A vertical alignment layer comprising: a cyclic olefin copolymer prepared from a compound represented by Chemical Formula 1 below: in Chemical Formula 1, q is an integer of 0 to 4, at least one of R1 to R4 is a radical represented by Chemical Formula 1a below, remaining R1 to R4 except for the radical represented by Chemical Formula 1a below are the same as each other or different from each other, and are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; halogen; substituted or unsubstituted C1-C20 linear or branched alkyl; substituted or unsubstituted C2-C20 linear or branched alkenyl; substituted or unsubstituted C2-C20 linear or branched alkynyl; substituted or unsubstituted C3-C12 cycloalkyl; substituted or unsubstituted C6-C40 aryl; substituted or unsubstituted C5-C12 arylalkyl; and a polar functional group including at least one selected from oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, silicon, and boron, and when R1 to R4 are not hydrogen; halogen; or the polar functional group, at least one combination of R1 and R2 or R3 and R4 may be linked to each other to form a C1-C10 alkylidene group, or R1 or R2 may be linked to any one of R3 and R4 to form a C4-C12 saturated or unsaturated aliphatic ring, or a C6-C24 aromatic ring, in Chemical Formula 1a, A and C are each independently a simple bond, or substituted or unsubstituted C1-C5 alkylene, B is ester, n1 and n2 are each independently an integer of 0 to 5, and n1+n2 are an integer of 1 to 5, and X 1 and X 2 are substituents substituted in a benzene ring, and each independently a fluorine atom, C1-C5 fluorinated alkyl, C1-C5 fluorinated alkoxy, C6-C20 fluorinated aryl, or C6-C20 fluorinated alkoxyaryl. q is an integer of 0 to 4, at least one of R1 to R4 is a radical represented by Chemical Formula 1a below, remaining R1 to R4 except for the radical represented by Chemical Formula 1a below are the same as each other or different from each other, and are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; halogen; substituted or unsubstituted C1-C20 linear or branched alkyl; substituted or unsubstituted C2-C20 linear or branched alkenyl; substituted or unsubstituted C2-C20 linear or branched alkynyl; substituted or unsubstituted C3-C12 cycloalkyl; substituted or unsubstituted C6-C40 aryl; substituted or unsubstituted C5-C12 arylalkyl; and a polar functional group including at least one selected from oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, silicon, and boron, and when R1 to R4 are not hydrogen; halogen; or the polar functional group, at least one combination of R1 and R2 or R3 and R4 may be linked to each other to form a C1-C10 alkylidene group, or R1 or R2 may be linked to any one of R3 and R4 to form a C4-C12 saturated or unsaturated aliphatic ring, or a C6-C24 aromatic ring, A and C are each independently a simple bond, or substituted or unsubstituted C1-C5 alkylene, B is ester, n1 and n2 are each independently an integer of 0 to 5, and n1+n2 are an integer of 1 to 5, and X 1 and X 2 are substituents substituted in a benzene ring, and each independently a fluorine atom, C1-C5 fluorinated alkyl, C1-C5 fluorinated alkoxy, C6-C20 fluorinated aryl, or C6-C20 fluorinated alkoxyaryl.