Kosin University

Overview

Kosin University is a private university operated directly by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin). The school traces its roots to Koryo Theological Seminary, founded in 1946 to train pastors, and it is commonly known by the short form "Kosin-dae." The university follows Reformed theology and has adopted "Coram Deo," a Latin phrase meaning "before God," as its educational philosophy. Although it began as a seminary, it is now a comprehensive university with colleges in theology, health and welfare, nursing, and medicine, as well as several graduate schools.

Founding and History

Koryo Theological Seminary was founded on September 20, 1946, by Han Sang-dong and Joo Nam-sun, two ministers who had been imprisoned during the Japanese colonial period for refusing to participate in Shinto shrine worship and were released after Korea's liberation. Park Yune-sun and others are known to have taught at the school in its early years. Disputes over the legitimacy of the seminary led to the schisms in Korean Presbyterianism, which resulted in the formation of the separate Kosin denomination.

Key milestones include the following:

• 1955: Calvin College, a four-year college program, was established.
• December 1961: Following the union of the Kosin denomination with the Seungdong faction, the schools were also merged. The Seungdong faction is today's Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong).
• October 1962: Koryo Theological Seminary reopened.
• 1964: Calvin College closed. In September of the same year, Koryo Theological Seminary was designated a seminary operated directly by the General Assembly.
• December 1970: The school received government authorization to establish a college.
• 1980: The school was renamed Kosin College.
• 1989: The school incorporated Bokeum Nursing Junior College, which had begun as the nursing school affiliated with Busan Gospel Hospital.
• 1993: The school adopted its current name, Kosin University.

Korea Theological Seminary (Graduate School)

Korea Theological Seminary opened in November 1980 as the Kosin College Graduate School of Theology. It adopted its current name in August 1998 and in September of that year moved to its present campus in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. Legally, it is a special graduate school of Kosin University. Unlike a general graduate school, a special graduate school is devoted to professional training or to education in a specific field. Korea Theological Seminary is the principal institution for training candidates for the ministry in the Kosin denomination. Its motto is "Orthodoxy in Faith and Purity in Life."

Principal Activities

The university has three campuses:

• Yeongdo Campus: Houses undergraduate programs in theology, health and welfare, and global and cultural convergence.
• Songdo Campus: Located in Seo District, Busan, it houses the College of Medicine and the College of Nursing.
• Cheonan: Houses the graduate school of theology.

At the graduate level, the university has one general graduate school and six special graduate schools: the Graduate School of Theology, the Graduate School of Education, the Graduate School of Church Music, the Graduate School of Public Health, the Graduate School of Christian Counseling, and the Graduate School of Mission and Ministry. The university also operates Kosin University Gospel Hospital as its affiliated hospital. The College of Nursing building on the Songdo Campus is named after Jang Gi-ryeo, a physician closely associated with the hospital.

Governing Body

Kosin University is operated by Koryo Hakwon, the educational foundation of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Korea. The foundation is connected to the General Assembly of the Kosin denomination. A distinctive feature of the university is that the denomination's member churches, its ministers, and the university are linked within a single educational system.

Assessment

Kosin University is regarded as a rare example of a school that began as a seminary and now has a college of medicine and a university hospital. Some observers have noted that in recent years it has tended to emphasize its image as a comprehensive university by highlighting its programs in medicine, health, and welfare.