Sookmyung Women's University

Sookmyung Women's University is a private women's research university in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1906, Sookmyung is Korea’s first royal private educational institution for women. Sookmyung is one of the world's largest female educational institutes and one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea. The university's name is derived from the Hanja characters of sook and Myung, which mean "elegant" and "bright" respectively. With its more than a century-long legacy and history, Sookmyung is renowned as one of the best women's universities nationwide. According to JoongAng Daily's 2018 university rankings, it has been ranked as the second-best women's university in Korea and is ranked nr. 20 on South Korea's list of best universities. Sookmyung Women's University has distinguished alumni in media, journalism, politics, governments, and academia. It has a highly acclaimed ROTC program. In 2009, The Republic of Korea's Defense Ministry chose Sookmyung Women's University as South Korea's first university to operate a Reserve Officers' Training Corps program for women. In addition, Sookmyung's ROTC program has been evaluated as the highest ranking ROTC program for women in the 2012 national military training exercises. Sookmyung Hospitality Business School has been recognized for its excellence by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology since 2007. Le Cordon Bleu Hospitality MBA course, which has a partnership with Le Cordon Bleu, specializes in educating women for future roles in hospitality industries such as Hotel/Restaurant (H1), Travel/ Transportation (H2), Culture/Entertainment/Sports/Hospital (H3), and Service Management (H4). Timeline 1906 ''Myungshin Girls' School'' established by Imperial Consort Sunheon. 1948 Re-established as "Sookmyung Women's College". 1955 Raised to "University" status. 1995 Establishment of the General Development Plan for 2006, the 100th anniversary of the school's foundation, and the second founding of the school. 1996~2002 Selected for six consecutive years as an outstanding university for its efforts in education reform. 1998 Received the Presidential Award for the Best Educational Institution in information. 1999~2001 Selected for three consecutive years as the best university in the survey of Nation's Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI).