Korea Baptist Theological University

Overview

Korea Baptist Theological University is a theological university operated by the Korea Baptist Convention. It trains pastors and church leaders for Baptist churches. Its English abbreviation is KBTUS. The school's founding principles are truth, regeneration (being born again), and freedom. Its motto is taken from 2 Timothy 2:15: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Founding and History

The school traces its origins to 1953, when the Korea Baptist Church (Daehan Gidokgyo Chimnyehoe) and the Korea Mission of the Southern Baptist Convention of the United States jointly established the Baptist Bible Institute in Daejeon. The Korea Baptist Church was the former name of the Korea Baptist Convention. The following year the school received authorization from the Ministry of Education under the name Baptist Theological Seminary; its first principal is reported to have been John A. Abernathy (Korean name Na Yo-han). In 1968 it took over the Daehan Baptist Theological Seminary, which had been established separately during a denominational split. In 1973 it was authorized as a four-year college under the name Korea Baptist Theological College. In 1980 it was renamed Baptist Theological College and established a graduate school and a graduate school of theology. In 1992 the campus moved from Mok-dong in Jung District, Daejeon, to its present location in Hagi-dong, Yuseong District, and in 1993 the school attained university status as Baptist Theological University.

Meanwhile, in Seoul, Pastor Billy Kim (Kim Jang-hwan) led an effort in 1981 to merge several theological schools into Sudo (Capital) Baptist Theological Seminary. The two institutions merged their educational corporations in 2001, and the schools themselves were consolidated in 2006. In October 2020 the school adopted its present name, Korea Baptist Theological University.

Major Activities

Centered on its Department of Theology, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs related to church ministry, including Christian education, church music, social welfare, and early childhood education. In 2020 it opened a Department of Youth Studies and a Graduate School of Biblical Exposition. It maintains exchange agreements with Baptist seminaries abroad, including Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in the United States. Each year it also holds university revival meetings attended by students, faculty, and staff together.

Denomination and Governance

As the denominational seminary of the Korea Baptist Convention, the university is operated by the Korea Baptist Theological Institute, its educational corporation. The corporation's board of trustees consists mainly of pastors from the denomination, and the president serves on the board as an ex officio trustee.

Controversies and Evaluation

Conflicts within the denomination have repeatedly spilled over into the board of trustees, leaving the board unable to function properly. In 2018 the Ministry of Education appointed interim trustees, and in 2020 the school returned to governance by a regular board.

In 2025 the university received a "deferred accreditation" decision in the institutional accreditation review conducted by the Korean University Accreditation Institute, on the grounds that its enrollment rates for new and current students and its faculty staffing rate fell short of the required standards. The General Assembly of the Korea Baptist Convention took the view that the board's repeated dysfunction had burdened the school's operations and decided to convene an extraordinary session to address the question of responsibility. President Pi Young-min, on the other hand, had argued even before then that the board had failed to cooperate, citing, among other things, the board's blocking of new faculty appointments.

The Ministry of Education subsequently determined that the school had violated the Private School Act by failing to fill trustee vacancies within the required period. It accordingly revoked the approval of four trustees and decided once again to appoint interim trustees. This marks the second time the school has been placed under interim trustee governance.