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A Brief History
Home- About HUFS
- A Brief History
Since its founding in 1954, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) has played a significant role in reconstructing Korea after the Korean War by producing numerous CEOs and outstanding diplomats, who are competitive enough to strive forward in the global stage. Now under the leadership of President Jeong-Woon Park, HUFS is currently teaching 45 foreign languages, and stands as the number one global university in Korea. Combining studies in the humanities, law, social sciences, business, and computer science, students naturally grow as global leaders, equipped with both professional knowledge and language proficiency.
HUFS has various programs that meet the ambitions of young people. Through the 7+1 Study Abroad Program, HUFS supports students to study at least one of eight semesters in a foreign country. HUFS is shaping ‘beyond-language’ programs, such as overseas internship programs at KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) and Korean Embassies all around the world. HUFS is also the first university to organize a dual master’s degree program with the UN mandated University for Peace (UPEACE).
HUFS is accelerating its movement in recent years in order to move forward to a world-class university. With its emphasis on a global mindset, it has made exchange agreements with 543 universities and institutions in 93 countries. Among 697 faculty members, international professors make up 30% of the total. Truly, what HUFS is looking at is not only competition with local universities, but competitiveness in the whole world.
HUFS has been producing talented individuals who could further Korea’s modernization and promote world peace. HUFS has three campuses located in Seoul, Global(Yong-in), and Song-do (under construction, near Incheon International Airport). The two campuses accommodate 17,346 undergraduate students/ 2,574 graduate students in total.
HUFS is recognized as the best institution for foreign language education and internationalization in Korea:
- Under the leadership of Dr. Jeong-Woon Park, 12th President of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies from 2022 to present
- Ranked 3rd in the world in language education
- Ranked first in Korea among other universities in terms of Internationalization indicators
- MOUs signed with 543 universities and institutions in 93 countries
- Operates dual master’s degree programs with UPEACE (The UN mandated-University for Peace)
- HUFS Graduate Schools offer master's degrees in 85 programs and doctoral degrees in 68 programs
- The Graduate School of International and Area Studies invites government officials from developing countries in Asia, Africa, US & Canadian and Latin America every year for master’s degree programs.
HUFS has various programs that meet the ambitions of young people. Through the 7+1 Study Abroad Program, HUFS supports students to study at least one of eight semesters in a foreign country. HUFS is shaping ‘beyond-language’ programs, such as overseas internship programs at KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) and Korean Embassies all around the world. HUFS is also the first university to organize a dual master’s degree program with the UN mandated University for Peace (UPEACE).
HUFS is accelerating its movement in recent years in order to move forward to a world-class university. With its emphasis on a global mindset, it has made exchange agreements with 543 universities and institutions in 93 countries. Among 697 faculty members, international professors make up 30% of the total. Truly, what HUFS is looking at is not only competition with local universities, but competitiveness in the whole world.
HUFS has been producing talented individuals who could further Korea’s modernization and promote world peace. HUFS has three campuses located in Seoul, Global(Yong-in), and Song-do (under construction, near Incheon International Airport). The two campuses accommodate 17,346 undergraduate students/ 2,574 graduate students in total.
HUFS is recognized as the best institution for foreign language education and internationalization in Korea:
- Under the leadership of Dr. Jeong-Woon Park, 12th President of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies from 2022 to present
- Ranked 3rd in the world in language education
- Ranked first in Korea among other universities in terms of Internationalization indicators
- MOUs signed with 543 universities and institutions in 93 countries
- Operates dual master’s degree programs with UPEACE (The UN mandated-University for Peace)
- HUFS Graduate Schools offer master's degrees in 85 programs and doctoral degrees in 68 programs
- The Graduate School of International and Area Studies invites government officials from developing countries in Asia, Africa, US & Canadian and Latin America every year for master’s degree programs.
1952~1959
Korea’s only institution of foreign languages
- December 30, 1952
- Establishment of Dongwon Educational Foundation (Dr. Kim Heung-bae, Chairperson)
- January 18, 1954
- Establishment of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
- April 20, 1954
- HUFS opens in the interim schoolspace at Yeongbo Building at Jongno 2-ga, with departments of English, French, Chinese, German, and Russian
- April 1, 1955
- Dept. of Spanish established
- September 1, 1957
- Relocation to the new building in Imundong, Dongdaemungu, Seoul 1958 133 students become the first graduates of HUFS
1960~1979
Around the world expands Korea’s global reach
- April 1~6, 1961
- Dept. of Japanese and the Graduate School established March 1963 Dept. of Italian established
- December 16, 1963
- Dept. of Malay-Indonesian, Dept. of Political Science and Diplomacy, and Dept. of International Trade established
- January 7, 1965
- Dept. of Arabic and Dept. of International Administration established
- December 1, 1966
- Dept. of Portuguese, Dept. of Thai, and Dept. of Vietnamese established
- December 6, 1967
- Dept. of International Economics and Dept. of International Law established
- 1969
- research institutes including the Institute of Economics and Business Administration, the Language Research Institute, the Institute of Chinese Studies, and the East European and Balkan Institute established
- December 31, 1970
- Dept. of Dutch established December 31, 1971 Dept. of Hindi established
- January 28, 1972
- Graduate School of InternationalTrade established
- December 26, 1972
- Dept. of Turkish established
- February 1, 1974
- Dept. of Swedish (ScandinavianLanguages) and Dept. of Korean Education established
- September 1, 1974
- Foreign Language Training andTesting Center established
- December 27, 1975
- Dept. of Persian established
- March 2, 1978
- Dept. of Communication and Information established
- September 1, 1979
- Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation established
- September 22, 1979
- Yongin Campus established.Dept. of English, Dept. of French, Dept. of German,Dept. of Russian, Dept. of Spanish, and Dept. ofArabic established
1980~1989
HUFS began a new era as a full-scale university
- October 2, 1980
- Upgraded to a university
- October 2, 1980
- Establishment of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences approved. Dept. of Philosophy, Dept. of Mathematics, Dept. of Physics, and Dept. of Chemistry established(Yongin) Dept. of Chinese, Dept. of Japanese, Dept. of Portuguese,Dept. of International Trade, and Dept. of Economics established
- November 3, 1980
- Graduate School of Educationestablished
- March 1, 1981
- Dr. Kim Dong-seon inaugurated as 1stpresident
- October 20, 1981
- (Yongin) Dept. of Malay-Indonesianestablished
- October 5, 1982
- (Yongin) Dept. of Thai, Dept. of Italian, and Dept. of Swahili established. (Seoul) Dept. of Computer Science established
- October 29, 1983
- Graduate School of ManagementInformation Systems established
- March 1, 1984
- Dr. Hwang Byeong-tae inaugurated as 2nd president
- June 21, 1986
- Ms. Lee Sook-gyeong inaugurated as 2nd chairperson
- November 6, 1986
- Dept. of Polish and Dept. of Romanian established
- October 23, 1987
- Dept. of Linguistics, Dept. of Czech, Dept. of Hungarian, and Dept. of Yugoslavian established
- February 5, 1988
- Dr. Park Pil-soo inaugurated as 3rd president
- October 29, 1988
- (Yongin) Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering and Dept. of Microbiology established
1990~1999
Producing specialized talents
- April 14, 1990
- Dr. Lee Gang-hyuk inaugurated as 4th president
- April 14, 1994
- Dr. Ahn Byong-man inaugurated as 5th president.
- November 14, 1996
- HUFS dubbed Best University for Training International Experts
- December 3, 1996
- Graduate School of International and Area Studies established
- November 11, 199
- 7 HUFS selected as an Outstanding University in Globalized Education
- March 9, 1998
- HUFS selected as an Outstanding University in the Comprehensive University Evaluation
- August 24, 1998
- Dr. Cho Gyu-cheol inaugurated as6th president
- September 10, 1999
- Dept. of Spanish chosen as aBK21 Core Area Project Team
2000~2023
Taking great strides to become a prestigious global university at the lead of Korea’s globalization
- January 18, 2000
- Dr. Byun Hyung-yoon inaugurated as the 3rd chairperson
- March 30, 2001
- (Seoul) Ground-breaking ceremony of new main building
- January 28, 2002
- Dr. Hong Il-shik inaugurated as 4th chairperson
- August 24, 2002
- Dr. Ahn Byong-man inaugurated as 7th president
- January 16, 2004
- Dr. Baek Wan-gi inaugurated as 5th chairperson
- February 17, 2004
- (Seoul) Ground-breaking ceremony held at the Student Hall for first-ever dormitory and opening ceremony held for the new main building
- April 16, 2004
- Dr. Han Seung-heon inaugurated as 6th chairperson
- September 7, 2004
- i-HUFS established
- October 29, 2004 ~ March 28, 2005
- Lee Nam-joo inaugurated as 7th chairperson
- June 22, 2005
- HUFS selected as an outstanding university in capital-area university specialization in the capital area under the "project to establish an educational system to foster people to make inroads into the BRICs" countries of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development
- February 17, 2006
- HUFS selected as the best university in the 2005 Comprehensive University Evaluation
- March 1, 2006
- Dr. Park Chul inaugurated as 8th president
- May 23, 2006
- Annual CIUTI General Assembly held at HUFS
- July 21, 2006
- HUFS selected as an outstanding university in capital-area university specialization by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. Cooperation agreement signed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- January 2007
- Agreement signed to establish a third campus in Songdo in the Incheon Free Economic Zone
- January 2, 2007
- BRICs International Forum Hall and Video Lecture Hall opened
- January 9, 2007
- Agreement signed with the city of Incheon to establish a center for interpretation and translation (tentative name) in Songdo
- March 2007
- First Internship Students dispatched to overseas offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- September 27, 2007
- Ranked 10th in overall and 2nd in globalization in Joongang Daily University Ranking Evaluation
- December 11, 2007
- Ranked 3rd among full scale Korean universities on the National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI)
- March , 2008
- Dr. Park Chul inaugurated as 8th president
- UPEACE master’s degree program initiated
- 1st KOTRA Internship Students dispatched
- March 1, 2010
- Dr. Park Chul inaugurated as 9th president
- March 1, 2014
- Dr. Kim InChul inaugurated as 10th president
- March 1, 2018
- Dr. Kim InChul inaugurated as 11th president
- March 1, 2022
- Dr. Jeong-Woon Park inaugurated as 12th president
