 |
| PHOTOS: Michael Chan |
What began as a humble theological college has become a full-fledged university offering a wide spectrum of disciplines.
Contributed by Howard Kuay
Imagine a university that offers a diverse variety of courses, programs and majors, grounded in Christian values and commitment, upholding the motto of righteousness, truth and love. There is such a place, and it is Hansei University. Its name speaks of the university’s global vision, with “Han” meaning “Korea” and “Sei” meaning “World.”
Located in Gunpo City near Seoul, Hansei University was established in 1953 while the country was still recovering from the Korean War. Its core Christian values and commitment come from its heritage of being a Full Gospel Theological College.
Hansei gained its status as “university” in 1993, offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Media & Communication Arts, Business Administration, Humanity and Social Sciences, Information Technology, Music and Design.
Its variety of majors stems from its president, Dr. Kim Sunghae, who has a vision of “educating the whole person” through “the integration of academics and Christian values, to seek truth and knowledge in every discipline and become Christ-centered individuals.”
On Jan. 7, the visiting group from CHC and its affiliates toured the university together with Dr. Kim, through the different faculty buildings. Dr. Byungju Lee, Director of Hansei International Exchange Center, shared Hansei University’s plans to be positioned as an international university, one that embraces globalization, and offers a world-class education to students from many nations.
He also said that the university was currently working with the government to offer more specialized majors, and he hopes the university can participate in more international competitions.
Recently, some of its students were awarded the prize for “Best Design” at the International Furniture Fair in Koln, Germany. Today, the university is officially recognized by South Korea’s Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development as a specialized school. Such collaboration has accelerated the opening of a GEMI environmentally-friendly Design Research Center within the campus that runs entirely on geo-thermal energy.
As testament to global vision and excellence, the visitors were treated to a view of the School of Design’s entrance exam. As the group walked through a walkway over a hall filled with 1,500 visual arts entries from applicants all over the world, examiners paced the hall with clipboards in hand to select the best 100 entries to be admitted into the School of Design.
Hansei University’s call to all of its students is to “open wide your hearts,” and in return, “Hansei will make your dreams come true.”
Among the visitors was Kenny Low, principal of City College Singapore who expressed that “the distinctive [of the university] is that it’s built on prayer and is a landmark in the city, reminding us that God puts no boundaries on faith and faith puts no boundaries on God.”
Since its establishment, Hansei University has graduated over 8,000 students.
