Jeong Chang-hyeon, an honorary professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Seoul National University, the first admitted student to the department and a figure who laid the foundation for Korea's nuclear power industry, died on the 12th at age 85.
According to the Korean Nuclear Society, the deceased, who was from Jinju, South Gyeongsang, entered the Department of Nuclear Engineering (now the Department of Nuclear Engineering) at Seoul National University in 1959 as the top student in the College of Engineering. After losing both parents, the family's circumstances led to abandoning college after high school graduation, but, at the urging of people around, the person became famous for the anecdote of studying while sleeping only 22 times over three months to gain admission to Seoul National University.
The deceased earned a doctorate in nuclear engineering from MIT in the United States in 1970 and, in 1971, became the first with a nuclear engineering doctorate to be appointed a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Seoul National University. Until retiring in 2006, the person fostered younger scholars at Seoul National University and devoted efforts to nuclear research.
In recognition of a lifetime of dedicated contributions to nuclear education and research, the deceased received the national order Moran Medal. A Seoul National University official said, "Graduates produced during the person's tenure have been the backbone of Korea's nuclear power sector, driving self-reliance in nuclear technology and exports of 'K-nuclear power plants.'"
The deceased liked to drink and was known both as an eccentric professor who called the self a "liquor foot-soldier" and as a "genius." The person also holds numerous "first" records, including serving as the youngest academic affairs director at Seoul National University.
▲ Death of Jeong Chang-hyeon (honorary professor, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Seoul National University). Survived by spouse, Shin Do-hyeong; father of Jeong Yeong-uk, Seung-hye, Ju-hye, and Ju-eun; father-in-law of Choi Jeong-yeon; father-in-law of Kim Se-hong.
- Wake: Room 31, Seoul St. Mary's Funeral Home (Gangnam St. Mary's Hospital)
- Funeral: May 14 (Thu.), 9:30 a.m.
- Burial: Seoul Remembrance Park–Gwangneung Remembrance Park