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August 2013 Commencement Address 2013.08.30

August 30, 2013
 
  Respected Yonsei family members, 
  My heartiest congratulations to everyone who will be graduating today with their well-deserved undergraduate, graduate and doctorate degrees! I extend also my heartfelt congratulations to the parents and family members of the graduating students who are here to share the joy of their graduation. I am also honored to present Mr Chung Joon Yang, CEO of POSCO, with an Honorary Doctorate degree in Economics in recognition of his distinguished leadership shown in the development of the Korean economy.
 
  Please allow me to welcome warmly Honorable Chairman Suk Soo Kim of the Board of Directors, as well as our other distinguished guests. I would like also to offer my special thanks to all those professors who have taught the graduating students the spirit of truth and freedom, while leading them to the path of a true intellectual who can put learning into action.
 
  Today we are celebrating the 128th summer commencement ceremony since Yonsei University first opened its doors of learning. With the guidance of God, the support of families and the hard work of our graduating students, we have proudly turned out the graduating class of 1,230 undergraduate, 12 research program, 1,405 graduate, and 315 doctorate students. Today also brings mixed feelings as the graduates leave their alma mater behind and face the challenges of the world beyond campus for the first time.
 
  While sending off our beloved students today, I was reminded of the original meaning of a university. University, by definition, means great learning. Great learning means enlightenment about life and the world. It does not simply mean learning knowledge about the world, though. The true meaning of great learning is to become an intellectual that the world genuinely needs. It is my hope that everyone in this graduating class could learn the essence of great learning to prepare for your future lives. Spending the most crucial period of your lives at Yonsei will become a precious memory and basis of your future life.
 
  My beloved Yonsei graduates, 
  You are now standing at a new starting point to make your own judgments and decisions in life outside the boundaries of school. It is also a point of departure for you to become a socially responsible intellectual who brings professional knowledge that you learned at Yonsei into action. With congratulations on your new beginning, I would like to pass along my sincere entreaties for the graduating class, not only as the President of Yonsei, but as someone who began his life journey before you.
 
  First of all, it is my earnest wish for you to engrave the spirit of Yonsei in your heart. Go out into the world and put it into practice. What is the spirit of Yonsei? It is the pioneering spirit of Dr. Allen and Mr. Underwood who established the first hospital and university in this country so that, in those bleak and chaotic times, they hoped to lead a new era by bringing modern medicine and higher education to a barren land. It is Yun Dong-Ju’s love for our country, as he dedicated himself to Chosun’s independence from Japanese colonial rule and sought for the truth of love and self-examination through the wisdom of Christianity, thus always leading us to the right decision in history. It is the national spirit of Jeong Inbo, as he spent his entire life developing the study of the language and history of Korea. All of these people are the proud spirit of Yonsei.
 
  Yonsei first introduced modern education to this country, having grown into a gateway for truth-seeking, and produced many alumni who served as pillars of Korea’s modernization and led its industrialization. Yonsei has reached out to others and treated them with consideration based on the servant leadership ethos of Christianity, and taken on social responsibility. The core of Yonsei’s spirit is that of those pioneers who lead the spirit of the times, and Yonsei has always built a new history.
 
  As you leave the Yonsei campus behind, follow in the footsteps of our alumni and put Yonsei’s spirit of wisdom and audacity into action. In this era of uncertainty and chaos, with the spirit of Yonsei, you must be a brilliant Yonseian who creates a new history.
 
  Second, as an intellectual who leads social development, I would like you to be a citizen who brings about a paradigm shift for a new era. In order to lead social development, you have to be someone who first realizes the tasks and the spirit of the age in our society and pulls ahead. You must also be a servant leader who serves the members of society.
 
  Yonsei endeavored to produce those talents necessary in society even under Japanese colonial rule. In 1928, Dr. O. R. Avison, then President of Yonhi College and Severance Medical College, emphasized to the graduating class that “progress is our goal.” Yonseians must be pioneers in spiritual understanding and power, ethical behavior, community service based on the Christian spirit, and economic achievements, as well as intellectual accomplishments. President Avison’s words are the spirit of Yonsei’s education, which still resonate with today’s generation. Please remember the important lesson of Yonsei’s pioneers that Yonseians have a divine calling.
 
  Recently, our society has begun a period of transition toward advancement, and strives to take a new leap forward. Now our world faces enormous challenges in conventional systems, ideologies, and philosophies, and requires a new paradigm to open a world of tomorrow.
 
  A university can find its value when it creates new knowledge and leads a society based on creativity and competitiveness. Yet the society we live in makes it hard to realize such a value. The status of a university is gravely threatened, as today’s society supports the standardization of education without diversity, and universal education without competition. Education is not the only field subject to the risk of changes. The whole world is being transformed by new technologies in every sector of politics, the economy, society and culture, putting traditional systems at risk. This is why a paradigm shift toward a new era is needed.
 
  Upon leaving the campus today, you are now a person who has to lead changes in every sector and build a new history. I would like each and every one of you to lead social changes and make efforts for the progress of Korea and the world. I hope you will be a major player of the future to create such a paradigm shift.
 
  Third, try to build a fair society while embracing others and reaching out to those in need. You must have an open mind in order to embrace and listen to others with compassion. I hope that you will rise above petty competition and be able to communicate with your neighbors and achieve your dreams together. Free yourself from the obsession of competition and victory and pursue the beauty of diversity by accepting the differences amongst others and seeking sincere communication.
 
  You have to feel confident in yourself to become broad-minded. My proud Yonsei family, challenge your young dreams with confidence. No one can have the perfect situation. No one can succeed without adversity. Everyone has thorns, whether it is within the body or the soul.
 
  In the Bible, 2 Corinthians 12:7 tells us that “in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh.” Without adversity, a man does not know how to endeavor and thus becomes weak. Real courage and potential emerge after one has gone through hardships. You may face temporary challenges, but remember the verse of the Bible, “For when I am weak, then I am strong,” and continue facing your obstacles.
 
  Like a spring that gives water to the thirsty, become a Yonseian who can share the blessings of heaven by taking advantage of your talents and passion to care generously for and love everyone around you.
 
  In order to pursue a fair life for everyone, you must reflect on yourself. Do not just move forward without a goal. Examine and accomplish yourself. Confucius says, “He who learns but does not think, is lost.” The act of thinking is the process of independent and critical introspection. Strive for a virtuous life and society by remembering your first teachings and putting learning into action.
 
  If you build a society of communication with cooperation, and embrace and practice what you learn through introspection, our society will become honorable and we will thus herald a new history and a new era.
 
  My beloved Yonseians, 
  Recently, drastic changes have occurred in Yonsei University. We have taken a great step through Yonsei’s Third Founding, with an aim to create a paradigm shift in higher education and to seek for supremacy in discipline and education. Yonsei International Campus in Songdo, which will herald a new era of university education in Korea, opens up new possibilities with its Residential College system so that Yonsei will be able to emerge as the world’s best university in this land of opportunity. In addition, we also began modernizing the campus infrastructure this year, including the reconstruction of Baekyang-ro.
 
  Amidst these changes, Yonsei continues to make its utmost efforts to carry out its social responsibility as a leading world university, and to sharpen its competitiveness to accomplish global standards. In this process, there is one thing Yonseians should remember: the social assessment and future competitiveness of Yonsei is determined by you. You must be stars of Yonsei in the global community, in industry, and in all areas of innovation. From now on, you as a Yonseian should actively support the development of Yonsei. The more Yonsei grows, the more brilliantly the stars of Yonsei will shine.
 
  I am confident that you are prepared to depart from these campus grounds and step into the world as a talented Yonseian of intelligence, character and spirituality. Ancient sages said that the stages of life were “Magnae et Longae Viae”, or grand and long journeys. Graduation is another starting point in life. I sincerely wish you will achieve victory in your goals in these Magnae et Longae Viae. Take a step towards a hopeful future, and Yonsei’s alumni will proudly accompany you along the way.
 
  May God's grace and blessing be with you now and always.