Under the Japanese rule of Korea, Keijō (Gyeongseong/Seoul) Imperial University established a third faculty based on a novel concept that called for the integration of
“science” and “engineering” in wartime Japan.
This third faculty, named the Faculty of Science and Engineering, was established in 1938 and opened in 1941. It ended its history in September 1945 when its third class graduated. The faculty, assembled with the help of Viscount Masatoshi Ōkōchi of RIKEN, included many of Japan’s most advanced and young scientific minds at the time.
Although only approximately 30% (36/131) of the graduates who received bachelor’s degrees from the university were Korean, the faculty was the cradle of scientists in South Korea as well as in North Korea.
In addition, the academic, material, and human heritage of Keijō Imperial University was inherited in different forms by Seoul National University and Kim Il Sung University.