Pukyong National University

Pukyong National University
Motto	Touching Tomorrow at Pukyong National University
Established	1924
Type	National
President	Maeng Eon Park, Ph.D
Academic staff	573
Students	27,954(Undergraduate 25,341, Post-graduate 2,613)
Location	Busan, South Korea
Campus	2 campuses(Daeyeon Campus, Yongdang Campus)
Website	http://www.pknu.ac.kr/index.do

Pukyong National University
Hangul	부경대학교
Hanja	釜慶大學校
Revised Romanization	Bugyeong Daehakgyo
McCune–Reischauer	Pugyŏng Taehakkyo

Pukyong National University is a national university located in Busan, South Korea. The university has two campuses - Daeyeon-dong and Yongdang-dong. These campuses are situated near coastal district of Nam-gu. The location itself suggests that Pukyong University has a strong traditional focus on fisheries sciences and other maritime fields. The University has excellent facilities for Science and Technology studies.

The University has been taking the lead in the marine products industry since the initiation of deep-sea fisheries in Korea, on the basis of scientific achievements in the study of oceanography with the object of making the best use of present marine resources while maintaining a rich repository of natural resources for the future.

Recently the University has established new departments of international affairs and information engineering. Faculty members have published numerous intellectual research papers in academic journals to meet the needs of national and regional developments in present-day Korean society.

Pukyong was formed in 1996 from the merger of two schools: the National Fisheries University of Busan and the Busan National University of Technology. The first of these began in 1941 as the Government Fisheries Advanced School of Busan, a vocational school. It became a national college in 1946, and a university in 1990. The National University of Technology was older, dating to 1924, when it was founded as Busan Technical Supplementary School. However, it did not become a college until 1973, and then became a university in 1983.

Historically, the Daeyeon-dong area was a small fishing village which was populated by anchovy fishermen. In the early years of the 20th century these fishermen found their products in high demand and amassed a fairly sizable amount of wealth. With this money they purchased what is now the Daeyeon-dong campus land and donated it to the national government under the condition that it be used to establish training for their industry. During the Korean War, the Daeyeon campus was used as an airfield by the U.S. Air Force. Local residents constructed a large Dol-Jip “stone house” for the commanding officers and pilots. Today this building still stands and is used as a student cafeteria.

At present, there are some 26,000 students and 544 professors on both campuses which cover 673,899 m2. Three large libraries (two are in Daeyeon Dong and one is in Yong Dong campus) are there. The old library is open to students 24 hours a day. A network of shuttle buses runs every 15 minutes. The two campuses are separated by about 4 km distance. The bus takes 10–15 minutes and is free for students.

Although primarily a fisheries university, PKNU has 6 colleges including a large humanities and social sciences department, 4 graduate programs with master's courses in 60 departments in 15 interdisciplinary programs and doctoral courses in 56 departments and 12 interdisciplinary programs. In addition there are 8 research institutes.

The Department of Ocean Engineering of Pukyong National University located in Busan, the 2nd largest city of Korea, which is the location of Busan Port, Gwangan Grand Bridge, Haeundae Beach, Oruk Islet, and Jagalchi. The Ocean Engineering Department focuses on the education on students who become a major axis for the development of the human beings’ cultures based on ocean.

This department was established in 1979 as a department of the National Fisheries University of Busan (NFUP). In 1981, the Institute of Ocean Hydraulics (IOH), as an independent research institute, was founded for the research of ocean hydraulics. In 1996, the University was renamed as the Pukyong National University (PKNU) as the NFUP was combined with the Pusan Technical University (PTU).

The subject of ocean engineering can be divided into ocean resource and ocean space developments. This department concentrates on the research and education on coastal and harbor engineering, ocean and environmental engineering, structural and material engineering, geotechnical and construction engineering. Especially, as the first ocean engineering department in the Korea’s history, ocean construction, marine environment, and disaster prevention programs of this department have been nationally and internationally recognized.

As a result, in 2004, this department was awarded to NURI (New University for Regional Innovation), one of the highest awards for a competitive university program in Korea. This award makes the department improve the quality of education, the opportunity of scholarship, and the facilities of experimental study. In addition to the NURI, the Research Team for Advanced Coastal-Harbor Infra-System Experts was awarded to the 2nd Stage BK (Brain Korea) Project by the Korean Government. This award has become the cornerstone for the improvement of the graduate students’ research capability and the graduate education. In the front line of the 21st century, the Ocean Engineering Department of Pukyong National University will constantly contribute on the development and conservation of ocean and our Mother Nature. The department offers students the same intellectual rigor found in the academic and research program on the part of the Pacific Ocean, but from a burgeoning and beautiful costal community.

In 2007, the department has 160 undergraduate students, 30 full-time graduate students, 8 tenure-track faculties, 11 non-tenure-track faculties as research professors or adjunct professors, 4 staffs, and some post-doctoral researchers.

See also

• Education in South Korea
• List of colleges and universities in South Korea
• List of Korea-related topics

Official website

• Pukyong National University (Korean)
• Pukyong National University (English)