Национальный университет Пукён: история и современность

National university in Busan, South Korea

Pukyong National University (PKNU; hangul=국립부경대학교) is a national university in Busan, South Korea, formed in 1996. The university has two campuses, Daeyeon dong and Yongdang dong, situated near the coastal district of Nam gu. PKNU has a traditional focus on fisheries sciences and other maritime fields, and has extensive facilities for Marine and Technology studies. The school's symbol mascot is anthropomorphic Moby Dick, "Baek Kyung i". The school name was changed through a vote in August 2021.

PKNU was formed in 1996 from the merger of two national universities with long histories, the National Fisheries University of Busan, established in 1941, and the Busan National University of Technology, which was established in 1924. Historically, Daeyeon dong was a small fishing village populated by anchovy fishermen. In the early years of the 20th century these fishermen found their products in high demand and they became quite wealthy. They used the money to purchase what is now the Daeyeon dong campus site and donated it to the government, under the condition that it be used to establish a training centre for their industry. During the Korean War, the Daeyeon campus was used as an airfield by the U. S. Air Force. Local residents constructed a large Dol Jip "stone house" for the commanding officers and pilots. Today this building is used as a student cafeteria.

The National Fisheries University of Busan was the only higher education institution located in South Gyeongsang Province in Korea under Japanese rule and 5 years after liberation. The other higher education institutes were located in Keijō(4 academies), North Korea region, and South regions including Keijō Imperial University. In 1944, it was renamed Pusan Fisheries University and established Fisheries college in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi (city). On 15 May 1946, when Pusan National University was established, it was integrated into the Department of Fisheries. When it came to July 1947, it became an independent university and was promoted to National Fisheries University of Pusan. Immediately after 16 May 1961, it was forcibly integrated into PNU due to external pressure from the government but separated again from PNU in 1964. On 6 November 1986, the Department of Fisheries and Oceanography, Science and Engineering, and Social Science were established, and on 1 March 1990, it was promoted to a comprehensive university and reorganized into nine departments (University of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, College of Natural Sciences, College of Engineering, and College of Humanities and Social Sciences and more). On 1 March 1996, 6 universities and 39 departments were established, 29 master's courses were established in graduate schools, 23 doctoral courses, 4 majors in graduate schools of education, and 16 master's courses in graduate schools of industry.

The university was established in Bosu dong, Jung gu on 5 May 1924, in the name of Pusan Public Industrial Continuation School (two year system). The Temporary Special Act on Education and Education was abolished in 1963, which increased the need for higher education. On 29 September 1973, the school was approved for establishment as the National Pusan Technical School (5 year system). 7 December 1983, eight departments were established, approved for promotion and reorganization as Pusan Open University (4 year system). On 4 May 1988, the school name was changed to Pusan National University of Technology. On 6 March 1990, the Graduate School of Industrial Technology was newly established and five departments were opened. On 24 February 1993, the school name was changed to Pusan National University of Technology, after being promoted to a general university. On 1 March 1996, Pusan National University of Technology was integrated into PKNU.

On 6 July 1996, Pusan National University of Fisheries and Pusan National University of Technology were integrated and established with approval for the establishment of Pukyong National University (58 departments under 6 universities), with 31 master's courses, four master's courses in education, and 31 master's courses in the industry. The school name change was discussed from the days of Pusan National University of Fisheries, which was promoted to a general university before the integration, but the school name Pusan National University of Fisheries was used until it was integrated without approval from the Ministry of Education at the time. In 1996, the International Exchange Center and the European Information Center were established, and in 1997, the University Fisheries Science Research Institute Vancouver was established, and in 1998, a joint laboratory in Daeyeon Campus was established. In 1999, the BK21 Regional Leading Machinery Industry Human Resources Development Project Group was established, and the Pukyong National University Lifelong Education Center was established. At present, there are around 26,000 students and 544 professors across the two campuses, which together cover 673,899 m2. There are three large libraries, two in Daeyeon Dong and one in Yongdang Dong. The campuses are about 4 km apart. A free shuttle bus connects them in about 10–15 minutes. Although primarily a fisheries university, PKNU has six colleges including a large humanities and social sciences department, four graduate programs with masters courses in 60 departments in 15 interdisciplinary programs, and doctoral courses in 56 departments and 12 interdisciplinary programs. In addition, there are eight research institutes.

Pukyong National University occupies two Busan based campuses: the Daeyeon Campus is situated in 23 Yongso ro, Nam gu; and the Yongdang Campus is in Yongdang dong, Nam gu.

Daeyeon Campus, the main campus, is located in the southern part of Busan. It is served by its own subway station on Line 2. Yongdang Campus, the engineering campus used to be, is on Yongdang dong, Busan. The engineering campus moved to Daeyeon in 2019, but some research facilities still remain in Yongdang. There used to be Mutgol Campus in the 1990s, but sold to Nam gu because of the construction of the new city hall.

PKNU museum is located on the first and second floors of the Cheongun Building. It has the largest collection of materials in the field of fisheries and marine studies among the universities in South Korea. There are 2,278 exhibits including 1,262 cultural properties, 374 marine organisms, 287 items of fishing equipment and fishing boats, 55 vessels, 283 historical materials related to PKNU, and 17 folk materials. Also, there are many exhibits of historical value including a chanfron from the Gaya period, thought to be the earliest chanfron, and armor which was excavated from Dugok Historical Site in Gimhae. In addition, there are many stuffed marine organisms, including a coelacanth, one of only two in Korea. There is also a bone of the southern right whale, giant clam, various sharks, fish which inhabit the coastal waters and the ocean, crustaceans, and sea animals. The lobby of the Cheongun building contains a Pukyongosaurus Millenniumi, a herbivorous dinosaur which lived in the Korean Peninsula about 140 million years ago, and the first dinosaur to have a Korean name. Its fossil was discovered on the small rocky island located on the coast of Galsa ri, Geumseong myeon, Hadong gun, Gyeongsangnam do, and restored by a team led by PKNU professor Baek In Seong.

Pukyong National University Library has been reorganized in Daeyeon Campus to suit the function of the campus. Daeyeon Campus has Central library and Academic Information Library, and Yongdang Campus has Engineering library, respectively. In the Central library, there is a studying space restricted access to outsiders, and the access is only possible with a student ID card. In addition, most services such as searching for collection materials, providing original texts, searching for materials from other institutions, and applying for copying are provided on the library's website. Daeyeon Campus has a 24 hour reading room called "Miraero," where students can study freely study.

The Busan Radiological Monitoring Station is one of 12 supervisory organizations in the country which have been operated by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) since 1967 to observe the level of radiation in the atmosphere. It provides the information needed to prepare appropriate countermeasures and prevent atomic accidents in Busan and Gyeongsangnam do.

The Harukasan Mirror Station has been hosted by Pukyong National University since 2016. The archive hosts Arch, Debian, and Ubuntu Linux builds in addition to other open source software.