Dongguk University

Dongguk University

Symbol of Dongguk University
Former names	Myungjin School (1906-1940) Hyehwa Professional College (1940-1946) Dongguk College (1946-1953)
Motto	攝心, 信實, 慈愛, 度世(hanja)
Motto in English	Steady one's clean mind, Behave truly and reliably, Love people with benevolence, Save mankind from agony
Type	Private
Established	May 8, 1906
President	Han Tae-sik
Undergraduates	13,759 (2015)
Doctoral students	1,992 (2015)
Location	Seoul, South Korea
Campus	Urban
Colors	Orange
Sports	Football, Baseball, Basketball, Golf
Nickname	Dongguk Elephants
Mascot	Elephant, Lotus
Affiliations	Mahayana Buddhism
Website	English website Korean website

Dongguk University (Korean: 동국대학교, Hanja: 東國大學校) is a private, coeducational university in South Korea, based on Buddhism. The university operates campuses in Seoul, Goyang, Gyeongju, and Los Angeles, United States. The university operates two affiliated hospitals of Western medicine, and four of Oriental medicine, a generic term which includes traditional Korean medicine studies.

Founded in 1906 by Korea's ecumenically minded Jogye Order, Dongguk remains one of the few Buddhist affiliated universities in the world.

The university began as Myeongjin School (명진학교) on May 8, 1906. The university was closed by the Japanese Occupation Government from 1922 to 1928, after the Samil Undong uprising, and again in 1944. The university was one of the first institutions in the South Korea to gain university status, in the western sense, being designated a university in 1953. The postgraduate school opened simultaneously.

During the Korean War, provisional classes were held in Busan, but were moved back to Seoul in 1953. In 1959, the Dongguk University Broadcasting system was initiated. During the 1960s students of the university participated in the democratic uprisings, which caused deaths of students of the university. The College of Education was launched in 1968 with four courses, adding Education of Physical Education a year later. In 1978, the Gyeongju Campus was established.

In 1997 the university made an agreement with Royal University of America, and on March 5, 2009 Royal University of America was merged into Dongguk University, finally becoming Dongguk University Los Angeles(DULA).