On May 25 (Fri), our university held the “Sunheonhwanggwibi-gil Honorary Road Naming Ceremony” at the Queen Sunheon Building square on campus.

Sunheonhwanggwibi-gil is the name of an honorary road given to the Cheongpa-ro 47-gil in front of our school to pay homage to Princess Consort Sunheon for laying down the foundation of modern women’s education. She erected Myungshin Girl＇s School during the Korean Empire, which became the inception of Sookmyung Women＇s University. The name of the honorary road is to be maintained for 5 years.

Queen to Emperor Gojong during the Korean Empire, Princess Consort Sunheon established Myungshin Girl＇s School rooted in her love for the country and people and her belief of “national salvation through women’s education” in 1906 when the country was in turmoil due to invasions from the world powers. With this achievement, she created a foundation for the modern women’s education. Based on continuous support from the imperial family, nationwide fund-raising campaign, and other efforts, Myungshin Girl＇s School developed into today’s Sookmyung Girls Middle/High School and Sookmyung Women＇s University.

While celebrating the 112th anniversary of our university this year, our school named the honorary road under the agreement with the Yongsan District Office and held the commemorative event on this date. The ceremony was attended by President Jungai Kang, Chairman of Sookmyung Educational Foundation Seung-han Lee, Alumni President Sun-ok Jeong, and Student Body President Hyeon-oh Cho, including around 100 distinguished guests such as Minjoo Party of Korea’s National Assembly Member Yeong Jin, Vice President of Yongsan District Office Seong-su Kim, and Chairman of Myungsin Women’s Academy Jeong-ja Lee.

The ceremony began with the presiding by the Dean of External Affairs Hyeong-jin Lee. After the report on proceedings by the Dean of Management & Information Technology Seong-ho Wu, it was followed by congratulatory speeches from Chairman Seung-han Lee, Vice President of Yongsan District Office Seong-su Kim, Alumni President Sun-ok Jeong, former National Assembly Member Ji-yeong Ryu, and Director of Sookmyung Educational Foundation Yeong-sin Lim, in the respective order.

President Jungai Kang, who has been working toward the naming of the Sunheonhwanggwibi-gil through continuous communication with the Yongsan District Office, emphasized the fact that “The spirit of Princess Consort Sunheon, who has brought an innovative educational paradigm in women’s education by founding Myungshin Girl＇s School 112 years ago, still lives on,” and “Continuing her spirit through the honorary road named after her is our promise to foster outstanding individuals who will pioneer our future society.”

After the ceremony in the Queen Sunheon Building square, a brief reception was held at the Blueberry Cafe on the 2nd floor of the Student Union Building. Then, President Kang, Dean of Academic Affairs Jong-won Choi, and Dean of External Affairs Hyeong-jin Lee proceeded with the promotional activity of handing out congratulatory rice cakes with our university’s mascot Snowflake to nearby merchants, citizens, and students in commemoration of the naming of the honorary road.

Student Mi-hye Ha (Department of Public Relations & Advertising 16), who assisted with the event, said, “The students showed great response to the newly designed Snowflake L-file (based on Princess Consort Sunheon motif),” and “I hope this naming ceremony can become a chance for many people to take more interest in our school’s history.

With the start of the naming of the honorary road, our university plans to hold scholarship and research activities for reevaluating the achievements of our school’s founder Princess Consort Sunheon, and on the 113 anniversary of our school, there are plans to hold related forums as well.