South Korea
Gangneung–Wonju National University
Gangneung–Wonju National University
South Korea
South Korea
South Korea
Gangneung–Wonju National University (GWNU; Korean: 강릉원주대학교) is a national research university with two campuses, in Gangneung and Wonju, South Korea. Founded in 1946, GWNU is situated on the east coast of the country. The institution traces its roots to Gangneung Normal School and Wonju Nursing Higher Technical School, which were established in 1946 and 1967, respectively. The two schools merged in 2007, and the institution was renamed in 2009.
GWNU comprises 9 colleges, 49 departments and divisions, a general graduate school, and 3 specialized graduate schools. It operates the Gangneung-Wonju National University Dental Hospital, located in Gangneung, and the Gangneung–Wonju National University Kindergarten, in Wonju. Additionally, the university features 35 auxiliary facilities, including the Center for Educational Research & Innovation and the Lifelong Education Center, along with 27 research institutes, such as the Institute of Humanities and the East Coast Life Science Research Institute.
Gangneung–Wonju National University (GWNU) was established in 2007, through the merger of Gangneung National University and Wonju National College.
Following the 1945 liberation of Korea, the departure of Japanese educators coincided with an increase in primary school enrollment. In response, the educational authorities of the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) decided to restructure the ten normal schools established during the Japanese colonial period. Under this plan, three schools were designated for training secondary school teachers, while the remaining seven maintained their focus on primary education. Concurrently, the government authorized the establishment of new public normal schools in several cities, including Gangneung, Kaesong, Busan, and Chungju.
In 1946, the public Gangneung Normal School was founded, alongside Kyungpo middle school. It initially used the campuses of what are now Myeongju Elementary School and Jungang Elementary School. Before its eventual closure, Gangneung Normal School produced a total of 2,047 primary school educators across 15 graduating classes.
Following the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the school was forced to temporarily suspend operations. To maintain its academic curriculum during the conflict, the institution established a special refugee school in Busan.
The institution continued to expand, establishing the Jungang Elementary School in 1957 and the Gangneung high school in 1961. However, this growth was halted due to a major restructuring of the primary teacher training system, and as a result, Gangneung Normal School ceased admitting new students for the 1962 academic year and was officially closed in 1963.
In 1966, the Committee for the Promotion of Establishing Gangneung Teachers College was formed by the local community. The committee persistently petitioned the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea, emphasizing the necessity for establishing a teachers college in the Yeongdong region. These efforts culminated in August 1968, when the institution was re-established as Gangneung Teachers College, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 3535.
Concurrently, in March 1967, Wonju Nursing Higher Technical School was authorized and opened as a public institution. Five years after its inception, the school was restructured and upgraded to Wonju Nursing Vocational School, in December 1972.
In December 1977, Gangneung Teachers College, which had served as the primary teacher training institution for the Yeongdong region, was reorganized into Gangneung Junior College and officially opened in March 1978. Following a government policy to merge junior colleges and vocational schools into a unified junior college system, the institution's academic structure was upgraded to a four-year curriculum in 1979. Consequently, the institution bypassed the junior college transition and was elevated directly to Gangneung College, a four-year undergraduate institution.
Park Duck-young, a professor from the College of Dentistry, serves as the university president, with his term scheduled to run until 2028.
The undergraduate curriculum at GWNU is organized into departments, divisions, and majors under each college, with the primary objective of conferring bachelor's degrees.
The Gangneung Campus has seven colleges: the College of Humanities, College of Social Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, College of Life Sciences), College of Engineering), College of Arts and Sports), and College of Dentistry.
The Wonju Campus has two colleges: the College of Health and Welfare and the College of Science and Technology.
The graduate division of GWNU consists of one general graduate school and three specialized graduate schools. The departments offered in the general graduate school consist of 57 master's degree programs and 43 doctoral degree programs.
The International Affairs Team at GWNU operates student exchange programs with its academic partner institutions. Students must meet specific academic credit and language proficiency requirements, while final admission decisions are made by the host institution. As of December 2022, GWNU maintained academic exchange agreements with 42 universities across 17 countries worldwide.
In accordance with national agreements on domestic inter-university student exchange and credit recognition, GWNU officially recognized regular semester credits earned at 22 partner institutions as of 2019. These included 17 member universities of the Council of presidents of National Core Universities, alongside Kangwon National University, the University of Science and Technology, Jeju National University, Chungnam National University, and Chungbuk National University.
The university operates a variety of internal scholarship programs.
GWNU's research achievements in life sciences, specifically specializing in biotechnology, are recognized for introducing new paradigms to marine industries across Gangneung and the East Sea region.
The Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology includes GWNU among the 50 major research-oriented universities designated to conduct specialized research in the fields of natural sciences and engineering.
Established in 1992 as the 11th dental school in the nation to meet demand for dental professionals due to a nationwide shortage in the 1990s, the College of Dentistry and the Dental Hospital at GWNU had produced more than 700 dentists by 2019. Prior to the establishment of the Gangneung-Wonju National University Dental Hospital—the only dental hospital in Gangwon Province—the Yeongdong region lacked specialized dental care infrastructure. The institution regularly dispatches medical volunteer teams to countries such as Mongolia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
GWNU maintains a research presence in the field of atmospheric sciences.
The university has established the Radiation and Satellite Meteorology Research Institute, the first institution in South Korea dedicated to researching thermal radiation and meteorological satellites. The Gangwon Regional Office of Meteorology collaborates with the university's Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences to improve weather forecasting accuracy and severe weather prediction in the Yeongdong region. To facilitate smooth government–academic cooperation, the High-Impact Weather Research Center under the National Institute of Meteorological Sciences has been located within the Gangneung campus since 2012, conducting joint research initiatives on hazardous weather forecasting.
To address rapidly changing marine ecosystems, the university operates the South–North Seaweed Resource Exchange Institute, which conducts research on restoring marine algal ecosystems, including kelp forests, and facilitates resource exchanges with North Korea.
In response to the 2019 Goseong fire, GWNU partnered with Kangwon National University to address the severity of forest destruction and community impact. The two institutions conduct joint research and development projects to establish systematic response mechanisms for large-scale wildfires and to restore damaged forest areas.
Following the South Korean government's announcement of the Second Innovation City Plan, the university became the first comprehensive academic institution in Gangwon Province to launch related research initiatives.
The Gangneung Campus of GWNU spans across Jibyeon-dong and Yucheon-dong, covering an area of approximately 660,000m² The current site has been in use since 1980, when Gangneung National University relocated from the Chodang Campus to the Jibyeon Campus, prior to the official launch of GWNU. As the campus that serves as the university headquarters, it houses about 50 buildings.
This is the campus of Kangnung National University that was established in the Chodang-dong area of Gangneung. It originally housed various buildings, including the university headquarters, a gymnasium, and lecture halls, and was used until Gangneung College relocated to the current Jibyeon Campus in 1980. The site is occupied by Gangneung High School and the Gangwon-do Education Research & Institute.
The Wonju Campus of GWNU is located in Heungup-ri, covering a campus area of approximately 120,000m². The current site has been in use since 1983, when the former Wonju College relocated from the Wondong Campus to the Heungup Campus, and it houses about 20 buildings.
This is the campus of Wonju College that was established in the Wonin-dong area of Wonju. It was used until Wonju College relocated to the Heungup Campus in 1983.
GWNU has pushed for the establishment of a new campus within the Munmak Bangye Industrial Complex, receiving 33 billion won in national funding in 2019, along with financial support from Gangwon Province and the city of Wonju, and with land provided by the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation.
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Улс: South Korea