Campus community members are increasingly concerned about the reconstruction of the Social Sciences Building, which is scheduled for completion in 2028. It is because the original construction schedule cannot be followed due to frequent construction on campus and design revision issues. Both the College of Social Sciences members who need to prepare for relocation and the Division of Facilities Management in charge of the reconstruction have expressed their difficulties.

According to Channel PNU’s findings on February 3rd, the reconstruction of the Social Sciences Building, which was originally scheduled to begin in 2025, may be delayed until December 2025 or March 2026. The reconstruction was planned for contractor selection in 2024, construction start in 2025, completion in 2027, and opening and move-in in 2028 (reported by “Channel PNU” on November 10th, 2023). However, a contractor hasn’t been selected yet. With ongoing large-scale construction projects on campus causing scheduling uncertainties, plans for College of Social Sciences members’ relocation and temporary space utilization are also being disrupted.

The reconstruction project gained momentum in October 2024 with the announcement of the design competition winner. The main goal of this renovation is to consolidate the major courses of the departments under the College of Social Sciences, which are currently dispersed between the Social Sciences Building and Seonghak Hall, into one location. The newly established Social Sciences Building will not only improve the outdated Social Sciences Building but also address the library’s overcrowded collection issue by providing an underground storage area. In an interview with Channel PNU in November 2024, Pusan National University (PNU)’s Division of Facilities Management stated they would “expedite construction to meet the opening and move-in schedule after relocating College of Social Sciences personnel to temporary spaces.”

The issue is that the reconstruction itself is being delayed due to multiple large construction projects on campus and design changes. Over the past two years, the Busan campus has seen ongoing major construction projects including the Pharmaceutical Research Building, IT Building, and external construction. The IT Building is currently delayed by one semester due to foundation issues and adverse weather conditions. The interconnected nature of these projects must be considered since building occupants need to use other facilities during construction. An official from the Division of Facilities Management admitted, “Many construction projects on campus are facing delays and difficulties,” and “we cannot focus solely on the Social Sciences Building.” They added that “additional necessary design procedures have been added in the case of the Social Sciences Building” but they “will try to begin construction by December 2025 according to schedule.”

Contrary to the Division of Facilities Management’s hopes, there’s still a long way to go before completion. The contractor, which should have been selected in 2024, hasn’t been chosen yet. Remodeling of temporary student spaces hasn’t begun either. According to the Division of Facilities Management, the preparation steps before construction are as follows: Finalizing the design blueprint, Confirming the design plan, Establishing a plan for remodeling and utilizing temporary spaces, and Creating a moving plan for the Social Sciences Building. As of February 11th, only the design blueprint has been confirmed. Given the roughly one-year delay in construction start to year-end or next year, completion is likely to be delayed as well. Dean Noh Ji-Hyeon (Prof. of Library, Archive and Information Studies, PNU), who will oversee the relocation, stated, “We will move to alternative spaces by January 2026” and “will try our best to match the Division of Facilities Management’s schedule.”

Students using the Social Sciences Building are frustrated. Despite having to move this year, they haven’t received detailed information about the construction. “Channel PNU” has found that current and former student council presidents of the College of Social Sciences only knew vaguely that “construction might be delayed.” Kim Ye-Jin (Dept. of Psychology, 21), the chairman of the College of Social Sciences, said, “We haven’t heard anything from the administrative office and although we requested information about the reconstruction, we’ve set student space allocation and cleaning schedules as usual due to lack of response from the school.” During freshman orientation in February, only basic information was provided, that “the Social Sciences Building will be reconstructed with 2028 as the target completion date.”

Yewonjeong, which was scheduled to be demolished for reconstruction, will reportedly be preserved. According to the winning design proposal, part of Yewonjeong’s space was to be incorporated into the new building (reported by “Channel PNU” on November 10th, 2023). However, due to budget and time constraints, Yewonjeong has been excluded from the construction plan. Dean Noh stated, “There are no plans; we only considered using Yewonjeong for securing land and other purposes,” and emphasized, “The new building will only be built in the location of the existing building.”

Meanwhile, the issue of temporary spaces for College of Social Sciences students during construction has been resolved. According to Dean Noh, students will use four locations: the IT Building, Research & Lab Building, Engineering Building #8, and Engineering Building #10. They plan to primarily use the Research & Lab Building, as most equipment and personnel currently using it will move to the IT Building upon its completion.

The delayed IT Building is scheduled for completion before the second semester this year, with facility use beginning immediately in the second semester. The Division of Facilities Management stated they will “make efforts to expedite the schedule to provide students with access to better facilities as soon as possible.”

Reporter Jeon Ha-Eun, Lim Seung Ha

Translated by Thadar-Soe