Establishment In 1952, in the midst of the
Korean War, the first president of Korea, Syngman Rhee proposed the foundation of an educational
institute that would provide expertise and hope to a lagging
industrial sector. The driving force behind the proposal was the will and determination of a group of
Koreans who had emigrated to
Hawaii 50 years earlier. The name 'Inha' comes from the name of 'Incheon' and 'Ha' in Hawaii. In March 1954, with the goal of establishing a world-class engineering university like MIT in the US, Dr. Lee Won Chul, an astronomer who obtained his Ph.D. degree, was the inaugural vice president Lee Ki-bong. On April 24, 1954, he had the entrance ceremony for 179 freshmen. On March 14, 1958, the establishment of a graduate school was approved. Financial resources for the foundation came from the proceeds of the sale of the
Korean Christian Institute, an organization founded and managed by Dr. Rhee for the purpose of educating the children of the original emigrants, donations from Korean emigrants in Hawaii and domestic supporters, and a government subsidy. Along with school site donation from
Incheon city, the Ministry of Culture and Education approved the foundation of the Inha Institute in February, 1954. Institute building construction began in earnest, to finally have the
Inha Institute of Technology opened later the same year, in the scheme of the parent 6 Departments of Metallurgical, Mechanical, Mining, Electric, Shipbuilding and Chemical Engineering.
Time of expansion and development The Inha Institute of Technology, with its unique history and great mission to foster excellent students who would contribute to the development of the nation's scientific and technological industries, was funded to do so by the help of huge government subsidies and foreign aid from UNESCO and the German government. In a move to improve the management of the Inha Institute, the Board of Trustees was reorganized and Dr. Choong-Hoon Jo and Dr. Jwa-Kyung Seong assumed the positions of chairman of the board and the dean, respectively. That change brought more energy to the management, and resulted in the introduction of state-of-the-art experimental and research equipment, construction of new school buildings, research centers, practice factories, experimental tanks, library, and gymnasium, and secured excellent professors, contributing to the development of the Korean industry. With the rapid development of the Inha Institute of Technology, its size and facilities surpassed those of other colleges. It was inevitable for the institute to be elevated to the status of university, thus in December, 1971, the Ministry of Culture and Education approved the elevation and Dr. Jwa-Kyung Seong took office as the first president, solidifying the basis toward one of the prestigious universities in Korea. Ultimately on October 2, 2014, in collaboration between Inha University and the Government of Uzbekistan,
Inha University in Tashkent, the first South Korean university abroad, has been established, with a view to training professional global IT leaders in the country. The curriculum and academic program of this newly emerging international university comprise the same as those of Inha University in Korea. == Academic structure ==