京城帝国大学
Kim began his studies at Keijō Imperial University, the precursor of Seoul National University (SNU), during the Japanese colonization of Korea (1905 - 1945), and graduated from there with a bachelor's degree in 1945. He wrote his PhD thesis on Silla ceramics, and after receiving his New York University (NYU) PhD, Kim returned to South Korea. He started as a professor at SNU in 1961 and began a long and influential career there, with the exception of 1970-1971 when he served as the director of the National Museum of Korea. Kim was a founding member of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Art History at SNU. In South Korea, the academic juxtaposition of archaeology and ancient art history is partly a reflection of the status of such studies in traditional Korean and Northeast Asian culture. However, the mixing of the two is also a reflection of the combination of education that Kim Won-yong received at Keijō Imperial University and NYU. The Department of Ancient Art History and Archaeology at SNU became the main model for the establishment of similar departments at national universities across South Korea.