A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting the oldest university on in South Korea. It was founded originally in 1885 by Horace Grant Underwood whose is honored by his statue in front of the building named after him. The plaque on the statue reads: “Messenger of God, Follower of Christ, Friend of Korea”.
Underwood Hall is the four-story administrative building in the center of the historic campus. While the university has grown beyond this historic portion of campus, this area is truly the center piece of the campus. It was built in 1924 at the original Yonhui College, which then developed into Yonsei University.
The beautiful building is also beautiful on the inside with stone archways in the foyer and hallways. I enjoyed walking inside, seeing the old building in full function. I was very happy to see that the building was very well kept and clean, rather than the rundown look that many buildings have after nearly one hundred years of use.
Behind the Underwood building is the Social Science building. Built at a similar time, this building towers over a well-manicured courtyard garden. The garden is a maze of flowers and hedge that add to the peaceful setting for study and contemplation. Thankfully, this garden has several different benches and places to sit to enjoy this garden and maybe a good book.
I was honored to have been able to visit a place that many would not visit if they were touring around the city. It was good to see this wonderful university were the best and brightest of Korea go to study for what the world have to offer.