia University of Tokyo came to Korea in search of a suitable site to establish a Jesuit college. In February 1955 Jean-Baptiste Janssens, S.J., 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 Catholic hierarchy, began negotiations with the Syngman Rhee government for the establishment of a liberal arts college. In January 1957 the Society of Jesus purchased a property of 67,075 pyong (217,323 sq. meters, 53 acres) at Nogosan-dong, Sinsu-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. 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 In February 1970, Complex of Mary Hall was opened on the territory of the university, which was granted the status of a research university the same year. Mary Hall became the first university theatre of South Korea. The 10th anniversary of the university, which was held on April 18 and attended by cardinal Kim Soo-hwan, was hosted on the grounds of the complex. In December 1973, the establishment of Loyola Library, which was the first library of its kind in Korea to have a fully open system as well as a reference inquiry system took place. The library has over 1,000,000 books and 6,000 kinds of periodicals, over 40,000 reference materials, various kinds of microforms, audio visual materials and various kinds of digital materials. The same year, the Department of Diplomacy was opened, alongside an opening of a doctoral program in graduate school.
In October 1980, the university opened its gymnasium for usage. The gym has a total floor area of 5,632 m2 and can accommodate about 3,500 spectators. It has volleyball and basketball courts, 3 teaching rooms, an office, a classroom, 14 student clubs, and 3 table tennis courts. In March 1981, the departments of Business Administration, International Trade, and Accounting were integrated into the Department of Business Administration. Department of Diplomacy would change its name to the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy. The establishment of the departments of French Language and Literature, Religious Studies, Sociology, and Computer Science also took place. The 1979 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mother Teresa 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 visited Korea on May 5, meeting with priests along with men and women religious in the gymnasium and with Korean intellectuals in the auditorium. In April 1990, the university unveiled its new symbol, Albtaross Tower, located near the main gate of the campus. Albatross, is named after the bird of the same name, and is shaped in the image of the first two letter of Sogang written in Hangul, "ㅅ" and "ㄱ." The design of the tower was made by the alumni association, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Sogang University. The words "Obedire Veritati", which serve as the official motto of Sogang, can be seen on the lower central part of the tower. November 1994 saw the opening of the second student center, Emmaus Hall. Its name, Emmaus, comes from the name of the town located approximately 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Jerusalem, which has significant meaning as the place for meeting Jesus. Its name is also mentioned in Gospel of Luke, at Luke (24:13-35).
From 2010 to 2019, Sogang University underwent great changes in its academic programs, campus facilities, cultural events, and institutional recognition. In April 2010, Sogang University's 50th anniversary was celebrated with a ceremony and the inauguration of the Graduate School of Management of Technology (MOT). In May, the first Sogang Miracle Theater Festival was held, and in November, SOFEX 2010 (Sogang-Sophia Festival of Exchange) was hosted. SOFEX 2010 marked the first international college-level sports exchange between Korea and Japan. Sogang University also received the Presidential Award in the education category at the National Quality Management Convention.
In 2011, the university continued to promote athletic and cultural exchanges, holding the first Sogang University–Seoul National University Sports Exchange Tournament and the second Sogang Miracle Theater Festival in May. September saw the completion of Jeong Hansang Hall and Teilhard Hall, two 12-story buildings covering an area of nearly 30,000 square meters. Later that year, SOFEX 2011 was held in October. The following year, in March 2012, Sogang University established the School of Integrated Knowledge and completed the construction of Thomas More Hall. October was marked by the third editions of both SOFEX and the Miracle Theater Festival. In January 2013, the university completed POSCO Francisco Hall, and in March Yoo Ki-pung was inaugurated as the university’s 14th president. November saw the fourth SOFEX and Miracle Theater Festival, while December featured the university’s vision proclamation ceremony, titled ‘Sogang Night of Recreation.’In August 2014, the construction of Berchmans Woojung Hall (BW Hall) was completed. That November, the fifth SOFEX was held. The following year, in June 2015, Sogang University was selected as the first university recognized by the Korean Standard-Service Quality Index (KS-SQI) of the Korean Standards Association. It was also reselected as an Advanced College of Education (ACE) in July. The sixth SOFEX took place in November 2015. In March 2016, the university was selected as a leading institution for the international cooperation support project and chosen for the ‘Initiative for College of Humanities’ Research and Education (CORE). By May, it had received top evaluations for the Small & Medium Business Administration Business Incubator Center for the fifth consecutive year, a streak that continued through 2017.
In March 2018, the university established the School of Media, Arts, and Science. May featured the first Sogang Presidential Performance Competition, ‘Sogang Miracle 4-passion.’ In August, Sogang University was designated as a Self-Improvement University through the University Basic Competency Assessment. The university maintained its position as the top-ranked institution on the KS-SQI for the fifth consecutive year in October 2018 and was selected as a Hub University for supporting career development for students with disabilities in November. In April 2019, the university entered the University Innovation Support Project under the Autonomous Agreement Type. The second Sogang Presidential Performance Competition was held in May, and in October 2019, Sogang University ranked first on the KS-SQI for six consecutive years, solidifying its reputation for service quality in education.
During World Youth Day 2027, which is to be held in Seoul, Sogang University will host the "Magis" program of the Jesuits as part of the "Days in the diocese". The basecamp for all activities, the "Villa Magis", will be directly located on the campus.
Campus
Campus of Sogang University is located in Mapo District of the capital city of South Korea, Seoul, at 35 Baekbeom-ro. Its positioned in Sinchon, an area of Seoul which is known for its high concentration of universities. The campus is located in three administrative districts of Mapo-gu: Nogosan-dong, Daeheung-dong, and Sinsu-dong. It has a total area of 59.6 acres, or approximately 242,091 square meters. The area of the campus is home to 36 buildings, which includes restaurants, plazas, halls, students centers etc. These include buildings such as the Administration Building, Arrupe Hall, Gonzaga Hall, Berchmans Woojung Hall, Geppert-Nam Duck Woo Hall, and many more. Sogang University station is also present within walking distance of the university, serving as a major access point for the university students to reach the campus.
Campus facilities Located on a hill, Loyola Library was established in 1973, with a total area of 13,901 square meters. It became the first university library in Korea to include a reference inquiry system, as well as an automated loan and return operations system. Its second building was completed in 1982, followed up by the construction of a third building in 1997. In 2010, the library opened a U-dream Hall, a complex space for exhibitions and events. As part of the Sinchon University exchange agreement, students of Soganag University are able to enter the Yonsei University Central Library, Ewha Women's University Central Library, and Hongik University Central Library by presenting their Sogang University student ID.
Name of the place comes from Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, also known as Aloysius de Gonzaga. He became the member of Society of Jesus in 1585, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on December 31, 1726. He was also named "Patron of all Christian youth" by Pope Pius XI in 1926. The underground campus of the Hall, known as Gonzaga Plaza, was finished on August 25, 2008. It consists of 3 basement floors and a ground floor, with a total area of 1,912 square meters. Total size of Gonzaga Hall is 6,734 square meters. The campus also features a parking facility for 585 cars, restaurants, a convenience store, coffee shops, a food court and more. The parking facility has an entrance and exit control management system, which is able to record and store data of the total number of cars entering the campus.