Professor SHIN Kook Joe is a professor of chemistry who has a long and great relationship with SNU. After spending roughly thirty-five years at SNU, he harbors a deep affection for the university. Today, he only has a few days before his retirement at the end of this academic year. In a sunlit office draped with calligraphy and ink drawings of orchids, Professor Shin shared his memories of his years on campus. His recollections were sentimental but at the same time carried a meaningful message.
Professor Shin began by expressing his feelings."I feel like I'm graduating from my beloved school," he said."I met excellent students and we conducted research together and I watched them grow up to become great people. These experiences made me very happy." He also said that he was proud of his thirty years of teaching in the lecture halls because he had a hand in"contributing to our country's chemistry studies and helping SNU's chemistry education get worldwide recognition." With a fond smile, he added that the thing he will miss the most after his retirement is"being up all night with students while absorbed in experiments."
In 1965, Professor Shin entered SNU's Department of Chemistry as a student and spent his undergraduate years on the Dongsung-dong campus. Before moving to Gwanak campus in 1975, SNU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was located in Dongsung-dong. In 2010, he even wrote a memoir of the good times he had there, titled Good Old Days on Dongsung-dong Campus. He returned to SNU as a professor on the Gwanak campus and gained new memories. Professor Shin has a favorite hiking trail on campus. It is the road behind the Library leading to the Hoam Faculty House and then down to the Outdoor Theatre. He said that there are lots of trees there and their colors change beautifully from season to season. However, he is concerned about how there are so many cars and buildings on the campus nowadays. He expressed his regrets by saying that when he first came to Gwanak campus, the university was full of nature, but now the university is increasing the number of buildings without properly considering the environment. He stressed the importance of harmony between Gwanak mountain and SNU.
Professor Shin studied statistical mechanics and wrote several papers, including three theses on kinetic theory of bimolecular reactions in liquid. In 1988, Professor Shin produced the first Korean translation of Order Out of Chaos, a book written by Ilya Prigogine, the Nobel laureate in chemistry. He chose to translate this book because he had read Prigogine's papers when he was young and was interested in his work. Order Out of Chaos is a renowned book that restructured the purpose, the method and the perception of science. Publishing the translation of this book was a landmark in the history of the new science movement. It received attention from the social sciences community as well, especially from those in the fields of political science and economics. Professor Shin expressed his wish to translate more works if he comes across a book that intrigues him.
Professor Shin is interested in many fields in addition to his own. At first, he didn't actually plan on majoring in chemistry. Surprisingly, he was interested in entering the Department of Korean Language and Literature. In the end he decided to major in chemistry because his father told him there were brilliant professors in SNU’s Department of Chemistry. Also, it is his belief that if he had started learning piano at an early age, he would have applied to the Department of Music. Playing the piano is one of his hobbies alongside calligraphy. He has learned calligraphy for the past 20 years and it is his passion. He participated in the 19th Government Employee Art Contest last year and won an award for his calligraphy. His office is full of his calligraphic work that emanates the wisdom of our ancestors and drawings that resonate with the pure Eastern spirit. He emphasized that students need to learn Eastern classics and the wisdom held within. He also stated his belief that"combining different fields such as the social sciences and natural sciences can lead to bursts of creative ideas".
He expressed his concern that when the university's budget gets cut, usually the funding for the access to foreign scientific journals in the Library is reduced. Then, students and professors can't read some of the foreign scientific journals and this hinders their research and studies."Universities have three important purposes to serve: educating students, innovating research, and contributing to the society," Professor Shin said."I believe that budget cuts should not obstruct the university from performing its main functions." At the end of his tenure, he advised SNU students to not fear mistakes and always have a challenging, daring spirit. Professor Shin said,"One of the prerogatives of being young is the forgiveness given to mistakes. Do not waste your precious youth that comes only once and can't be bought with gold."
Written by JANG Hyo Jeong, SNU English Editor, fatalbonds@snu.ac.kr ?
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, SNU Professor of Liberal Studies, eps7257@snu.ac.kr
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor, morningcalm2@gmail.com
Photographed by NAM Sang-Hyuk, student photographer, as0324@snu.ac.kr