Gwanghyewon
In 1885, during the Gapsin Coup, Min Young-ik, the nephew of Empress Myeongseong (wife of Emperor Gojong), was stabbed and seriously injured. The German diplomat Paul Georg von Mollendorff was present at the massacre and quickly requested Dr. Horace Newton Allen's medical care. Horace Newton Allen was an American Presbyterian missionary who studied medicine at Miami University. Under his modern medical treatment unknown to Korea at the time, Min recovered in three months. Thereafter, Gojong displayed an interest in Western medicine, leading to the appointment of Allen as his personal court physician. Together, they established Gwanghyewon ("House of Extended Grace" or "Widespread Relief House"), Joseon's first Western hospital, on February 29, 1885. The hospital was located in Jae-dong, Seoul.

In 1893, Oliver R. Avison, a professor of the University of Toronto, became the fourth hospital director of Jejungwon. In 1900, while on furlough in North America, Avison was invited to speak at a conference of missions in New York, and among the audience was Louis Severance, an American businessman and philanthropist from Cleveland. Severance donated a large sum of money (US$45.000) to Jejungwon, with which a new hospital was built in front of Sungnyemun. Jejungwon subsequently changed its name to "Severance Hospital" on September 3, 1904. In the same year, the hospital added the Severance Hospital Medical School and the attached School of Nursing. After Severance's death, his son, John Severance, donated an additional US$120,000 to the hospital. Severance Hospital became one of the best-equipped and most famous hospitals in Asia.
The first seven medical licenses in Korean history were all graduates of Severance Hospital Medical School on June 3, 1908: Hong Jong-eun, Kim Pil-soon, Hong Seok-hoo, Park Seo-yang, Kim Hui-yeong, Ju Hyun-cheuk and Shin Chang-hee. All seven doctors later became important figures in the construction of modern Korea.

In 1942 during Japanese colonial rule, the Japanese forcefully renamed the hospital and medical school as "Asahi Medical School." When Korea regained independence in 1945, the hospital officially reclaimed its name as Severance Hospital. The medical school was upgraded to "Severance Medical College" in 1947.
On January 5, 1957, the Severance Medical College was united with Yonhee University under the name of Yonsei University. The Severance Hospital is currently part of the Yonsei University Health System and affiliated with the Yonsei University College of Medicine.