Underwood International College Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary

-Academic Symposium entitled, “Liberal Arts in the Age of Globalization”

-Banquet attended by 230 former and current staff, alumni, students and parents

On October 28th, Underwood International College hosted an academic symposium and a banquet in celebration of its 10th anniversary.

It was ten years ago that Yonsei University launched Underwood International College — Asia’s first and best Western-style liberal arts college – in Korea. In 2005, Underwood International College (UIC) began as a single division with 5 majors and 58 students. A decade later, it is now a full-fledged college with 16 majors and 1700 students from 50 different countries.

To commemorate this remarkable achievement and to celebrate its 10 year-journey, UIC hosted a symposium inviting prominent scholars and administrators from top liberal arts colleges around the world, and then a banquet bringing together former and present staff and faculty members, alumni, students, parents, and supporters.

The academic symposium entitled, “Liberal Arts in the Age of Globalization,” consisted of two sessions and was held in the auditorium of the New Millennium Hall. A total of 100 faculty members, alumni, and students had heated discussions on the direction of the liberal arts in the global era. The six distinguished guests from Abu Dhabi, Macau, New Delhi, Tokyo, and Seoul participated as panelists in the sessions: “New Models for the Liberal Arts” and “Humanities Education in an Era of specialization.” In his congratulatory address, President Kap-Young Jeong noted that “Just a decade ago, UIC was a vision, an ideal, shared by a handful of brave and inspired professors and administrators,” adding that it has now “become larger, more diverse, more dynamic, and more successful than we dared to dream ten years ago.”

The banquet, affectionately themed, “Ten Years of UIC,” was hosted in the Grand Ballroom in The Commons, the newly constructed underground area of Baekyang-ro. Some 200 seats were all occupied by former and current staff, faculty, students, alumni, parents and supporters, including President Kap-Young Jeong and Provost Hyun-Yoon Shin.

The opening of the banquet was marked with a warm welcome from Dean Hyungji Park. Alumna Bo-Kyung Kim, UIC class of 2010 Economics, who is a weather forecaster at Arirang TV, led the second half of the banquet. A commemorative video created by students from UIC’s Techno-Art Division, also entitled, “Ten Years of UIC,” was shown relaying messages from the president, former deans and students as well as highlighting UIC’s milestones. It was also an occasion to thank people who made UIC what it is – as a token of appreciation, plaques were presented to inaugural dean Jongryn Mo, Director of Lee & Won Foundation Miyoung Lee, and alumni whose achievements added luster to UIC’s name. The UIC Alumni Association prepared a surprise plaque for President Kap-Young Jeong. The dinner was accompanied by live performances by UIC’s own UVE (classical) and Nodaji (rock band). Many were reluctant to leave the ballroom even after the banquet was officially over, staying behind to catch up with old friends, sharing stories, reminiscing and making new memories.