Soongsil University celebrated its 100th anniversary on October 10, 1997. Since its foundation one hundred years ago, when Soongsil began to offer a higher education in Korea, it has provided many Koreans a modern education under the founding philosophy of the pursuit of the truth and service.

The school was founded at the end of Joseon Dynasty, when the nation was still dominated by old-fashioned ideas and closed minds. Soongsil, against such social climate, started to teach western ideas and knowledge, leading the nation to the path of modernization. Besides academic teaching, the school was aggressively engaged in cultural and Christian mission - spreading Gospel, teaching music, sports, and other cultural activities.

With the colonization of Korea by Japan in 1910, Soongsil started to lead a national movement for independence against the colonial government: among the important independence movements that Soongsil led were the Movement by 105 Activists, the incident involving the National Congress of People, 3.1 Indepence Movement, Kwangju Students' Movement, etc. All this active involvement in independence movements eventually led to the tragic shutdown of the school in 1938.

Since Korea was liberated from Japan in 1945, Soongsil has been dedicated to the timely and urgent task of fostering talented youths who are fortified with Christian principles. The whole Soongsil family - its board members, alumni, staff, faculty, and students - are united in their effort to achieve Soongsil's goal.

Today's Soongsil University is the product of a long tradition of hardships overcome and challenges won by many people dedicated to carry out the university's mission. The origin of Soongsil University was 'Soongsil Hakdang', which was established by Dr. W. M. Baird in Pyongyang on October 10, 1987. Dr Baird, a missionary dispatched by the Northern Presbyterian Church of America, gathered some young people in his guest room and taught them a junior-high school curriculum, and this was the beginning of 'Soongsil Hakdang.'

'Soongsil' means 'worship of the truth and integrity.' The truth indicates the pursuit of the truth or knowledge in academia; integrity indicates the pursuit of character with high moral standards. Thus, the educational goal of Soongsil is to nurture young people with both good academic knowledge and character, and this corresponds to Soongsil's motto 'truth and service.'

In 1900, 3 years after it began, Soongsil Hakdang established a four-year curriculum as an official junior high school, and in 1904 it produced its first graduates. In 1906, the school was given permission by the mission headquarters to set up an undergraduate program, and 1908 saw the first graduate of Soongsil's undergraduate program.

In the beginning, Soongsil was called 'Union Christian College' because all decisions regarding the management of Soongsil were made through the consensus of the whole missionary force stationed in Korea. In 1912, the colonial government of Japan authorized Soongsil's college status. In 1925, however, the government demoted Soongsil's status from a college to a professional school, leaving only the humanities program with a 4-year curriculum. In 1931, Soongsil began to offer a 3-year program in agriculture for the first time in Korea.

While Soongsil was struggling to solidify its foundation and expand its programs, the colonial government of Japan was strengthening its hold on the Korean penninsula, depriving Korean people of even their basic human rights. In an attempt to make Korean people conform to their ways, the colonial government forced all Koreans to visit and worship at Japanese shrines.

Forced worship of Japanese shrines was a cruel demand to Korean people, especially to those who were Christians. Refusing to follow the colonial government's order and compromise its principles, Soongsil made a courageous and difficult decision to have the school shutdown on March 4, 1938 right after a graduation ceremony and after 39 years of offering a college education.

The long-cherished national dream of liberation came true on August 15, 1945, and Soongsil's family attempted to reopen the school. Unfortunately, the breakout of Korean War in 1950 forced them to flee to the south, and they had to wait until after the war to rebuild Soongsil in Seoul. In December, 1953, a meeting was held in Yongnak Church to organize the Soongsil Rebuilding Committee and form the board of directors. An application for a charter was submitted to the Ministry of Education soon afterwards.

On April 15, 1954 the committee recevied a charter to establish Soongsil in Seoul, thus fulfilling many Soongsilians' dream of rebuilding the school. This was a truly emotional moment to many, who had waited 16 years since the school's shutdown to see its revival.

Rev. Kyungjik Hahn was inaugurated as the first president of Soongsil University, and the school opened in a makeshift building next to Yongnak Church. Initially only a few departmants, including English Language and Literature, History, Philosophy, Law, and Economics, were set up, but later other departments such as Management, Trade, and Social Work were added to the list. It was in June, 1957 that the school moved to the current campus in Sangdo-dong. This period of the new beginning and relocation was one of the most difficult times for Soongsil: there were so many challenges and obstacles in every step of its way to re-establishing its firm foundation in Seoul. The person who made the most contributions during this period was late Elder Hyungnam Kim, who became the chairman of Soongsil's Board of Directors. Elder Kim is deservedly praised for his dedication to Soongsil's development.

Another important event in Soongsil's history is the merging of Soongsil with Daejeon College in January, 1971, creating a university called Soongjeon. These two colleges, sharing the same founding goals and philosophy, became one university under the management by the United Christian Foundation of Higher Learing.

With its raised status as a university, Soongsil, on December 3, 1971, established 21 departments in the College of Humanities, the College of Law, the College of Engineering, and the Evening College. In January, 1972, 9 departments began to offer Master's degree programs, and Ph.D program were added in 1974, thus establishing the school's reputation as a major university in Korea.

The first president of Soongjeon University was the late Dr.Hyungnam Kim, and the its first chairman of the board was the late Dr. John E. Talmage. The union of Soongsil and Daejeon College was a beneficial move for both institutions in terms of raising their status and academic quality. In October, 1982, however, the board of directors decided that it was time to consider the separation of the university into two independents universities and requested the Ministry of Education to give the board permission to carry out the separation procedure. Starting in March, 1983, Soongjeon University became two separate universities - Soongsil and Daejeon.

In the 1980's, Soongsil continued to expand its programs: in November, 1980, the Graduate School of Industry was established, offering graduate programs in 8 departments; as of March, 1983, there were 10 departments in the College of Humanities, 7 in the College of Law, 8 in the College of Engineering, and 9 in the Evening College, making Soongsil a major university with 4 colleges and 34 departments in all.

In the 1990's, the university added more undergraduate and graduate programs, including the Graduate School of Unification Policy, which provides timely programs dealing with the political, social, and cultural aspects of the prospective unification of the two Koreas. As of March, 1995, the University has 6 graduate schools, 7 departments in the college of Humanities, 4 in the college of Natural Sciences, 1 in the College of law, 3 in the College of engineering, and 17 in the Evening College, totaling 7 colleges and 18 departments.

Throughout its history, Soongsil has upheld three principles: the principle of democracy, the principle of national self-determination, and the principle of innovation. These three principles are well reflected in Soongsil's founding philosophy of "the truth and service". Some people have stated that Soongsil has been slower in its development than other universities in Korea. Instead of focusing on appearance and superficial improvements, Soongsil has steadfastly emphasized what it has always upheld what is right, just, and fair, never compromising with the wrong, unjust, and unfair.

In 1987, Soongsil*s 90th anniversary year, the name of the University was officially changed from Soongjeon to Soongsil, and the Unite Christian foundation of Higher Learning, which managed the operation of Soongjeon University, became Soongsil Foundation, In the same year, the Ministry of Education authorized the establishment of the Graduate School of Information Sciences at Soongsil, a major step for the University to lead to the new age of information, providing outstanding environment for future experts in the field. 1988 saw the completion of the Science Building, which was to be a nurturing ground for top-quality scientists in the field of natural sciences. In 1989, the Graduate School of Labor & Management Relations, the first of its kind in Korea, opened its door to provide an excellent opportunity to students who want to study rational and productive ways to resolve many issues that our society is faced with.