Kyunggi High School
| Kyunggi High School | |
| Hangul | 경기고등학교 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 京畿高等學校 |
| Revised Romanization | Gyeonggi Godeung Hakgyo |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kyŏnggi Kodŭng Hakkyo |
Kyunggi High School is the oldest modern secondary school in Korea, and has educated many leaders of South Korean society. Before the abolition of high-school entrance exams, it was the highest-ranked school in the country. It is located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, today one of South Korea's most prosperous areas. The current principal is Park Gun Ho (박건호).
The school was established by edict of King Gojong on April 4, 1899, and opened its doors on November 10, 1900. The school's original name was Gwallim Middle School (관립중학교). Its establishment was part of a general program of educational modernization. This effort at modernization was swallowed up by the Japanese annexation in 1910, but the school itself survived. Originally chartered as a middle school, it became a high school in 1906. However, it continued to offer middle-school classes until 1971.
In 2000, the South Korean government issued a commemorative 170-won stamp, marking the school's 100th anniversary.[1]
Alumni associations for the school are widespread throughout Korea and abroad. Famous alumni include former ambassador Hong Seok-hyun and the former Hannara Party leader Lee Hoi-chang, as well as early Korean Communist Party leader Pak Hon-yong (class of 1919). Multiple Olympic medalist South Korean swimmer Park Tae-Hwan graduated in February 2008 (Korean academic year starts in March and ends in February).
History
- 1906 Sep 1st, Renamed to National Hansung High School
- 1910 Nov 1st, Annexed Hansung Foreign Language School and renamed to Kyungsung High School.
- 1911 Apr 1st, Opened a one-year course for producing teachers.
- 1921 Apr 1st, Renamed to Kyung-sung First Middle School.
- 1938 Apr 1st, Renamed to National Kyunggi Middle School.
- 1938 Jun 4th, Set the school's flag
- 1945 Oct 1st, Hun-gu Lee (이헌구) was the 15th principal of the school and also was the first Korean principal since World War II.
- 1951 Aug 31st, Divided into two schools (Kyunggi Middle School and Kyunggi High School) according to the new law.
- 1954 Jun 25th, Set the school's new flag
- 1955 Aug 15th, Constructed a new building for Hwa-dong (화동) middle school.
- 1956 Jan 27th, Set the school's motto to liberal, culturally advanced, and peaceful people.
- 1971 Feb 28th, Kyunggi Middle School is closed.
- 1971 Nov 11th, Opened a hall of residence for freshman. Every freshman spends two weeks a year in this dormitory.
- 1974 Mar 1st, The government abolished the high-school entrance exams. This highest-ranked high school was populated by the students who live near the school.
- 1976 Feb 20th, Relocated to 74-4 Samsung-1-dong Kang-nam-gu, Seoul, Korea.
- 1981 Aug 3rd, Founded a juridical foundation named Hwa-Dong-Yuk-Young-Hoe. (화동육영회)
- 1983 Oct 3rd, Constructed a new building for the alumni association.
- 1990 Oct 3rd, Built a school motto stone.
- 1997 Dec 6th, Constructed a new building named Hwa-dong-kwan (화동관) for accommodating more students.
- 2010 Feb, Hosted 106th annual graduation commencement.
- 2010 Jul, Selected as a high school specialized on science.
- 2010 Summer, The former principal Jung-gon Lee (이정곤) resigned over power abuse scandals.
- 2011 Feb, Hosted 107th annual graduation commencement.
Notable alumni
- Chung Won Suk: award-winning author of children's books, novelist, surgeon.
- Ham Byung Choon: former ambassador to the United States.
- Han Yung-Woo: member, advisory committee on medicine, the Nobel Foundation., professor of medicine.
- Kong Ro Myung: former ambassador to Japan, former ambassador to the Russian Federation.
- Lee Hee Il: former minister of agriculture, former minister of energy.
- Lee Hyo-Suk: novelist, author of "When the buckwheat blooms"
- Lee Suk Hee: former vice-chairman of Daewoo group.
- Choi Kyu-Ha: politician, 4th president of the Korea Republic.
- Lee Yong-Kak: surgeon/educator, performed the first successful organ transplant in Korea.
- Ryu Jin-O: former president of Korea University and mastermind of the original constitution of modern Korea.
- Cho Soon: politician/educator, former deputy prime minister and mayor of Seoul.
- Lee Tai-Sup: engineer/businessman/politician/ngo leader. Former minister and president of Lions International.
- Oh Myung: businessman, former minister of ICT, science and technology, and transportation.
- Lee Soo-Young: businessman: former president of Korea Employers Association.
- Chung Un-chan: economist and the former president of Seoul National University.
- Kim Geun-tae: politician.
- Kim Woo-Joong: founder and former chairman of Daewoo group.
- Benjamin W. Lee: theoretical physicist.
- Lee Hoi-Chang: politician and the former prime minister of South Korea.
- Nam June Paik: inventor of video art, exhibited in museum of modern art, Whitney museum of American art, Guggenheim museum, Smithsonian museums, national gallery of art, Paris city museum of modern art, et al., and recipient of order of cultural merit (Korea), Picasso medal, Kyoto prize, golden lion (Venice), et al.
- Park Tae-Hwan: swimmer, Olympic gold medalist.
- Pak Hyung Woong: editor, "Chicago Review" (1958-1963), project editor of "World Affairs Workshop," a joint publication of "The New York Times" and Encyclopædia Britannica, book publisher, author, former executive director of the Philip Jaisohn Memorial Foundation (Seo Jae-Pil Jae-Dan), the first Korean ever elected to a public office in the United States (1987) as a school director of Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania.
- Pak Hyun-Yung: founder and former president of the Communist Party in South Korea.
- Son Hak-gyu: politician and the former governor of Gyeonggi-do.
- Lee Won-Bok: educator/cartoonist
- Han Duck-Soo: politician.
- Yum Bo Hyun: former mayor of Seoul.
- Hong Seok-Hyun: former South Korea's ambassador to the United States.
- Kim Choong-Soo: Governor of Bank of Korea
- Kang Yong-Suk: politician.
- Jr. (singer): Vocalist dancer of Korean Boy Band GOT7 under JYP Entertainment
- Park Seung Jae: former president of Sampyo Foods.
See also
External links
- Kyunggi Alumni Associations in America (Korean)
- School website (Korean)
- Kyunggi Washington Alumni Association (Korean)
References
Coordinates: 37°31′02″N 127°03′21″E / 37.51722°N 127.05583°E