YUHS Severance Hospital + Gangnam Severance Hospital

Yonsei University Health System (YUHS) was founded in 1885 as the first modern medical institution in Korea by the American medical missionary, Dr. Horace N. Allen. It began as a small hospital under the name Kwanghyewon, which changed to Chejungwon and then Severance Hospital. As the hospital expanded over the years to include various colleges and research centers, the Yonsei University Health System was born (see Severance Hospital history for more information). YUHS has been the leader of medicine and is respected as the protector of Korean health. Furthermore, the roots of Christianity, modern medical education and medical care in Korea can all be linked to YUHS.

YUHS is led by its CEO and President, who also serves as Vice-President for Health Sciences of Yonsei University. As such, he oversees 2 graduate schools (Public Health and Nursing), 3 colleges (Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing) and 5 hospitals (Severance Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yongin Severance Hospital, Severance Mental Health Hospital, and the Dental Hospital). There are approximately 7,000 employees throughout the Health System, which include some 2,000 physicians and 5,000 support personnel. The hospitals have around 3,700 beds and see around 3 million outpatients and 1 million inpatients annually. The total lot size is 95,000 Pyung (77 acres) with a building size of 18,000 Pyung (59,508m²=640,538ft²), and a total floor area of 140,000 Pyung (462,840m²=4.98 million ft²).

All facilities under YUHS are modern, house state-of-the-art medical equipment, and are operated by a ubiquitous information system that digitally links all organizations together efficiently. With these infrastructures, YUHS continues to develop by balancing education, research and patient care, which together are helping it to realize its mission of freeing humankind from disease and suffering with the love of God.

Defining excellence in Korean healthcare

Severance Hospital was founded in 1885 and is Korea’s first westernized hospital. With the cooperation of the Korean government, two Americans, businessman and philanthropist Louis H. Severance and medical missionary Dr. Horace N. Allen launched what is now Korea’s most globally advanced hospital.Severance’s success stems from the explicit expectations that come from being Korea’s first and the best.We have made our mark on medical history as a role model and a leader to other prominent health care institutions.

Severance Hospital has received accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI) for the first time in Korea, and has been acknowledged for employing state-of-the-art medical technology, including robotic surgery, to provide the highest standard of medical care to its patients.

World-Class University Hospital built on the Principle of being the “First” and the “Best”

With its 128-year-long tradition, Yonsei University Health System is Korea’s representative medical center and has set many benchmarks as being the “first” and the “best” in Korean medical history. Gangnam Severance Hospital was established in 1983 to provide accessible healthcare for the Gangnam area, a hub of the Korean economy, and to continue Yonsei University Health System’s ascent toward the pinnacle of the medical world.

The primacy of Gangnam Severance Hospital was confirmed yet again with its April 2010 accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI) – the first for any hospital in the Gangnam region. Gangnam Severance Hospital, which has established a world-class medical system while spearheading the improvement of regional medicine, is experiencing a rebirth at the forefront of the global medical world and evolving into an institution on which patients across the world can rely.