Korea National Open University

Korea National Open University

Type	National (Public)
Established	1972; 52 years ago (1972)
President	Soo-no Ryu, Ph.D.
Academic staff	150 (2011)[1]
Students	173,758 (2011)
Undergraduates	172,693 (2011)[2]
Postgraduates	1,078 (2011)[3]
Location	Seoul (Main Campus), Regional centers nationwide , South Korea 37°34′44″N 127°00′10″E / 37.5790°N 127.0028°E / 37.5790; 127.0028
Campus	86 Daehak-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul, Korea
Colors	Blue
Website	www.knou.ac.kr

Korea National Open University (KNOU, Korean: 한국방송통신대학교) is a national university of South Korea. The school provides higher education including undergraduate, graduate and non-degree programs as well as distance-learning courses in Korean for more than 180,000 students. It was established in 1972^[4] as a branch faculty of Seoul National University, with 2-year junior college courses. In 1982, KNOU was separated from SNU and established as a national university, launching programs for 4-year undergraduate degrees. As of 2009, the university has 46 offices and regional learning centres nationwide, and domestic cable television channel (OUN) for broadcasting lectures.^[5] It provides accredited bachelor's and master's degree for various fields, as well as non-degree qualifications such as diplomas and certificates, or life-long learning units. The school's main campus is located in Daehak-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul.

With more than 180,000 students enrolled,^[6] including 700 postgraduate students, KNOU is the first distance and lifelong educational institution of South Korea, and the largest educational institution in the country by enrollment. Since its foundation, more than 500,000 students have been enrolled, and 350,000 students graduated^[6] from the university.