Unofficial grouping and acronym for three universities in South Korea
This article is about the three biggest universities in South Korea. For other uses of "SKY", see
Sky (disambiguation) .
Locations of 'SKY' universities in Seoul, South Korea
SKY is an unofficial grouping andacronym for the three most prestigious and academically competitive universities located inSeoul ,South Korea . It consists ofSeoul National University Korea University Yonsei University [ 1]
The term is widely used in South Korea, both in the media and by the universities themselves.[ 2] [ 3] [ 4] [ 5] acronym also implies that the universities are extremely difficult to get into (i.e., students are reaching for the sky).
Institution Type Location Established Academic staff Undergraduate enrollment Postgraduate enrollment Rankings QS World [ 6] ARWU World [ 7] THE World [ 8] THE Asia [ 9] QS Asia [ 10] Seoul National University Public (National) Sillim-dong ,Gwanak-gu ,Seoul 1946 2,278(2022) [ 11] 15,870(2022) [ 11] 12,394(2022) [ 11] 38 94 56 11 18 Korea University Private Anam-dong ,Seongbuk-gu ,Seoul 1905 1,511(2022) [ 12] 19,598(2022) [ 12] 9,847(2022) [ 12] 61 201–300 201–250 27 13 Yonsei University Private Sinchon-dong ,Seodaemun-gu ,Seoul 1885 1,712(2022) [ 13] 18,200(2022) [ 13] 11,632(2022) [ 13] 50 201–300 78 13 9
Seoul National University [ edit ] 1895: The year when theBeopgwan Yangseongso (Judicial Training Center), the first modern legal training institution in Korea established by King Gojong, was founded. It later became one of the ten schools integrated into Seoul National University, and 1895 is recognized as the university's symbolic founding year. August 1946: The official founding year of Seoul National University as a national university under theNational Seoul National University Establishment Act . 1905:Bosung College was established as the first modern private institution of higher education in Korea. 1932: Bosung College moved to its current location in Anam-dong, Seoul, expanding its facilities and academic programs. 1946 August: "Bosung College" was renamed "Korea University " and became a comprehensive university, expanding into various academic disciplines. National recognition [ edit ] In 2010, it was reported that 46.3% of high government officials and 50% of CEOs of major financial industries were graduates of SKY universities.[ 14] [ 15]
Being admitted in one of these universities typically requires students to be within the top 1% of the KoreanCollege Scholastic Ability Test [citation needed . Hence, high schools would release lists of how many students were admitted to a SKY university each year as a mark of prestige.
The term has also been applied to the music and entertainment industry due to prominent alumni, including Academy Award-winning directorBong Joon Ho and renowned opera singerSumi Jo . The founders of three of the "big four" K-pop labels (Lee Soo-man ,Park Jin-young andBang Si-hyuk ) and prominent indie-oriented labelsMystic Story (Yoon Jong-shin ) andAntenna Music (You Hee-yeol ) are all graduates of a SKY university.
There have been a number of SKY university students who have dropped out of school to protest against South Korea's overheatedacademic elitism .[ 16]
SKY Castle JTBC Friday-Saturday prime time drama, explores the employment of coordinators by parents who wish their children to enter one of the three colleges, which sometimes does not come without consequences.Korea University–Yonsei University rivalry Oxbridge , referring to the UK's oldest universities,Oxford andCambridge Golden triangle , informal grouping of universities in London and southeast EnglandRussell Group , a self-selected association of twenty-four public research universities in the United KingdomIvy League , formal grouping of elite older private universities in the United StatesBig Three , informal term groupingHarvard ,Yale , andPrinceton Big Four , informal term grouping the four most prestigious universities in thePhilippines TU9 , alliance of nine leadingTechnical Universities inGermany Group of Eight , a group of Australia's top research universitiesNational Institutes of Technology , 31 leading public engineering universities in IndiaImperial Universities , grouping of elite older universities in JapanC9 League , funding schemes for universities in ChinaDouble First-Class Construction , colloquially known as the Chinese Ivy League^ "Asia Times Online :: Korea News and Korean Business and Economy, Pyongyang News" . December 4, 2005. Archived fromthe original on 2005-12-04.^ *[1] Archived 2007-12-25 at theWayback Machine ^ *"QS Top Universities: Korean international postgraduate study - a dramatic transformation" . Archived fromthe original on 2008-04-10. Retrieved2008-04-09 . ^ Sang-Hun, Choe (2008-08-13)."A Taste of Failure Fuels an Appetite for Success at South Korea's Cram Schools" .The New York Times .ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved2025-05-26 . ^ Online, Asia Time."Asia Times Online :: Korea News and Korean Business and Economy, Pyongyang News" .atimes.com . Archived fromthe original on 2005-12-04. Retrieved2025-05-26 . ^ "QS World University Rankings 2025" .Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved9 June 2024 .^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities 2023" .Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved16 August 2023 .^ "World University Rankings 2023" . 12 October 2022.Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved14 October 2022 .^ "Asia University Rankings 2023" . 22 June 2023.Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved27 June 2023 .^ "QS Asia University Rankings 2023" .Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved9 November 2022 .^a b c "Facts" . Seoul National University.Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. RetrievedJune 28, 2023 .^a b c "About KU" .Korea University .Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. RetrievedJune 28, 2023 .^a b c "Yonsei at a Glance" . Yonsei University.Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. RetrievedJune 28, 2023 .^ "금융권 CEO 출신대학..서울대＞고려대＞연세대 順" .Naver News Archived from the original on 2019-10-13. Retrieved2013-08-11 .^ "사법시험 로스쿨 행외시 수험의 동반자" . Archived fromthe original on 2014-01-01. Retrieved2013-08-11 .^ Kim, Gyeong-su (2011-11-17).명문대 줄잇는 ‘공개 자퇴’ 왜？ The Financial News Archived from the original on 2014-01-04. Retrieved2011-11-20 . Jambor, Paul Z,"Why South Korean Universities Have Low International Rankings" , Academic Leadership: Volume 7, Issue 1, February 20, 2009 Jambor, Paul Z,"Why South Korean Universities Have Low International Rankings - Part II: The Student Side of the Equation" , Academic Leadership: Volume 7, Issue 3, August 10, 2009 Park, Chung-a,"Students Hold Anti-Exam Festival" ,The Korea Times , November 24, 2005, retrieved December 18, 2005
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