Seoul National University was first founded in 1946, following a merger of no fewer than 10 higher education institutions in the South Korean capital. It is often rated highly when compared to other South Korean universities.
SNU is primarily based on three campuses, two of which are in Seoul and the third in Gangwon-do, in the country’s north-east. The main campus, located in Gwanak-gu, is home to a huge number of university buildings, many of which are new-build, such as a main library which maintains over 4 million separate works. The university also provides accommodation and dining facilities for a huge number of students, the main campus dorms alone house over 5,000 people. This main campus also plays host to two museums, one of which is dedicated to the university and the second to art, as well as numerous student societies and SNU’s official newspaper.
In terms of academic offerings, the university operates 16 academic colleges providing a huge variety of subjects to study, owing to the universities multi-institution heritage. In total, more than 80 undergraduate programmes are available for potential students, master’s and doctoral programmes number close to 100.
For international students, SNU has more than 800 academic exchange programmes with a huge number of international universities, and support for international students is readily available. In addition, students already at the university have numerous opportunities to go in the other direction, and study abroad.
Some famous alumni of SNU include UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, South Korean president Kim Young-Sam and prime minister Lee Hyun-Jae.
