A Happy New Year to our faculty, students, alumni, their families, and our fellow citizens! I sincerely wish you all the best, good fortune, good health, and lots of success in your endeavors in 2023, the Year of the Black Rabbit.
We often say that the past year has been an eventful year. The year 2022, however, truly seems to deserve this attribution. Despite welcoming a new government, our society remains divided as if elections are still ongoing, its factions showing little willingness to work towards building consensus and unity. Our economy shows signs that economic difficulties will continue throughout 2023. Not too long ago, the terrible event in Itaewon over Halloween that led to the passing of so many young people, the mere thought of which still breaks our hearts.
Outside of Korea, the unexpected war between Ukraine and Russia has been putting a heavy burden on the already struggling world economy. Nearby in China, President Xi Jinping succeeded in continuing his leadership for a third consecutive term; an act that was not received enthusiastically by the international community. The situation in the so-called developed countries is not particularly positive either: the undemocratic and anti-intellectual events occurring in those countries cannot be viewed but with disbelief. It seems unbelievable that these are the same countries we have tried to learn from and follow over the past 70 years. If I may be honest, the state of the world today, such as the enlarging wealth gap, increasing political conflicts, and proliferation of fake news, make it difficult to welcome the new year with a hopeful heart. I wonder if the time we live in is what our ancestors used to describe as ‘a period of turbulence.’
Members of Seoul National University! Am I going too far by saying that while turbulence in the past were largely caused by excessive ambitions or actions of those in power, the troubles we see today arise from ‘intellectual poverty’ and ‘intellectual corruption’? Today, a large number of well-educated people with easy access to all kinds of information are participating in the public sphere. Unfortunately, it appears that many of them listen only to what they want to hear and can easily understand rather than trying to discern and obtain true and accountable knowledge and information. Complacency created by echo chambers is at the root of the endless political conflicts and prevalence of fake news we see today in our society. What is even more problematic is that many highly educated people have been catering to this trend. For quite some time now, once respectable intellectuals have been compromising their intellect as well as integrity and ingratiating their audience by uncritically telling them what they wish to hear. These pundits have been speaking on behalf of political camps, corrupting and dividing our society with their words to a point where they can no longer be tolerated.
What is the role of intellectuals in a society? Cultivating intellectuals requires a lot of social resources. What is expected in return is for intellectuals to present a long-term vision for our society based on an objective analysis and that they do their best to persuade others of this vision, even if it does not match those of the political sphere. It is the role of intellectuals to stand against the propagation of biased claims based on selective facts that aim to mold our perspectives toward a pre-arranged direction.
I have highlighted ‘intellectual poverty’ and ‘intellectual corruption’ over other reasons as the cause of today’s troubles because I also believe we can overcome these troubles if educated people perform their expected and given roles properly and fully. It is now time for the community of Seoul National University to prove its true worth against the rampant anti-intellectualism and growing doubts about the role of intellectuals. For the past 70 years, the Korean society and the Korean people have continued to believe in Seoul National University, taking pride in us and silently supporting us no matter what. And they have looked at our school whenever a crisis or challenge arose. While it is necessary for us to self-reflect on whether we have lived up to such trust and support, it is now the time for us to justify the presence of Seoul National University and our intellectual minds in our society and demonstrate that such trust and support has been well-placed.
Our world is changing at an incredibly fast pace. Astounding advances are made at such an unbelievable speed that the dazzling achievements tend to blind us. As we try to see through the dazzle, it is hard not to feel a certain anxiety over what we may be missing or where these changes are leading us. It is upon the shoulders of universities, especially our own, to see where we are headed in the long run from a bird’s eye view and not become short-sighted by the rapid pace of change. To do this, we need to pace ourselves and allow ourselves to carefully prepare for our next leap forward. This is why Seoul National University has taken sufficient time to prepare a mid-to-long-term development plan that was finally adopted last year. Although my term will come to an end soon, the new university administration taking office in February will boldly lead the changes step by step according to this plan. I will make every effort to ensure a smooth handover so that the new administration can start their work right away in an optimal environment.
Members of Seoul National University! In the near future, we will observe the 80th anniversary of our country’s liberation. Despite numerous difficulties, our country, as well as our school, have made great strides to bring us to where we are today. All of you will remember the sentence that became the catchphrase for cheering our national football team during the 2022 World Cup: “The important thing is to have an unbreakable heart.” This year will surely be tough, but just as our unbreakable hearts have withstood even the most formidable waves over the past 80 years, let us believe in our strength and the power of our intellect and move forward steadfastly.
I send you my best wishes to all of you and your families. Thank you.
January 2, 2023
President of Seoul National University Se-Jung Oh