Underwood International College

 Underwood International College (UIC) has become Yonsei's flagship international program for last two decades. Spanning three divisions and 16 majors, UIC offers an experience unmatched by any other institution of higher learning. Set in an intimate environment in the heart of Seoul, the main campus in Sinchon boasts a vibrant college culture as well as a forum of intellectual and cultural exchange. The new international campus which opened in 2011 showcases cutting-edge facilities and is located in Songdo, affectionately dubbed "The City of the Future" and "The World’s Smartest City."

For nearly 140 years, Yonsei has set the standard for higher education in Korea. And UIC epitomizes Yonsei's vision for the future. And that ethos continues today as we foster students’ critical thinking skills that will continue to be crucial for the future even in an age of artificial intelligence. In addition, we provide some of the most innovative education rooted in literature, history, and philosophy. Today’s students are some of the first that can reasonably expect to live to see the next century. As such, to be prepared for an ever changing world our students need to be able to think, imagine, and create in new ways. The UIC Common Curriculum, paired with the RC (Residential College) program, is designed in such a way so that our students - regardless of major or academic field - have this basic knowledge and understanding.

This foundational education is essential in navigating your way around today's highly interwoven "Network Society." Here, the key words are collaboration, connection and integration. New knowledge is now created when one field of learning intersects with another. Barriers, distinctions and division among different fields of knowledge are obsolete in modern day research.

The UIC majors were therefore created with this in mind: that university education must nurture the ability to converse with researchers in different disciplines. The interdisciplinary nature of the majors offered at UIC not only aim to this end, but they also encourage creativity and innovation. Creativity is not some magical ability to conjure something from nothing; rather, it is the ability to cognitively connect and network existing elements to create something new. At UIC you will have the resources and support necessary in pursuing your intellectual curiosity and shaping new ideas.

At the end of your journey at UIC, I hope that you will find yourself to be an empathetic person. Our society today needs leaders whom they can relate to; someone who will serve not their own interest, but the interest of others less fortunate; someone who is of moral standing and virtue. I believe that at UIC you will have garnered the intellectual, spiritual and emotional capacity to become such a leader. 

Upholding Yonsei's promise of ‘Servant leadership’, I invite you to join the next generation of leaders at UIC and lead the way to the future.

Dong-Sup Yoon 
President
Yonsei University