Why Korea?
northwest, separating Korea from China, and the Duman River(Tumen River) to the northeast, which separates
the east. There are several notable islands that surround the country, including Jeju-do, Ulleung-do and Dok-do (Liancourt Rocks).
The Korea peninsula is roughly 1,030 km(612 miles) long and 175 km(105 miles) wide at its narrowest poing. The
land area is 99,220 sq km(38,301 square miles), and it has a population of 48.9 million people (2006).
Because of its unique geographical location, Korea is a very viable piece of land and an international hub of Asia. Often referred to as the “Land of the Morning Calm”. Korea is located at a major crossroads of Northeast Asia.
It has also achieved the “Miracle of the Han River”. Since the 1960s, when the country’s five-year-economic
development plan was first implemented, the Korean economy has relentlessly shown signs of exponential
growth. From 1962 to 2005, the country’s GNI surged from US $2.3 billion to a staggering US $786.8 billion. The
1997 East Asian foreign currency crisis was only a temporary setback for the Korean economy. The GNI stagnated at US $340.4 in 1998, but soon began to advance again, soaring to US $805.8 billion by 2006.
Year of rapid economic development propelled the country into becoming the world’s 12th largest trading
partner. Korea’s industrial base shifted from agriculture to manufacturing, and is now shifting to services.
A global force in a number of significant industries, including automobiles, petrochemicals, electronics,
shipbuilding, textiles, and steel, Korea’s GDP expanded 3.1% in 2003, 4.6% in 2004 in the world and 4.0% in 2005. GDP in 2006 totaled US $887.4 billion, making the country the 11th largest economy.
Since 2004, Korean-made semi-conductors, automobiles, and wireless telecom devices have accounted for over 30% of the country’s total trade volume. Exports of IT products have risen every year since 1998 and reached US $82.5 billion, or 29.5% of total exports, in 2005. Major IT export items include memory chips, mobile phones, LCD monitors, PCs, and satellite broadcasting receivers. Korea’s semi-conductor industry in particular has achieved
tremendous growth over the past two decades, and is the third largest in the world.
The governance system in Korea is based on a system of checks and balances between the executive branch, the legislature and the judiciary. The president is elected directly for a single five-year-term. South Korea’s 17th
president, Lee Myung-Bak, was sworn in to office on February 25th. Overcoming many obstacles throughout his
youth, Lee garnered enormous success in both his business and political careers. Shortly after joining Hyundai
Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd, he soon earned the title of CEO and led the company through years of
continued prosperity. From 2002 to 2006, he was successively appointed the governor of Seoul, and on
December 19, 2007, won the presidential bid with an unprecedented 48.7% of the vote.
Why PNU?
Dynamic Korea
Have you heard of Korea? Korea is the country which YunA Kim, the queen of figure skater is from, whose
national team made the World Baseball Classic final, and where electronics giants Samsung and LG are based.
Does it ring a bell? Pusan National University is situated in Busan, the second largest city of this exciting and
dynamic country.
Well-Established Education
PNU is one of the top-ranked university in Korea and leads the nation in research and higher education.
Established and funded by the government, the university procides educational opportunities in almost all
areas of study and supports the needs of quality higher education in the southeastern area of the country.
Its contribution to the region’s economy and society has been immeasurable.
International Programs
Now PNU aspires to make its share of contribute to the global society. In a bid to globalize the campus, the
University recently tripled the number of courses provided in English across all disciplines. In addition, there are
international programs especially friendly to international students including the Graduate School of
International Studies, Global Studies Program and PNU summer Korean Program. Combined with our first-rate
Korean Language Course, the programs present wonderful opportunities to learn about Korea through
university-level discussions while enjoying Busan’s beautiful mountains and beaches.
Academic Excellence
PNU’s academic excellence has been demonstrated many times in assessments by the Korean government.
Pusan National University took third place in terms of the number of publications in SCI-registered journals, and
fifth place in terms of the number of publications in SCI-registered journals per faculty among all four-year
colleges in Korea. In addition, PNU took second place among all Korean four-year colleges by registering 33
project teams in the Brain Korea 21 (BK21) Phase 2 projects, for the promotion of which it will receive a total of
145.5 billion won. In the assessment for the first year of the project, 15 of PNU’s project teams received an
“excellent” grade from the authorities.
Campus System
PNU also boasts of its specialized campus system. The University has four campuses which are within an hour’s
drive from each other. Jangjeon Campus is the main campus and the site for Humanities and Arts, Natural and
Social Science, Engineering, Education, Pharmacy, Human Ecology, and Business. Yang San and Ami campuses
are the sites for both Western and Oriental Medicine. Miryang campus is the site for Bio and Nano Science.
You can find beautiful trees and streams on Jangjeon Campus, state-of-the-art medical facilities at Yang San and
Ami campuses and pastoral beauty and serenity at Mirayg Campus.
If you want to learn about Korea’s quality higher education and its beautiful nature, Pusan National University is
the destination for you.