Selected Speeches
Dr. OH Yeon Cheonserved as the President of SNU from 2010 to 2014. These are selected speeches during his presidency.
2011 Seoul Asian Universities (SAU) Forum
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2011 Seoul Asian Universities (SAU) Forum - Reception Remarks
Distinguished guests, Presidents and vice-presidents, And ladies and gentlemen.
What an honor and a great pleasure to welcome you all to Seoul National University this evening.
I hope you have all settled in comfortably, and had a brief but an enjoyable tour of Seoul and our campus this afternoon.
Tomorrow is a big day for all of us, a new beginning for a new era in Asian studies. And I am certain that our collaborative efforts will be exciting, inspiring and fruitful.
Before we get down to serious business, however, let’s celebrate this evening in each other’s joyful presence, the company of brilliant minds in Asia. And simply enjoy the wonderful Korean food, and our conversations among kindred spirits.
I am excited to make new friendships and renew old ones, and I hope that all of us will remember this evening with a fond and warm remembrance as the beginning of a new era in Asian studies and in new friendships.
Thank you, and have a wonderful evening.
2011 Seoul Asian Universities Forum - Opening Remarks
Good morning!
Honorable Chairman Jae Il BYUN, Presidents and Vice-Presidents, Distinguished guests, And ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great honor and pleasure to stand before you, the best and the most brilliant minds from so many major academic institutions in Asia.
What a rare occasion this is, to have brilliant scholars united in one mind to work towards a truly collaborative effort among 17 different Asian countries.
As you all know, many believe the 21st century to be “the Asian century.” Indeed, Asia has become the center of both global economic and geo-political growth. Asian population comprises more than 60%(4.2 billion) of the world’s population, with two of the three largest economies in the world; many more promising emerging markets.
Not surprisingly, there is a rising demand to understand what is unique about Asia and its experiences, both in and outside Asia. Unfortunately, however, due to complex reasons, Asian studies have historically been dominated largely by the US and the Western world until recently.
Now, it is time to turn the tide, as the Asian academics are now ready to build on and also revise the academic work done by the West. Now that we have the resources and the means to carry out original and exciting research from Asian perspectives, we have gathered here today to promote Asian studies in collaboration with other Asian institutions and scholars. This effort will be invaluable, because only when we complement the research conducted by the West, can Asian studies truly create universal values.
It is thus with great hope and expectations that I propose this new Asian initiative today. It is truly a historical moment, as Asian studies will now receive rigorous academic attention as an important discipline.
The most important question, thus, would be “How can we achieve this?”
Through a passionate effort to constantly transform our ideas into productive and transferable concepts and invaluable knowledge.
Today’s meeting is thus an indescribably significant leap into setting the path for students and future generations to engage in further Asian studies based on the foundational work conducted in this community.
I hope that this conference will be provocative, challenging and nurturing for all of us in attendance here. I also believe that this conference will lead Asia into the 21st century as truly “the Asian century” with a better knowledge about ourselves as we ruminate deeply on the meaning of “Asia” from interdisciplinary perspectives, producing Asian values that will prove to be universal for all humanity.
Thank you. My deepest gratitude to you all.
Distinguished guests, Presidents and vice-presidents, And ladies and gentlemen.
What an honor and a great pleasure to welcome you all to Seoul National University this evening.
I hope you have all settled in comfortably, and had a brief but an enjoyable tour of Seoul and our campus this afternoon.
Tomorrow is a big day for all of us, a new beginning for a new era in Asian studies. And I am certain that our collaborative efforts will be exciting, inspiring and fruitful.
Before we get down to serious business, however, let’s celebrate this evening in each other’s joyful presence, the company of brilliant minds in Asia. And simply enjoy the wonderful Korean food, and our conversations among kindred spirits.
I am excited to make new friendships and renew old ones, and I hope that all of us will remember this evening with a fond and warm remembrance as the beginning of a new era in Asian studies and in new friendships.
Thank you, and have a wonderful evening.
2011 Seoul Asian Universities Forum - Opening Remarks
Good morning!
Honorable Chairman Jae Il BYUN, Presidents and Vice-Presidents, Distinguished guests, And ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great honor and pleasure to stand before you, the best and the most brilliant minds from so many major academic institutions in Asia.
What a rare occasion this is, to have brilliant scholars united in one mind to work towards a truly collaborative effort among 17 different Asian countries.
As you all know, many believe the 21st century to be “the Asian century.” Indeed, Asia has become the center of both global economic and geo-political growth. Asian population comprises more than 60%(4.2 billion) of the world’s population, with two of the three largest economies in the world; many more promising emerging markets.
Not surprisingly, there is a rising demand to understand what is unique about Asia and its experiences, both in and outside Asia. Unfortunately, however, due to complex reasons, Asian studies have historically been dominated largely by the US and the Western world until recently.
Now, it is time to turn the tide, as the Asian academics are now ready to build on and also revise the academic work done by the West. Now that we have the resources and the means to carry out original and exciting research from Asian perspectives, we have gathered here today to promote Asian studies in collaboration with other Asian institutions and scholars. This effort will be invaluable, because only when we complement the research conducted by the West, can Asian studies truly create universal values.
It is thus with great hope and expectations that I propose this new Asian initiative today. It is truly a historical moment, as Asian studies will now receive rigorous academic attention as an important discipline.
The most important question, thus, would be “How can we achieve this?”
Through a passionate effort to constantly transform our ideas into productive and transferable concepts and invaluable knowledge.
Today’s meeting is thus an indescribably significant leap into setting the path for students and future generations to engage in further Asian studies based on the foundational work conducted in this community.
I hope that this conference will be provocative, challenging and nurturing for all of us in attendance here. I also believe that this conference will lead Asia into the 21st century as truly “the Asian century” with a better knowledge about ourselves as we ruminate deeply on the meaning of “Asia” from interdisciplinary perspectives, producing Asian values that will prove to be universal for all humanity.
Thank you. My deepest gratitude to you all.