Kookmin University

Kookmin University (KMU) is a private research university in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, South Korea, founded in 1946 by members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, on a hillside site in northern Seoul beside Bukhansan National Park.国民大学（Kookmin University，简称 KMU）是位于韩国首尔城北区的一所私立研究型大学，1946 年由大韩民国临时政府成员创办，校址位于首尔北部北汉山国立公园旁的山坡地带。

It was the first private university founded after Korea's liberation from Japanese rule in 1945.它是 1945 年韩国摆脱日本殖民统治后创办的第一所私立大学。

In the 2027 QS World University Rankings it stands in the 1001-1200 band, and it enrolled about 18,064 students as of April 2025.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，该校位列第 1001-1200 位（并列区间），截至 2025 年 4 月在读学生约 18,064 人。

History

• Kookmin University was established on September 1, 1946, when cabinet members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea founded Kookmin College in Changseong-dong, Seoul.国民大学于 1946 年 9 月 1 日成立，当时大韩民国临时政府的内阁成员在首尔昌成洞创办了国民大学馆（Kookmin College）。
• Among the founders were Kim Gu, Kim Kyu-sik, Cho So-ang and Shin Ik-hui, leading figures of the provisional government, all of whom were central to the founding of the Republic of Korea's early institutions.创办人包括金九（Kim Gu）、金奎植（Kim Kyu-sik）、赵素昂（Cho So-ang）与申翼熙（Shin Ik-hui）等临时政府要人，他们都是韩国建国初期机构创设的核心人物。
• Shin Ik-hui became the first chairman and president of the institution, a role he combined with leadership of the provisional government's educational efforts.申翼熙（Shin Ik-hui）出任该校首任理事长兼校长，同时领导临时政府的教育事务。
• Shin Ik-hui later served as the first Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea, giving the young institution a founding link to the Republic's earliest political leadership.申翼熙后来出任韩国首任国会议长，使这所年轻大学与韩国建国初期的政治领导层建立了联系。
• In 1948 the institution was renamed Kookmin University, taking its present name.1948 年，该校更名为国民大学（Kookmin University），确立现名。
• In 1959 the SsangYong Group, founded by Kim Sung-gon, acquired the university, a turning point in its history under whose ownership it expanded its engineering and design teaching in the following decades.1959 年，金成坤（Kim Sung-gon）创办的双龙集团收购该校，成为其历史上的转折点，此后数十年间学校的工程与设计教学不断扩大。
• The acquisition gave the university industrial backing and helped it expand its applied and professional programmes.此次收购为学校带来产业支持，助力其应用与专业学科的发展。
• In 1971 the university moved to its present Bukak campus in Jeongneung-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.1971 年，学校迁至现址，即首尔城北区贞陵洞的北岳校区（Bukak campus）。
• In 1976 the graduate school introduced its master's programmes.1976 年，研究生院开设硕士课程。
• In 1979 it added doctoral programmes, extending research degrees to the highest level.1979 年，学校增设博士课程，把研究型学位延伸至最高层次。
• On March 1, 1981, the institution was reorganised as a comprehensive university, and the same period saw the creation of its first specialised graduate schools.1981 年 3 月 1 日，学校改组为综合性大学，同期学校还设立了首批专业研究生院。
• That same year it established a graduate school of education.同年，学校设立教育研究生院。
• A graduate school of business was added in 1982, followed by a graduate school of public administration in 1984.1982 年增设经营研究生院，1984 年又增设行政研究生院。
• By 2018 the university had organised itself into 14 colleges and 47 undergraduate departments, with 14 graduate schools, a structure later consolidated into 15 colleges and 54 departments.至 2018 年，学校设有 14 个学院、47 个本科学部与 14 个研究生院，这一结构此后整合为 15 个学院与 54 个系科。
• It was among the first Korean universities to create a Department of Automotive Engineering at four-year level.它是韩国最早在四年制本科层面设立汽车工程系的大学之一。
• The university opened its Korean Language Education Center to teach Korean language and culture to foreign students.学校设立韩国语教育中心，为外国学生教授韩国语言与文化。
• The centre now hosts about 1,800 students from more than 15 countries.该中心目前约有来自 15 个以上国家的 1,800 名学生就读。
• Kookmin marked its 80th anniversary in 2026, presenting itself as a university rooted in pragmatism and community spirit.国民大学于 2026 年迎来建校 80 周年，自视为一所植根于实用主义与共同体精神的大学。
• In 2016 the university celebrated its 70th anniversary as it broadened its research profile.2016 年，学校在拓宽研究格局的同时庆祝了建校 70 周年。
• Its institutional imagery centres on the ideals of regarding the school as home and doing everything by principle.其办学理念以「以校为家、事必归正」为核心。
• Since its founding in 1946, the university has produced more than 111,000 alumni.自 1946 年建校以来，该校已培养逾 11.1 万名校友。
• Kookmin was founded amid the emergence of Korea's modern private higher-education sector, in the same era as Korea University and Yonsei University, and it is often described as the first private university established after liberation.国民大学诞生于韩国现代私立高等教育的兴起时期，与高丽大学、延世大学处于同一时代，常被称为解放后创办的第一所私立大学。
• The institution began as Kookmin College in 1946, a name it retained until its 1948 renaming as Kookmin University, and its earliest leadership was drawn from the provisional government.该校 1946 年创办时名为国民大学馆（Kookmin College），此名沿用至 1948 年更名为国民大学；其早期领导层均出身临时政府。

Academics

• Kookmin University consists of 15 colleges offering 54 schools and departments, alongside several graduate schools, with colleges of engineering, design, science, law, business, art and the humanities among them.国民大学设有 15 个学院、54 个学部与系科，并有多所研究生院，其中涵盖工程、设计、科学、法学、商学、艺术与人文等学院。
• As of April 1, 2025, it enrolled 18,064 students, comprising 14,502 undergraduates and 3,562 graduate students.截至 2025 年 4 月 1 日，该校在读学生 18,064 人，其中本科生 14,502 人、研究生 3,562 人。
• The graduate school organises study across humanities and social studies, natural science, engineering, arts and physical education, and interdisciplinary programmes, covering the university's main academic divisions.研究生院的教学涵盖人文与社会科学、自然科学、工程、艺术与体育以及跨学科项目，覆盖该校的主要学术门类。
• Kookmin was the first four-year university in Korea to establish a Department of Automotive Engineering.国民大学是韩国最早设立汽车工程系的四年制大学。
• Its programmes in automotive and mechanical engineering are nationally recognised, and the automotive field is often cited as the university's strongest.其汽车与机械工程专业获得全国认可，汽车领域常被视为该校最强的学科。
• Visual and industrial design, ceramics, metalwork, fashion, interior and media design form a distinctive cluster of strengths.视觉设计与工业设计、陶瓷、金属工艺、服装、室内与影像设计构成其独具特色的优势学科群。
• The College of Design and the College of Art are among its signature schools, supported by a graduate school of techno design, giving the university a distinctive presence in Korean design education.设计学院与艺术学院是其标志性学院，并设有技术设计研究生院，使该校在韩国设计教育中别具一格。
• The university offers degree programmes, scholarships and academic conferences across its colleges.学校在各学院开设学位项目、提供奖学金并组织学术会议。
• Its graduate schools include a general graduate school and specialised and professional graduate schools spanning education, business and public administration, a structure that supports both academic and professional study.其研究生院包括一所普通研究生院，以及涵盖教育、经营与行政的专业与特殊研究生院，这一结构兼顾学术型与专业型培养。
• The Korean Language Education Center supports roughly 1,800 foreign students from over 15 countries.韩国语教育中心为来自 15 个以上国家、约 1,800 名外国学生提供支持。
• The university's academic staff numbered about 624 full-time professors, with roughly 447 other staff, a student-to-faculty profile typical of a mid-sized Seoul private university.该校有约 624 名全职教授，另有约 447 名其他教职员工，这一师生结构是首尔中等规模私立大学的典型样态。
• Its 2018 figures listed about 3,327 graduate students, of whom 443 were international.其 2018 年数据显示研究生约 3,327 人，其中外国学生 443 人。
• International students formed a notable share of the student body, numbering about 1,626 undergraduates in 2018.2018 年该校本科生中外国学生约 1,626 人，占比可观。
• The university maintains academic exchange and cooperation with leading overseas institutions, including Columbia University in dance education.学校与海外名校保持学术交流合作，包括与哥伦比亚大学在舞蹈教育方面的合作。
• Its research and teaching span humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, design, arts and physical education.其研究与教学涵盖人文、社会科学、自然科学、工程、设计、艺术与体育。
• In recent years the university has expanded into future-industry fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, biotechnology, robotics, advanced materials and semiconductors.近年学校把学科扩展到人工智能、量子技术、生物技术、机器人、先进材料与半导体等未来产业领域。
• Its engineering and design faculties support industry-academia projects tied to Seoul's technology and manufacturing sectors.其工程与设计学院支持与首尔科技和制造产业挂钩的产学项目。
• Its design programmes are often discussed alongside those of Hongik University, a leading Korean art and design school, while its pioneering automotive engineering, the first at four-year level in Korea, distinguishes it from larger Seoul institutions such as Seoul National University.其设计专业常与韩国领先的艺术设计院校弘益大学相提并论；而其开创性的四年制汽车工程（韩国的首创）又使其有别于首尔大学等规模更大的首尔高校。
• Its graduate schools include a Graduate School of Techno Design, a graduate school of education, a graduate school of business and a graduate school of public administration, spanning professional and special tracks.其研究生院包括技术设计研究生院、教育研究生院、经营研究生院以及公共行政研究生院，覆盖专业与特殊学位方向。
• Its colleges span engineering, law, design, science, business administration, economics and commerce, art and the humanities, reflecting a broad private-university profile.其学院涵盖工程、法学、设计、科学、工商管理、经济与商业、艺术与人文等领域，体现综合性私立大学的格局。

Campus

• Kookmin's campus occupies a hillside site in Jeongneung-dong, Seongbuk-gu, in northern Seoul, next to Bukhansan National Park, and has been the university's home since 1971.国民大学校园位于首尔北部城北区贞陵洞的山坡地带，毗邻北汉山国立公园，自 1971 年起便是该校的所在地。
• Academic and administrative buildings include an Administration Hall, Bukak Hall and Hyungsul Hall, clustered in the central part of the hilltop campus.其教学与行政建筑包括行政楼、北岳楼与亨雪楼（Hyungsul Hall），集中分布在校园中心地带。
• Named teaching buildings house the colleges of Engineering, Law, Design, Science, Business Administration, Economics and Commerce and Art.具名教学楼分别容纳工程、法学、设计、科学、工商管理、经济与商业以及艺术等学院。
• Other facilities include an International Hall, an Innovation and Partnership Building and a Global Center, supporting its growing international student population.其他设施包括国际楼、创新与合作大楼以及全球中心，为其不断增长的国际学生群体提供支持。
• On-campus dormitories, a gymnasium and a student union building serve residential and student life.校内宿舍、体育馆与学生活动中心服务住宿与校园生活。
• The Sungkok Library was founded at the university's opening in December 1946 and moved to its current Jeongneung-dong location in 1971, where it remains the university's principal library and a landmark on the Bukak campus.成谷图书馆（Sungkok Library）于 1946 年 12 月建校时创办，并于 1971 年迁至现址贞陵洞，至今仍是该校的主图书馆与北岳校区的地标。
• Named for founder Kim Sung-gon, known as Sungkok, the library holds millions of books and multimedia materials and provides thousands of study seats.图书馆以创办人金成坤（号成谷）命名，馆藏数百万册图书与多媒体资料，并提供数千个自习座位。
• The Myungwon Folk House, donated in 1980 and reconstructed beside the campus, is a traditional Korean residence of the late Joseon official Han Kyu-seol.明园古宅（Myungwon Folk House）于 1980 年获捐赠并在校园旁重建，是朝鲜王朝末期官员韩圭卨（Han Kyu-seol）的传统住宅。
• The Sungkok Library, named for founder Kim Sung-gon, holds about 7 million books, 52,000 e-books, more than 1,300 online journals and 2,700 study seats, and has its own database and multimedia collection.以创办人金成坤命名的成谷图书馆，馆藏约 700 万册图书、5.2 万种电子书、1,300 余种在线期刊与 2,700 个自习座位，并自建数据库与多媒体馆藏。
• Campus facilities also include a Guest House, an ROTC building, a gymnasium and a Lifelong Education Practical Building, supporting residential, military-training and continuing-education needs across the hilltop campus.校园设施还包括客座公寓、后备军官训练团（ROTC）楼、体育馆与终身教育实训楼，在山坡校区内满足住宿、军训与继续教育需求。

Reputation

• In the 2027 QS World University Rankings Kookmin University is placed in the 1001-1200 band, a tied bracket, reflecting its position as one of Seoul's many private universities.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，国民大学位列第 1001-1200 位（并列区间），反映其作为首尔众多私立大学之一的定位。
• It is placed in the 1401-1600 band of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027.该校在 2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名中位列第 1401-1600 位。
• In the U.S. News Best Global Universities rankings for 2026-2027 it is placed 2068th, and it did not enter the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities, leaving the QS and Times Higher Education tables as its two principal global rankings.在 2026-2027 年度《美国新闻与世界报道》全球最佳大学排名中，该校位列第 2,068 位，且未进入 2026 年软科世界大学学术排名，QS 与泰晤士高等教育榜单因此成为其主要的两项全球排名。
• According to OpenAlex, the university is associated with about 14,128 scholarly works and 533,947 citations, a moderate research scale for a mid-sized Seoul private university.据 OpenAlex 统计，该校累计学术成果约 14,128 篇、被引约 533,947 次，对一所中等规模的首尔私立大学而言属于中等研究规模。
• Its automotive engineering and design programmes are widely regarded as its strongest fields, with automotive engineering the first of its kind among Korean four-year universities.其汽车工程与设计专业广被视为最强领域，汽车工程系更是韩国四年制大学中的首创。
• The university's reputation is linked to the pragmatic tradition emphasised by the SsangYong Group since 1959, whose industrial base in automobiles and construction influenced its applied focus.该校声誉与双龙集团自 1959 年以来强调的实用主义传统相关，后者在汽车与建筑领域的产业基础影响了该校的应用取向。
• Kookmin graduates are prominent in Korean entertainment and design, including design doctor Kim Keon-hee, the First Lady of South Korea from 2022, one of the most widely known figures among its recent graduates.国民大学毕业生在韩国演艺与设计界颇具影响，包括设计学博士、2022 年起的韩国第一夫人金建希（Kim Keon-hee），她是该校近年毕业生中知名度最高的人物之一。
• It reported more than 111,155 alumni by 2025, reflecting a large and active graduate network.截至 2025 年，其校友人数逾 111,155 人，构成庞大而活跃的校友网络。
• As a private university founded by the provisional government, it holds a distinct symbolic place in Korean higher education and in the history of Seoul's northern districts.作为由临时政府创办的私立大学，它在韩国高等教育以及首尔北部城区的历史中具有独特的象征地位。
• Its home region of northern Seoul and the Bukhansan foothills shapes its identity as an urban campus with strong design and engineering links.其所处的首尔北部与北汉山山麓，塑造了它作为都市校园、且设计与工程联结紧密的定位。
• Its alumni body of more than 111,155 by 2025 was joined by about 1,028 graduate degrees awarded in 2025, reflecting a large and active graduate network.截至 2025 年其校友逾 11.1 万人，2025 年又授予约 1,028 个研究生学位，构成庞大而活跃的毕业生网络。

Student life

• Kookmin's motto, written in Chinese characters as 以校爲家 事必歸正, means regarding the school as one's home and doing everything by principle, and is often rendered simply as school as home, principle in all things.国民大学的校训以汉字「以校为家、事必归正」表述，意为视校如家、凡事求正，常被简括为「校即家、事归正」。
• The university provides on-campus dormitories, a gymnasium and a student union building for residential and campus life, supporting students who come from outside Seoul.学校设有校内宿舍、体育馆与学生活动中心，服务住宿与校园生活，为来自首尔以外地区的学生提供支持。
• The Korean Language Education Center hosts about 1,800 students from more than 15 countries, fostering an international campus culture and reflecting the university's long-standing international outreach.韩国语教育中心约有来自 15 个以上国家的 1,800 名学生，营造国际化的校园氛围，也体现该校长期的国际交流传统。
• The university's location beside Bukhansan National Park gives students access to hiking and outdoor recreation.学校毗邻北汉山国立公园，为学生提供登山与户外休闲机会。
• The campus includes a Global Center and International Hall that support exchange students and international programmes.校园内的全球中心与国际楼为交换生与国际项目提供支持。
• Student life is tied to Seoul's northern districts, with the campus well connected to the capital's cultural and employment centres.学生生活与首尔北部城区相连，校园与首都的文化与就业中心交通便利。
• The university's annual calendar includes graduation ceremonies and its founding anniversary on September 1, the date of its establishment in 1946.学校的年度日程包括毕业典礼，以及 9 月 1 日建校纪念日，即其 1946 年成立之日。

Notable people

• Shin Ik-hui, the first chairman and president, was an independence activist who became the first Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea.申翼熙（Shin Ik-hui）是首任理事长兼校长，身为独立运动家，后出任韩国首任国会议长。
• Kim Gu, a founder and leader of the provisional government, was among those who established the institution in 1946.临时政府领袖金九（Kim Gu）是 1946 年创办该校的人士之一。
• Kim Kyu-sik and Cho So-ang, both provisional-government figures, were also among the founding members.金奎植（Kim Kyu-sik）与赵素昂（Cho So-ang）同为临时政府要人，也是创办成员。
• Kim Sung-gon, founder of the SsangYong Group, acquired the university in 1959 and shaped its pragmatist ethos.双龙集团创办人金成坤（Kim Sung-gon）于 1959 年收购该校，塑造了其实用主义精神。
• Han Kyu-seol, a late Joseon official and Mayor of Seoul, is linked to the university through the Myungwon Folk House named after his residence.朝鲜末期官员、前首尔市长韩圭卨（Han Kyu-seol）因其故居明园古宅而与该校相关。
• Kim Keon-hee, who earned a doctorate in design, became the First Lady of South Korea in 2022, a role that has made the university widely known.获得设计学博士学位的金建希（Kim Keon-hee）于 2022 年成为韩国第一夫人，这一身份使该校广为人知。
• Lee Hyori, a famous Korean singer, graduated from the university's performing-arts faculty.韩国著名歌手李孝利（Lee Hyori）毕业于该校表演艺术学院。
• The actor Lee Min-ho is among the university's notable alumni in film and television, part of a group of entertainers who have kept the university in the public eye.演员李敏镐（Lee Min-ho）是该校影视领域知名校友之一，这类艺人群体的存在使该校持续受到公众关注。
• Actors Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Min-ki and Kim Dong-wan also attended Kookmin University, several of them among the best-known performers of their generation.演员安孝燮（Ahn Hyo-seop）、李民基（Lee Min-ki）与金烔完（Kim Dong-wan）也曾就读国民大学，其中数人是同代艺人中知名度最高者之一。
• Jeong Seung-ryul, president of Kookmin University, has advanced cooperation in arts education, including with Columbia University, continuing the university's emphasis on design and the arts.国民大学校长郑承烈（Jeong Seung-ryul）推动了艺术教育方面的合作，包括与哥伦比亚大学的交流，延续了该校对设计与艺术的重视。