Seoul National University: Merger and Early Operations in 1946

Seoul National University was established after Japanese colonial rule ended, while southern Korea was under US military government. On 22 August 1946, Military Governor Archer Lerch signed Ordinance 102 establishing the university, effective that day. Reorganizing existing schools to improve higher education, it inherited facilities and personnel while changing legal status and governance.

The ordinance listed ten institutions for merger: the former Seoul University, schools of commerce, dentistry, law, medicine, mining, teacher training, technology and women's teacher training, and Suwon's agriculture and forestry school. Their separate legal identities ended, and property, equipment, records, funds and personnel transferred to the new university. The military education history notes that the former Keijō Imperial University had already undergone renaming and interim management early in the occupation. The key steps in 1946 were a multi-institution merger and a new system, not simply another name change.

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The university comprised nine colleges: agriculture and forestry, commerce, dentistry, education, engineering, fine arts, law, liberal arts and sciences, and medicine, plus a graduate school. Medicine included nursing and nursing education. The merger brought general scholarship, teacher preparation, technical education and medical training into one institution, while colleges retained responsibility for specific teaching.

The permanent layout remained to be planned. The ordinance required the board to study sites, buildings, dormitories and other facilities within or immediately adjoining Seoul, then submit proposals to the education authorities for land acquisition. Incorporating existing schools in Seoul and Suwon did not mean a unified new campus existed on founding day. The board determined curricula, academic standards and degree requirements; the President could organize faculty committees to study curricular revisions and make recommendations.

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Ordinance 102 concentrated general policy, approval of personnel, admissions and curriculum rules in the governing board. The President implemented decisions, supervised administration and proposed faculty appointments. Although a permanent board including outside professionals was envisaged, a temporary occupation arrangement created a six-person board from American and Korean officials at the education director, deputy director and higher-education leadership levels. During this period, the Military Governor appointed the President.

These provisions closely connected the university with education administration. Original schools no longer handled curricula and personnel entirely separately. Merger meant more than placing their names under a common heading. This redistribution of authority helps explain subsequent disputes over faculty autonomy, appointments and university management.

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The board set admission conditions, but the ordinance prohibited discrimination by race, nationality, religion, sex, social class or economic status in admission, degrees and scholarships. It also allowed written limits on non-resident admission in the public interest. These were formal access principles, not proof by themselves that families of different backgrounds actually enjoyed equal educational opportunities.

Finance combined government appropriations, donations, funds and tuition. The finance authorities were to provide money needed to implement the ordinance, and the board could accept gifts, aid poor students and set fees for those able to pay. No total founding appropriation was specified. The military education history records that by late 1947, financial difficulties were severe enough for officials to fear some colleges could not continue the following spring. Budget commitments and everyday operating capacity remained distinct.

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Some teachers and students soon opposed the merger. The US Army's education history places the disputes within strikes from autumn 1946 into 1947, recording demands concerning faculty and student autonomy, reinstatement, appointments and better facilities. The report has a pronounced occupation-authority perspective; its judgments of left- and right-wing motives should not be treated as an interpretation accepted by all parties. It nevertheless expressly acknowledges practical problems including lost faculty authority, low salaries and shortages of textbooks and equipment.

Law No. 1, promulgated on 6 May 1947 and effective ten days later, changed the governance rules. It removed the temporary-board provisions and required appointed college trustees to be distinguished Korean professionals, recommended by department heads, confirmed by the Interim Legislative Assembly and appointed by the Military Governor. Employed faculty and government employees could not hold these seats. The board would offer the presidency to a qualified Korean, still subject to formal appointment after acceptance. This expanded Koreans' institutional role without removing appointment procedures entirely from government.

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The founding ordinance explicitly provided for research and scholarly exchange. University funds could support college research, fellowships and publication of specialist journals, books or monographs. Scholarships and funds could also support students and teachers coming from abroad to study or work. These powers show an aim beyond concentrating teaching: organizing knowledge production and movement of people.

Achievement still depended on teachers, books, laboratory equipment and stable income. The university's early experience shows that merging existing resources could create a new comprehensive framework without immediately overcoming shortages and governance disputes. Establishment in 1946 and amendment in 1947 together reveal the gradual formation of a national university's operating system amid post-war reconstruction.

References: [1] [2] [3]