Some 124 years ago, Dr. Horace N. Allen, a Protestant missionary doctor from the Presbyterian Missions in New York, found Kwang Hye Won, the first modern hospital in Korea, which now became Severance Hospital. Kwang Hye Woon soon changed its name to Che Jung Won, and Dr. Underwood, together with Dr. Appenzeller gave instruction in Western medicine to Korean students. This is the root of Yonsei. In its roots breathes the passion of missionaries who came to this land and became the founding fathers of the school. The initial start of medical education was extended by Dr. Oliver R. Avison, as Severance Hospital was established in 1890 with the donation from Louis H. Severance and the first graduates with license to practice medicine were produced in 1908. In tandem with this move, Dr. Underwood sought to found a Christian higher educational institution in the same pioneering spirit. In 1915, despite oppression from Japanese colonial rule, Chosun Christian College was established. After two years, it was authorized as Yonhi College. Yonhi College and Severance Hospital, with their tradition of modern education and research, merged into Yonsei in 1957. Ever since the establishment, it has been serving as a foundation and pioneer of academic research and education. As the first university in Korea, Yonsei made a rapid progress, such as establishing the first Koreans Studies Institution in Korea, Korean Language Institute and the state-of-the-art Yonsei-Samsung Library. Yonsei University is now a cherished institution of the nation as its representative private university. Yet it aims to go beyond the achievements it has made. In 2010, the year of its 125th anniversary, Yonsei will start a new era with the opening of the Songdo Global Academic Complex.