Hanshin University

Overview

Hanshin University is a private comprehensive university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea. The university describes itself as "Korea's first theological college" and characterizes its identity in terms of a progressive academic tradition and social engagement. Its stated educational ideals are truth, freedom, and love, grounded in Christian principles. The university states that it has contributed to democratization, reunification, peace, and human rights in Korean society. Its campus in Suyu-ri, Seoul, houses the graduate school of theology program that trains pastors, while most undergraduate programs are offered at its campus in Osan, Gyeonggi Province.

Founding and History

In the late 1930s, after the Japanese colonial authorities began compelling Shinto shrine worship, the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pyongyang, which was operated by missionaries, closed. A movement then arose to establish a new theological school in Seoul. In 1939, Elder Kim Dae-hyun of Seungdong Church in Seoul donated his personal funds, and a committee was formed to establish the Chosun Theological Seminary. The Rev. Kim Jae-jun is regarded as the person who actually led the founding. In April 1940, the Chosun Theological Seminary opened at Seungdong Church.

• 1945: Received government authorization as a school and was renamed Chosun Theological School.
• Late 1940s: Authorized as a regular college. The university's official history gives the year as 1948, though some sources give 1947.
• 1951: Renamed Hankuk Theological College. During the Korean War, the school reportedly relocated to Busan and continued holding classes there.
• 1954: Received authorization to establish a graduate school.
• 1958: Opened its campus in Suyu-ri, Seoul.
• 1980: Reorganized as a comprehensive institution and renamed Hanshin College.
• 1981: Moved to its campus in Osan, Gyeonggi Province.
• 1992: Adopted its current name, Hanshin University.
• 2020: Marked the 80th anniversary of its founding.

After Korea's liberation, Chosun Theological School embraced biblical criticism (the historical and literary study of the biblical text). This sparked a theological controversy within the Presbyterian General Assembly. The controversy led to a Presbyterian schism, and those who supported the school went on to form the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea.

Principal Activities

• Theological education: Through its College of Theology and Graduate School of Theology, the university trains ministers for the PROK.
• Comprehensive university education: After becoming a comprehensive institution in 1980, the university added departments in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. In 1996 it was reorganized into a system of multiple colleges.
• University governance and social engagement: In 1990 the university established a "Four-Party Council" to promote democratic governance. In 2020 it was designated a partner university for unification education by the Institute for Unification Education of the Ministry of Unification.

Affiliated Denomination and Organizations

The university is operated by the Hanshin Educational Foundation. It is responsible for the theological education of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea. Hanshin University's College of Theology is also listed as a member school of KAATS, an association of theological education institutions.

Assessment

Hanshin University is regarded as representative of progressive theology within Korean Presbyterianism. Conservative Presbyterian denominations have criticized the school's acceptance of biblical criticism as liberal theology. The school and the PROK, by contrast, describe it as scholarly biblical study. They also regard their involvement in social justice and democratization as faith put into practice.