The College of Science in Korea University, which was founded in 1905, arose in December 1952 from the College of Arts and Sciences, which included the Departments of Math/Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. The latter college was separated into the Division of Literature and Division of Science in March 1954 and Department of Math/Physics was also separated into Department of Mathematics and Department of Physics. In 1963, the College of Arts and Sciences was divided into College of Arts and College of Science and Engineering. In December 1977, the College of Science and Engineering was further divided into the College of Science and College of Engineering. The Department of Earth Science and Computational Science were recently included in the College of Science. Since then, the College has improved and expanded to have four basic science departments of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Earth and Environmental Sciences, and it is widely recognized to be one of the best colleges of science in Korea.
In 1996, Joo Young Chung, former Honorary Chairman of the Hyundai Group, generously donated a building for the College of Science. The Asan Science Building has six floors and a basement with an area of about 20,000 square meters. This building accommodates all four departments in the college, as well as research laboratories, networked computer systems, multimedia lecture rooms, and other supporting facilities. The excellent environment and research facilities provide a strong basis for the college to be internationally competitive.
Furthermore, the BK21 programs of the Ministry of Education have supported graduate students and researches since 1999. In addition, the Korea Basic Science Institute in Seoul was built on the campus of the college in 1993. This institute has intensified cooperative research between universities and industries as well as the research performed by the College of Science.