Chronology

Hyun Sang-yun is inaugurated as the 13th president.

The Bosung College Foundation is disbanded and its assets are incorporated into the Joongang Educational Foundation.

The Joongang Education Foundation obtains approval to establish a university, upon which Bosung College is elevated into Korea University. Hyun Sang-yun is inaugurated as the 1st President.
Korea University establishes a new collegiate structure: College of Political Science and Law (departments of Political Science and Law); College of Economics & Commerce (departments of Economics and Commerce); and the College of Liberal Arts (departments of Korean Literature, English Literature, Philosophy and History.
Degree programs are divided into Preparatory Courses and subsequent Regular Courses.

The opening ceremony for Korea University is held.

The Korea University Newspaper is launched in commemoration of the Gwangju Student Independence Movement, publishing 2,000 copies of its first issue.

The Alumni Sports Association is established.

Preparatory course programs are officially discontinued with the final graduation ceremony.

The Graduate School is established with a plan to offer two-year master’s programs and four-year doctoral programs. Only master’s programs are offered in the Department of Political Science and International Relations/Department of Politics, the Department of Law, the Department of Agricultural Economics, and the Department of Commerce.

The first mock National Assembly session, titled the “First National Assembly of the Republic of Anam,” is held, hosted by the Law Society, the Political Science Society, and the Debating Club.

Korea University decides to close indefinitely due to the outbreak of the Korean War.

President Hyun Sang-yun is abducted to the North during the Korean War and his position is assumed by Yoo Jin-oh.

Korea University opens classes at its temporary campus at Wondae-dong, Daegu, an area of refuge during the Korean War.

Establishment of the Department of Agriculture is approved.

Yoo Jin-oh is inaugurated as the 2nd president of Korea University.
The position of Vice President is created and assumed by Lee Jong-Woo.

Korea University expands in scale, befitting its status as a comprehensive university, with four colleges, 13 departments, and a total enrollment capacity of 2,560 students. It conducts entrance examinations in Daegu, Busan, Jeonju, Gwangju, Daejeon, and the recovered area of Yeongdeungpo.

Former President Hyun Sang-yun becomes the first to receive a doctorate from Korea University.

The College of Liberal Arts is reorganized into the College of Liberal Arts and Science through the establishment of the Department of Mathematics and Physics, the Department of Chemistry, and the Department of Biology.
The College of Agriculture and Forestry, consisting of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Forestry, is established.

Korea University returns to Seoul following the Korean War Armistice and holds classes in the buildings of the Joongang Middle and High Schools.

The US Army returns the Anam-dong Campus to Korea University.
Main administrative organizations – the Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Stunt Affairs – are formed; the College of Liberal Arts and Science is restructured to include the Division of Liberal Arts and the Division of Science.

The Department of Mathematics and Physics is divided into the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Physics.

The English University Newspaper The Granite Tower is established.

Construction of a female students’ lounge is completed on the current site of Dongwon Global Leadership Hall (renamed Geumnanshil (金蘭室) in November 1955).

Inchon Kim Sung-su dies and receives a state (national) funeral on 24 February.

The Department of Law and the newly established Department of Public Administration merge to form the College of Law, replacing the College of Political Science & Law. The Department of Commerce and the newly established Department of Business merges into the College of Commerce, replacing the College of Economics and Commerce. The Division of Political Science and Economics is created under the College of Liberal Arts and Science, into which the Department of Political Science of the former College of Political Science and Law, and the Department of Economics under the former College of Economics are incorporated. The College of Agriculture and Forestry is expanded by establishing the Department of Agricultural Chemistry thereunder, resulting in 17 Departments under 4 Colleges for 3,320 students in total.

The 50th Anniversary ceremony is held.
An honorary doctorate is awarded to Chief Justice of Korea Kim Byung-ro.
A collection of dissertations is published and a new school song is composed in celebration of the 50th Anniversary.
A section of the Seokwan building is completed.

The first issue of Korea University Culture is published.

The Korea University Press is founded.

The College of Agriculture and Forestry Hall is built.
Construction of new laboratories for chemistry, physics, and biology is completed in the Division of Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Science.

The design of the university badge is changed to display college or department names in Korean, replacing the existing Chinese characters with the word “고대” (Kodae, short for Korea University), and assigning a unique color to each college.

Yoo Jin-oh is inaugurated as the 3rd president.

The Ko-Yon Games are resumed and feature four matches – baseball, soccer, rugby and basketball – from 27 October through 1 November.

The UN Resources Library is founded.

The Korean Institute for Translating Classics is founded and Lee Jong-woo is appointed as its first director.

The Asiatic Research Institute is founded. Lee Sang-eun is appointed as its first director.

Korea University designs its flag, color and coat of arms in celebration of its 53rd Anniversary.

The Institute for Business Research is established as an affiliate organization to the College of Commerce.

Students wear gowns at the graduation ceremony for the first time.

The College of Agriculture and Forestry is renamed as the College of Agriculture, under which the Department of Agronomics is newly formed.
The Department of Pedagogy and Psychology is established under the Division of Liberal Arts, College of Liberal Arts and Science. The Division of Political Science and Economics is elevated to the status of a college as the College of Political Science and Economics and renamed the Department of Political Science as the Department of Political Science and International Relations.
The school badges are redesigned into a single university badge, displaying a tiger set against a crimson-color background.

The statue of Inchon Kim Sung-su is erected.

The Ko-Yon Games resume after a 2-year hiatus.

Busts of Lee Yong-ik and Sohn Byung-hee are erected on the Anam Campus.