Focus group: Seoul National University in China
Seoul National University (SNU) was founded up in year 1946. It is state owned. For years, it ranked as the top university in all of South Korea, and is one of the top universities in Asia. In recent decades, it has achieved great development. Its motto is to ‘develop elites’, and its graduates can be seen in the politics, economics and all categories of the society of South Korea.
SNU’s credentials
SNU has 16 colleges and graduate schools, and 3 specialized research institutions, and 96 research centers and cooperation institutions.
Currently, SNU is the 6th best university in Asia. The top 5 consists of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of Hong Kong, the National University of Singapore, Tokyo University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. SNU has about 23,000 undergraduates and about 9,000 graduates. By 2001, the university produced about 228,000 graduates including some Korean elite. Kim Jong-pil, who graduated from SNU’s major of philosophy, was the 11th and 31st premier of South Korea. Kim Young-sam, who graduated from the same major as Kim Jong-pil, became the 14th president of South Korea. Lee Haechan, who once studied textile technology and sociology, became a five time member of the South Korean parliament and also worked as the 36th premier. Also there are famous alumni of SNU in the entertainment business. Kang Bu-ja and Kim Tae-Hee are both prominent actresses from the university.
SNU’s most prominent graduate, Ban Ki-moon, who received his undergraduate education in the major of diplomacy in SNU and later obtained his master’s degree from The Kennedy School of government at Harvard University, has been secretary general of the United Nations since year 2007. He is the pride of SNU.
According to a big newspaper in South Korea, from year 1998 to year 2006, there were 1,036 foreign students who obtained a bachelor, master or doctor’s degree in SNU. Among them, 60% came from China, 30% came from Southeast Asia and mid Asia, and 10% came from other countries in the world.
SNU in China
SNU is positively looking for cooperation with Chinese universities. Shanghai Jiaotong University(上海交通大学) has coordinated exchange programs with SNU since year 2007. Qingdao Agricultural University(青岛农业大学) has been working with SNU in student exchanging, teacher visiting, and research programs since year 2008. In year 2009, it sent several undergraduate students to study in SNU for a whole semester. In the beginning of 2010, Guanghua school of Management in Peking University(北京大学) cooperated with the graduate school of business of SNU to have a PKU-SNU Dual-degree MBA Program. In December, 2010, the law school of Renmin University of China(中国人民大学) welcomed the principal of SNU, and signed cooperation agreements with SNU. In April, 2011, Wuhan University(武汉大学) established MBA exchange programs with SNU, and the first bunch of students came to South Korea in September. Also, Nankai University(南开大学) has worked with SNU. In 2011, to find more Chinese cooperation opportunities, SNU established its agency in Beijing(北京).
SNU also has a seminar on the international business between South Korea and China. The seminar invites many successful Chinese entrepreneurs to give speeches to its students.
Daxue Consultant China
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Credit Photo: Baidu
