By Reporter Kim Ji Eun

Myeongjin Hall is the first building constructed on the Dongguk Univer­sity campus (built in 1958) and was designed by Song Min-gu, one of Korea's leading modern architects.

The building consists of one basement level and five above-ground levels, with a modern interior and a Tudor-Gothic exterior finished with stone­work. The central five-story tower features Gothic ele­ments such as buttresses, but the left and right exteriors are simplified with stone masonry and polished stone windows. The left and right ends of the building feature gabled roofs, with a gentle slope. The inte­rior space is currently used for lecture halls, laboratories, and other facilities for the Col­lege of Liberal Arts and the College of Science and Tech­nology. It has been renovated to function as a modern space while maintaining its original circular design.

Myeongjin Hall was es­tablished by the Buddhist Research Society in 1902, founded by several monks who oversaw temples throughout the country outside Dongdae­ Myeong­jin School, the first modern educational institution in the Buddhist community, with patriotic poet Han Yong-un, writer Seo Jeong-ju, and poet Kim Dal-jin, who founded the literary magazine Sidonginji, among the school's graduates. After being renamed as a Buddhist Teacher's College in 1910, it was elevated to Bud­dhist Central College, Bud­dhist Preaching School, and HyeHwa Specialized College, and was finally promoted to Dongguk University in 1946.

Following its departure from HyeHwa-dong, the campus opened on the slopes of Nam­san Mountain in Pildong, and Myeongjin Hall was the first building constructed on the new campus. Designed by re­nowned Korean architect Song Min-gu (1920-2010), the build­ing was completed in 1958 at a cost of 250 million won, which was a significant construction cost at the time. It was com­pleted with material support from the US Eighth Army's transportation unit and stu­dent donations. Myeongjin Hall features a Tudor-style Gothic design with a simplified exte­rior, and a central four-story tower with symmetrically ar­ranged wings.

Experts explain that the emphasis on the central sym­metry of the building and the stonework finish of the exterior effectively express the symbol­ism of the university's main building at the time. Although it is currently known as Myeo­ngjin Hall, it still represents the symbolism of the univer­sity's main building and has been well-preserved even after 60 years, making it a valuable example of modern architec­ture in Korea.