There are a lot of unfortunate things going on in our society: murder, sexual assault, suicide, bullying, drug addictions, etc. South Korea experienced rapid growth in its economy and has become one of the world-leading economy powers. For sure, we are enjoying prosperity; however, it also brings some serious side effects to our society.

All the unfortunate incidents mentioned above have one thing in common: they all need psychological aid. Handong's Counseling Psychology major offers both psychology and counseling curriculum, so that students can study the two complementary tracks thoroughly.

It covers a wide range of fields: children & adolescents counseling, elderly counseling, family counseling, Christian counseling, etc. The track starts with fundamental studies, exploring basic theories and techniques of counseling. After that, students can select their specific fields in counseling according to their preferences, and dive deeper to become a professional. There also are practicum courses such as , , where students can practically apply the things they have learned in the major courses.

We offer courses in various fields of psychology: developmental psychology, personality psychology, social psychology, psychology of cognition, psychology of addictive behavior, consumer psychology, neuropsychology, etc. Especially, industrial and organizational psychology and psychological statistics are the fields that business corporates are recently emphasizing; students can converge these fields with other majors, with HGU’s double major system.

Research programs with professors
What’s more important than learning is applying it to the real world. The professors of Counseling Psychology major offer students plenty of opportunities to engage in research and projects. Engaging in research and projects means a lot: students can receive direct instructions and supervision from the professors, and experience graduate school-level education.

Professor Supervised Academic Societies
Counseling Psychology major’s academic societies are all supervised by professors. There are the Art Psychology academic society, Handong Clinical Psychology academic society, addiction, and rehabilitation academic society, Coaching Neighbors, Socio-industrial organizational academic society, etc. Professors actively participate in these academic societies, and an Open Seminar is held frequently. The Open Seminar is open to every student of Counseling Psychology major; it is a good chance for students to explore their potential fields of interest.

Professor-Student Relationships
The relationship between professors and students of Counseling Psychology major is famous for being friendly. Professors all have a passion for teaching, and they feel a sense of duty to cultivate qualified students. Students of Counseling Psychology major can freely come into the Professor’s office during ‘Office Hours’. In ‘Office Hours’, students can freely have discussions, ask questions, and talk about many different things with professors. Students can even talk about hardships and worries they have in their academic and daily lives; professors are willing to listen to students’ words. Students respect professors, and professors love students; it is a Counseling Psychology major.