KU honors its donors via digital platform, biggest among Korean Universities

The unveiling ceremony of the KU Digital Donor’s Wall takes place.

The donor wall expected to expresses the university’s appreciation and respect of donors while conveying educational messages about donation to currently enrolled students.

On November 23 at 11 am, Korea University held the unveiling ceremony of Digital Donor’s Wall “Crimson Honors Club” at the Central Plaza of the university.

A donor’s wall, in general, hangs stone or metal plates engraved with names of donors in order to honor those who have made donations to institutions such as schools or hospitals. Korea University has taken the donor’s wall to the next level by building a digital donor’s wall so that the messages of donors can be recorded and memorialized in a way that fits the digital era and a future-oriented university campus.

Ki-seok Park, a KU alumnus and CEO of SIGONGtech Co., Ltd., made a significant contribution to the construction of the digital donor’s wall by gladly making an in-kind donation worth approximately 420 million won, which was required for the construction. Park expressed the purpose of his donation at the ceremony. “I hope the digital donor’s wall will be utilized to have the educational effects upon students, rather than to express respects to donors. The digital donor’s wall can have a positive influence upon students, shaping their mental attitudes towards their alma mater as well as our society,” he said.

In addition, LG Display Co., Ltd. also made a donation of high-definition displays and related equipment. Thanks to the donation, the digital donor’s wall can have a main screen consisting of eighteen, 49-inch display panels and two, 55-inch touch-screen displays.

The KU Digital Donor’s Wall, the largest donor’s wall (13.7m wide x 3m tall) among universities in Korea, is thought to be superior to existing donor’s walls in terms of the amount and quality of digital content.

The main screen shows the list of Crimson Honors Club members who have made donations in excess of 100 million won to the university, photos received from the members, and their messages to the university and students. It also plays the story of the donors who have contributed to the development of the university and training of future intellectuals as educational content.

By using the touch-screen displays, visitors can search for the names, photos, stories, and videos of donors. Additionally, names of those who have donated more than 1 billion won are to be displayed on the wall in the traditional format of name-plates. The touch-screen displays also provide an access to the list of other donors and of retired faculty members who have made contributions to the development of the university.

Full HD videos for university promotion, including KU’s donation history, are also played on the wall. Looking back at its history, the university was built on the foundation of people’s donations and opened its doors to the public as Korea’s first higher educational institution founded by ordinary citizens in 1905. In particular, the library (currently, the Graduate School building) was built thanks to the funds raised by the Korean people in the 1930s and is regarded as a symbol of the donations made to the university. In this context, videos regarding the history of donations to the university are also on the playlist. From its surface to content, the Digital Donor’s Wall shows the path of the university, which has developed on the basis of the donations and love received from the public.

Those that donated over 1 billion won as well as members of the Development Committee attended the unveiling ceremony held on November 23.

At the ceremony, KU President Jaeho Yeom said, “What backed our plan to make the wall was our pride that present-day Korea University is shaping now will be directly linked to the future of higher education in Korea. This place is where Korea University expresses its gratitude for donors. The wall will use the cutting-edge technology as an educational medium to convey the spirit of love and sharing to our students.”

The ceremony participants had a chance to enjoy an aerial view of the university campus taken by a drone as well as a video clip about the history of donations to the university. They also saw the digitally-transformed name plates of donors registered to the digital wall and had an opportunity to try the donor-searching system on the touch-screen panels.

In order to step up its efforts in honoring contributors, the university has a plan to commemorate the Crimson Honors Club Day and hold a screening event using the digital wall.