Congratulatory message

All of you who are here at the University of Seoul have gone through painful efforts and fierce competition. Now, “new” and “superior” studies are waiting for you, which will be very different from what you have studied in the past. What you have previously studied is about learning how to understand problems, find answers and about how to enter a school of higher education. Conversely, your studies at university will ask you to learn and understand by yourself and will help you make final preparations for the real world.

We’ll offer various chances for you to study hard and develop your potential, such as the curriculum of liberal arts, courses for major fields of study, foreign language programs, programs on self-development, as well as globalization issues. These new and superior studies will ask you to start tour new studies in an entirely new and exciting way.

All of you will lead this global and knowledge information era of the 21st century!
The world has changed from a society formed according to the geopolitics of countries to a global society where the countries seemed connected to each other in a single village. The interdependence between the countries is ever increasing and a problem in one country often has effects on the other parts of the world. For example, the financial crisis in the United States at the end of 2008 greatly impacted on the economy of the whole world.

The world has also been transformed from an industrial society to a society of knowledge and information. The systems to produce profits and added values are dependent on production and application of knowledge, and information technology continues to develop at a remarkable speed.
Thus, the 21st century has been called “The Global and Knowledge Information Era.” All of you, referred to as the ‘G’ generation (global generation), will lead this global, knowledge and information world. As the global generation, you should transcend the national boundaries of thought and competition and be a citizen of the world who thinks and competes with global perspectives. To lead this knowledge and information era, you should be a professional and strive to create new ideas and technology. All of you need to be proficient in foreign languages, including the official language of English, have a global sense and be innovative.

All of you will open a new age for the development of Korea!
You’ll start your own college life this year. Furthermore, this year is very different from other times from a historical point of view. It is the centenary year of Japan’s forceful annexation of Joseon, the 60th year of the Korean War, the 50th year of the April 19th Revolution, the 30th year of the May 18th Gwangju Democratization Movement, and the 10th year of the June 15th South-North Joint Declaration. We can look back on our modern history at this point of time.

Since the Independence of Korea in 1945, we have experienced the periods of constitution, industrialization and democratization. More importantly, we have become the nation which achieved both industrialization and democratization in the shortest period of time in the world. Korea was evaluated as the 10th power in the world economies that has such outstanding global brands as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai Motor. In addition, by hosting the successful 1988 Summer Olympics, the 2002 World Cup, and the G-20 summit this year, Korea continues to receive great attention from people all around the world.

Our next goal is to realize an advanced welfare state and, eventually, be a top-class nation in the world. Your generation is the generation that will lead Korea into the 21st century and contribute to create a more advanced welfare state.

Furthermore, the independence, constitution, industrialization and democratization were acquired through our prior generations’ sweat, toil and sacrifices. Such achievements don’t just happen, but calls for our efforts. To obtain a more advanced welfare state will require us to make every attempt at creating new development engines and thinking out new paradigms for our future development. I sincerely ask you all to be diligent in preparing for the mission of this time, and into the 21st century!

All of you are brilliant students!
The University of Seoul has recently shown many notable changes and development, so its reputation is getting better with time. According to the report on the competitive edge of universities by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, we were ranked 4th in the country. I’m confident that the university will continue to grow to be a new prestigious and top-class university of Korea.
I’m expecting you all to be proud of the school you selected and to start vigorously enjoying your new college life. I, the president of the university, and the faculty of professors will do our best in directing, teaching and helping you.

Again, I would like to congratulate all the new students here.
Last but not least, I hope that the university will change and develop because of you entering the school as a freshman this new spring!

February 26, 2010
Lee, Sang-Bum President of the University of Seoul
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