Old Seogwipo campus - The evidence of the old campus lost
Yongdam campus - No trace remains. Middle and high schools established

▲ Present JeJu Hangkyo.

This is the Jeju Hyang-Kyo (the Confucian temple and school to teach local students in the Joseon Dynasty period) which is more like an old Seo-Dang (village school) rather than a contemporary school. The history of Jeju National University began in this place. Jeju National University opened even though it was in the middle of the Korean War and at the end of the Jeju 4·3 incident and has had an amazing growth even in poor surroundings amidst tumultuous history. On June 1st, 1952, educational figures and scholars of Jeju-do (now Jeju Special Self-Governing Province) started discussions to establish a university for the education of Jeju people.

Later, in 1952, Jeju High-Education Institute was built at Soemun-ro, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, using Myung-Ryun-Dang, the main building of the Jeju Hyang-Kyo, as a lecture room. This place was the beginning of the history of Jeju National University. Since it started without its own campus at that time, it had to borrow the Jeju Hyang Kyo as a lecture room in very poor educational surroundings. Since Jeju-do was at the end of the 4·3 incident and many refugees of the 6.25 war came to Jeju-do, the meager Jeju financial state could only manage to support poor inhabitants and was not able to fund the construction of new college buildings.

▲ Old Jeju Yongdam campus.

The way to JeJu Hang-Kyo is easy to find (298-1, Yongdam-1dong, JeJu-si, JeJu-do). It is about a fifty-minute bus ride from the airport and about a thirty-minute bus ride from Jeju National University.

The Jeju Hyang Kyo is more like the old Seo Dang (village school) rather than a contemporary school. There are around 30 tall fine trees in the garden and old-Korean houses are gathered in the yard. It often holds lectures of Chinese character, traditional etiquette, and calligraphy.

Myung-Ryun-Dang, which was used as a lecture room at that time, still remains at that site; but the current building was rebuilt recently.

In September, 1953 Jeju college finished one year at the Hyangkyo site, temporarily moved to the old Samdo-ri school building (current Samdo-dong area) of Jeju Agricultural High School (now Jeju High School), then built a new campus at Yongdam-ro, Jeju-si, and moved to it. This Yongdam campus was a major stop forward in the development of Jeju college.

Yongdam campus was located at the place where the current middle and high schools affiliated with the college of education, JNU are, and was not far from the Jeju Hyang-Kyo. Since the new building built at that time was demolished to build a school cafeteria in 1995, the current Yongdam campus has almost few remains of the old university. However the site, still being filled with students, speaks of its historycal significance as a foundation stone in Jeju educational history.

▲ Old Seogwipo campus.

In April of 1955, it obtained approval for raising its status to the Jeju Provincial college and changed to the National University in April of 1962. During that time, it absorbed Jeju School of Education which was the provincial elementary school teachers' education institute, and created several new departments that major in undergraduate studies. With the opening of a new additional campus in 1964 at Seogwipo-si (1488-1, Dongheung-dong 1480, Seogwipo-si) to house the agriculture and fisheries college, the JNU campus was divided between the law and humanities college centered at the Yongdam campus and the agriculture and fisheries college centered at the Seogwipo campus.

The Seogwipo campus of Jeju National University is far away from the Yongdam campus. At that time the Yongdam campus was located at Jeju-si while the Seogwipo campus was located at Seogwipo-si, which was one hour away by bus. The site where the old Seogwipo campus doesn’t show signs of the college's previous presence. Only roads, farms, middle schools, and medical buildings can be seen there now.

▲ Present Seogwipo campus site. Only roads, farms, middle schools, and medical buildings can be seen in the address of the remaining information.

Since June of 1969, there was a movement to unify the college campuses divided between Jeju-si and Seogwipo-si.

In 2008, in accordance with the government policy to merge national universities, it combined with Jeju Educational University, originally Jeju Educational College.

The campus of the old Jeju Educational College located at Iljudong-ro, Jeju-si, became the campus of the Educational College, JNU and was given the name of "Sara" campus. Also, it obtained permission to establish a Graduate School of Law and opened the Graduate School of Law in 2009. Jeju National University starting from a small lecture room borrowed from the Juju Hyang-Kyo in 1952, now carries the pride and distinction of being a National University with a site of 151,6419㎡, 11 colleges, 72 departments and over 10,000 students.

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