This marks the end of the eventful 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began unexpectedly, has continued for two years now. Vaccination has gone downhill, and the power of COVID-19 has not withered. However, it is no one’s fault that we cannot end the COVID-19 pandemic even though we are trying our best. We can only faithfully continue doing our duties.

The COVID-19 pandemic was an opportunity to find our true selves as individuals in society. Each of us is a universe that influences the people around us. We are related to one group and interact with others. We form one society and face others. Just as I was exposed to the threat of COVID-19 as an individual, being an editor-in-chief was an opportunity for me to be aware of my position in society. I cannot do anything by myself. I would not have been able to publish a magazine that closes the year at The UOS Times all by myself. I am grateful for Ha-hyun, who underwent this trial together with me, so that we completed this semester as editor-in-chief and vice-editor-in-chief. It would not have been possible without the 38th generation reporters who worked silently on the steadily mounting pile of work.

In this magazine, I wanted to show how The UOS Times has journeyed for a year. People in their twenties are pursuing pioneering paths in various fields. However, their vitality is not evident in any field. The UOS Times tried to shine a spotlight on OTT services and MBTI, both of which have drawn the interest of people in their twenties in recent times. We also tried to address the low political participation among Generation MZ. We tried to highlight the indicators that prove that our society is maturing through articles on the “Nuri Rocket launch” and “Voice Phishing.” By introducing traditional Korean culture in the form of traditional games, traditional tea and snacks, and old palaces in Seoul, we took the opportunity to showcase our country to foreign readers. We also tried to listen to as many people as possible. I hope our efforts will make an impact on our readers.

There is a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child.” I would like to change this saying into “It takes a single school, University of Seoul, to publish an issue of The UOS Times magazine.” I would like to thank the reporters who worked with us, and, above all, our readers, without whom our articles are meaningless. Even though we are unable to deliver what we want to say as well as we want to because of the language barrier, we are still here because our readers engage with The UOS Times and its articles. Thank you for your support for The UOS Times over the years. I have another semester to serve as the editor-in-chief. I hope to reach a wider pool of readers next year. Thank you. 

Hwang Yun-seon
Editor-in-chief
mono071227@uos.ac.kr