Kyung Hee University (abbreviated to KHU) (Hangul: 경희대학교; Hanja: 慶熙大學校) is a private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. Founded in 1949, it is widely regarded as one of the best universities in South Korea. Kyung Hee University is part of the Kyung Hee University System, which offers comprehensive education from kindergarten through graduate school. As of 2020, about 33,000 students were enrolled in Kyung Hee University. The university consists of 24 undergraduate colleges, 1 general graduate school, 13 specialty graduate schools and 49 auxiliary research institutions. The university offers a study abroad program in partnership with 434 sister universities in 69 countries. Kyung Hee University is known for its College of Korean Medicine, which is considered a leading school in traditional Korean medicine and other traditional Asian medical practices. History Kyung Hee University originated in 1949 as Sin Heung Junior College, a 2-year college. Amid the financial crisis of the Korean War, Young Seek Choue bought the struggling school in 1951 and had it accredited as a 4-year undergraduate college in 1952. In 1954, the graduate school was established. The college was renamed to Kyung Hee University in 1960. The university hosted the 1968 conference of the International Association of University Presidents, first proposed in 1981 the UN International Day of Peace, organized the 1999 Seoul International Conference of NGOs, held the 2009 World Civic Forum, ran the 2011 UNAI-Kyung Hee International Symposium, and has spearheaded the Global Common Society movement. In 1993 Kyung Hee received the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education. In 2006, Kyung Hee and the University of Pennsylvania initiated the Penn-Kyung Hee Collaborative Summer Program and two years later, a formal Global Collaborative with Peking, Ritsumeikan, and Moscow State universities, with the cooperation of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and the Conference of NGOs (CoNGO). Symbols The university emblem is the Chinese character for "university" (it was changed in 2016 to the symbol of a book) and has a world map in the background. This symbolizes Kyung Hee's vision for globalization as well as an open mind and humanism for the world. The university character mark is visualized through the mane of the Laughing Lion, the torch which sheds light on the truth, and the dove, an international symbol of peace. Sports teams and various university promotional products use the character mark to proliferate Kyung Hee's brand