Yonsei University campus tour: Underwood Hall, ivy and Sinchon

Yonsei University is one of Korea's oldest and best-known private universities, and its main campus is unusually easy to reach: it sits in Sinchon, a few subway stops west of central Seoul, with a busy student district at its gate and a wooded hill at its back. The oldest buildings are grey stone covered in ivy, which gives the heart of the campus a look quite unlike the rest of the city. This guide walks through the campus in order and covers the practical side of a visit.

Two schools, one name

Yonsei counts its history from 1885, when Gwanghyewon, Korea's first Western-style hospital, opened in Seoul with royal backing. The hospital and the medical school that grew out of it later took the name Severance, after an American donor. Separately, the missionary Horace Underwood founded a college in 1915 that became known as Yonhi College, and it moved to the present site in Sinchon soon afterwards.

In 1957 the two merged. The new name took one syllable from each: "Yon" from Yonhi and "Sei" from Severance. Severance Hospital still stands beside the campus today.

Up Baekyang-ro from the main gate

The campus is organised along a single spine. Baekyang-ro runs straight from the main gate to the historic buildings at the top, and almost everything a visitor wants to see is on or just off it. The avenue was rebuilt in the 2010s as a broad pedestrian walk, with traffic and parking moved underground, and its trees turn gold in autumn.

Walking up, you pass the student union, the Centennial Hall, which houses the university museum, and the central libraries. Allow fifteen minutes from the gate to the top at an easy pace, more if you stop.

Underwood Hall and the historic quadrangle

At the top of Baekyang-ro, three stone buildings from the 1920s stand around a formal garden:

Underwood Hall, in the centre, with its square tower. It is the university's main administrative building and its best-known image.
Stimson Hall, to one side, the oldest building on campus.
Appenzeller Hall, facing it across the garden.

All three are protected as historic sites. In summer they are almost hidden under green ivy; in autumn the leaves turn red. A statue of Horace Underwood stands in the middle of the garden. This is where graduation photos are taken, and it's the spot to see if you have only half an hour.

Gwanghyewon and the quieter corners

A short walk from the quadrangle, a compound of traditional Korean buildings includes a reconstruction of Gwanghyewon, the 1885 hospital where the university's story begins. It is a calm corner, with tiled roofs and lawns in front of the modern hospital towers.

Behind the historic buildings the campus climbs into woodland. Cheongsongdae, a grove of pines with paths and benches, is a favourite place for a quiet walk, and the slopes of Ansan rise beyond it. The open-air theatre, set into the hillside, hosts concerts and the big student festival in spring.

Libraries and the eagle

The main library and the newer Yonsei-Samsung Library stand side by side halfway up Baekyang-ro. In front is a tall column topped by an eagle, the university's symbol. Library buildings are for students and staff, so admire them from outside unless you have arranged access.

The eagle matters most in autumn, when Yonsei meets Korea University, whose symbol is a tiger, in an annual series of matches in several sports. The rivalry is the best known in Korean university life, and students from both sides turn out in their colours, blue for Yonsei, to cheer.

Student life: Songdo first, then Sinchon

Yonsei has a second campus, the International Campus in Songdo, Incheon, west of Seoul. Most first-year undergraduates spend a year there in residential colleges before moving to the Sinchon campus for the rest of their degree. If you want to see where the first year happens, Songdo is a separate trip; allow about an hour or more each way from Sinchon by public transport.

For international students, Underwood International College teaches its degrees in English, and the university's Korean Language Institute is one of the longest-established in the country. Many other courses are taught in Korean, so check the language of instruction for the programme you're interested in.

Outside the gate, Sinchon is one of Seoul's liveliest student districts: cafés, inexpensive restaurants, karaoke rooms, bookshops and street performances, shared with students from nearby Ewha Womans University and Sogang University. Hongdae, known for music and nightlife, is one subway stop away.

Visiting

The grounds are generally open to walk through, and the route from the gate to the quadrangle needs no arrangement. The university has also offered guided tours led by student ambassadors and publishes information for prospective and international applicants. What is running, in which language and how to request it changes from year to year, so check Yonsei's official website before you go.

Getting there

Subway Line 2: Sinchon station is the usual stop. From the exits on Yonsei-ro, it is roughly a ten-minute walk up the street to the main gate.
Gyeongui–Jungang Line: the separate Sinchon railway station is also within walking distance of the gate.
Bus: many city buses stop at the main gate.
From Incheon Airport: the airport railroad runs to Hongik University station, one stop from Sinchon on Line 2.

Where families usually stay

Sinchon and Hongdae: closest to campus, lively in the evening, with plenty of mid-range hotels and guesthouses.
Central Seoul (Myeongdong, Jongno, City Hall): best for sightseeing, and a short subway ride from Sinchon.
Mapo and Gongdeok: quieter business districts between the two, with good airport rail connections.

Our guide to where to stay in Seoul compares the main areas.

Practical tips

Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons; the ivy is at its best from late spring to October.
The walk up Baekyang-ro is gentle, but the paths behind the quadrangle are steep in places.
A transit card such as T-money makes subway and bus transfers simple.
Comparing universities in Korea? See our Seoul National University campus tour and, for science and engineering, the KAIST campus tour in Daejeon.
Confirm tours, museum opening days and any access rules on the official site shortly before you travel.

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Cover photo: Striker9498, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons