# Sungkonghoe University

Sungkonghoe University is a private university in Seoul, South Korea. It was originally founded in 1914 by the Anglican Communion and became a comprehensive university in 1994. It is one of the most progressive universities in South Korea with an academic mission dedicated to the promotion of human rights, democracy, and peace on the Korean peninsula. It is particularly respected in the research and education of social sciences.

## History
### Origins (1914–1960)

St. Michael's Seminary was founded in 1914 laying the groundwork for what would become, in 1994, Sungkonghoe University. The current rector is the Rev. KwonSeok Yang, an Anglican priest and a theologian.
* April 1914 - School opens under the name of St. Michael's Theological School in Ganghwa, Incheon.
* May 1921 - Moves from Ganghwa to Incheon.
* March 1940 - Political oppression results in forced closure of the Shrine by Japanese police.
* April 1952 - School moves from Incheon to Cheongju.

### Development (1961–1994)

* September 1961 - Moves to Hangdong, Guro, Seoul (present location).
* March 1982 - reorganizes as Cheonsin Theological seminary (four-year course of studies).
* March 1988 - Department of Social Welfare established.
* February 1992 - Permission granted to raise status to Sungkonghoe Theological Seminary.

### Expansion (1994–present)

The school has been an active member of CUAC (Colleges and Universities of Anglican Communion) since it joined in 1995. In 1999 it became a member of the Democracy Consortium of Universities with Sang-ji University and Han-shin University in 1999.
* September 1994 - Name changed from Sungkonghoe Theological Seminary to Sungkonghoe University.
* March 1996 - Department of Journalism and Broadcasting / Graduate School of Theology established
* November 1999 - General Graduate School / Graduate School of Education established.
* April 2000 - pro-democracy movement Library opened.
* April 2003 - school fence removed.
* October 2010 - Theological building construction complete.
* April 2014 - Centennial(100th anniversary) ceremony / academic symposium held.
* April 2019 - Dormitory ‘The Sup’ opened.
* March 2022 - Establishment of new majors of Artificial intelligence and Applied big data

## Academics
### Undergraduate

With a liberal arts college model, students are free to choose their own majors once they enter the undergraduate program.
* College of Social Sciences (Majors - Sociology, Political science and international relations, Economics, Social Welfare)
* College of Business administration
* College of Humanities
* College of Media and Content
* College of Future convergence (Majors - Artificial Intelligence, Applied Big data)
* College of Information Technology

### Postgraduate

* Graduate School of Social Sciences
* Graduate School of Theology
* Graduate School of Education
* Graduate School of Social Welfare
* Graduate School of Peace and Civil society
* Graduate School of Culture and Communications
* Graduate School of Social and Solidarity Economy

### Research centers

* Institute for East Asian Studies (EAI)
* Democracy and Social Movements Institute (DaSM)
* Research Center for Social Enterprise

## Notable people

* Shin Youngbok, Philosopher
* Lee Jae-joung, Theologian, Member of Parliament, Minister of Unification, Superintendent of Education(Gyeonggi-do)
* Cho Hee-yeon, Sociologist, Superintendent of Education(Seoul)
* Jung Hae-Gu, Political scientist, Chairperson of the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences.
* Kim Dong-choon, Sociologist
* KIM Soohaeng, Economist
* Nam In-soon, Member of Parliament
* Mohiuddin Ahmad, writer and researcher, taught at the university.