Won-hwa Hong () is an engineer, professor, and university administrator in South Korea. As a professor in the Department of Architectural and Civil Engineering at Kyungpook National University (KNU), he took office as the 19th President of KNU, South KoreaâÂÂs largest national university, in 2020. He has also served as the President of the Korean Council for University Education since April 2022.
Hong was born in Yecheon-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, and later moved to Daegu. After graduating from Kyungwon High School in Daegu, he landed the Department of Architectural Engineering at Kyungpook National University in 1982.
Upon graduating from KNU, Hong received his master's and doctoral degrees in Engineering from Waseda University, Japan, and returned to Korea to be appointed as a professor at his alma mater, Kyungpook National University. Subsequently, he served as the Dean of the Office of External Relations, Dean of the Office of Industry-University Cooperation, and Dean of the College of Engineering. He was inaugurated as President of Kyungpook National University on October 21, 2020.https://en.knu.ac.kr/intro/greeting01.htm.https://cwur.org/2021-22/Kyungpook-National-University.phphttps://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/kyungpook-national-university Following his inauguration, the slogan âÂÂBringing Back KNU Pride and Gloryâ (ë¤ì ë¨ê²Âê²Â, ë¤ì ìÂÂëÂÂì¤ë½ê²Â!) was added to the existing university slogans. On January 26, 2022, he was elected as the 26th President of the Korean Council for University Education.
Since Hong's inauguration in 2020, KNUâÂÂs national and international ranking has continuously improved. Among others, the university ranked 93rd in Asia in the 2022 university evaluation released by Quacquarelli Symonds(QS). Most notably, KNU ranked 13th in the world and first in Korea in the 2022 THE Impact Rankings. (Times Higher Education World University Rankings)
Published in Korean, Hangeul: