Sogang University

Sogang University (SU, ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. It was established in 1960 by Fr. Theodore Geppert, SJ with the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus. Sogang is the oldest Jesuit institution of higher education and one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea, and it has been ranked as one of the top 3 Catholic universities in Asia. History Beginnings At the initiative of the Catholic Hierarchy of Korea, Pope Pius XII gave assurance that a Catholic institution of higher learning would be established in Korea. In 1948 he entrusted the task to the Society of Jesus. In October 1954 Jesuit Fr. Theodore Geppert, SJ from Sophia University of Tokyo came to Korea in search of a suitable site to establish a Jesuit college. In February 1955 Jean-Baptiste Janssens, SJ, the twenty-seventh Superior General of the Society of Jesus, assigned the task of establishing the college to the Wisconsin Province of Jesuits. Fr. Leo Burns, SJ, Superior of the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus, came to Korea and, with the Korean Catholic Hierarchy, began negotiations with the Syngman Rhee government for the establishment of a liberal arts college. In January 1957 the Society of Jesus purchased a property of 67,075 pyong (217,323 sq. meters, 53 acres) at Nogosan, Sinsu-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. The site was prepared for construction of an Administration Building, which was completed in November 1959. Sogang College was opened in 1960 and was granted research university status in 1970. Development The 1979 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mother Teresa visited Sogang in May 1981 and gave addresses in the auditorium and at the basketball court, appealing for all to practice a charity that is universal.