Funds for establishing a national university raised through donations

Despite a difficult post-war environment, with no system that shapes a nation in place after the country gained independence in 1945, there was great passion to foster the human resources that later would lead Korea.
At the time, the authorities of Gyeongsangnam-do focused their energies on establishing a national university, which was the dream expressed by local citizens, and so the leadership applied all of its efforts in procuring KRW 10 million for the university foundation fund, which had been proposed by the United States Military Government in Korea. In a show of regional spirit, residents and businesses together donated a total of nearly KRW 10,330,000, well above the original goal. The money was used to fund the establishment of Korea’s first national university, while additional donations were used to procure a large number of books to fill the new university library.

Korea’s first national university launched on May 15, 1946

On May 15, 1946, Gyeongsangnam-do Academic Division Director In-Ku Yun and School Affairs Advisor Lieutenant Eddy worked with the relevant agencies and obtained the final approval of the education ministries of Korea and the United States to confirm the establishment of Pusan National University. Its original official name was Pusan National College, and it opened with the two departments of humanities and maritime affairs.

• 1946 Old school building in Daeyeon-dong
• 1947 Temporary school building in Seodaeshin-dong

First university president In-Ku Yun sets school philosophy as “Truth, Freedom and Service” at Saebyeokbeol, the university site

By 1953, Pusan National College comprised six colleges: the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Law, the College of Commerce, the College of Engineering, the College of Pharmacy, and the College of Medicine, and so on April 3 of that year the college was promoted to a comprehensive university by obtaining a presidential sanction.

On September 15 of the same year, the Decree on the Establishment of National Universities was revised and, with the Presidential Decree on the Establishment of Pusan National University being announced, PNU was officially launched as a comprehensive national university. On November 26, Dr. In-Ku Yun was appointed the university’s first president.

• 1953 Appointment ceremony for PNU's first president, In-Ku Yun
• Truth/Freedom/Service

U.S. Military Command General Richard Whitcomb impressed with In-Ku Yun's campus layout and provides full support

The first president of Pusan National University, In-Ku Yun, faced significant challenges in securing a campus site despite the university's establishment in 1946 as the first comprehensive national university in South Korea. During this time, he sought cooperation from General Richard Whitcomb, the commander of the United Nations Forces Supply Depot in Busan. General Whitcomb agreed to provide materials worth $250,000 from the Armed Forces Assistance to Korea (AFAK) funds. Consequently, the university administration identified and completed the formal procedures to acquire a new campus site of approximately 1.65 million square meters (50 hectares) in Jangjeon-dong. Furthermore, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers undertook construction, including the opening of a connecting road between Oncheon-dong and Pusan National University.

• U.S. Army General Richard Whitcomb
• General Whitcomb wearing a gat(hat) and a hanbok
• 1954 PNU President In-Ku Yun in front of the PNU Dongnae Campus construction site

Achieving the dreams and visions of the next 100 years by recognizing PNU’s proud history and traditions

PNU procured the site for the main campus on an area of 1.65 million square meters of land on the eastern skirt of Geumjeong Mountain in early 1954 and in December of that same year, the Hyowon Building construction ceremony was held to herald the start of the ‘Age of the Hyowon Campus’ in earnest. The Saebyeokbeol Hyowon Campus became the exemplification of the university motto of truth, freedom and service, and the new campus served as the permanent cradle of higher education and research. Based on its proud tradition and history, PNU is making an energetic leap to the top tier of the world.

• Early Sketch of Busan Campus
• 1961 The ‘Rainbow Gate’ and original administration building (currently the Humanities Building)
• Construction ceremony of the Dongnae Hyowon School Building
• Construction ceremony of the Dongnae Hyowon School Building
• Panoramic view of PNU’s Busan campus