This is the full text of the inaugural speech of President Lee Ki-jeong, who was appointed as the new president of Hanyang University, at the 16th Presidential Inauguration held at Paiknam Concert Hall on March 2, 2023.
“With the lofty and steady will of the White Mountain, with the clear and deep heart of the Great River.” Thus goes the opening of our school song. I can still remember the time these words first rang in my ear. Exactly 44 years since that day, I stand solemnly before you today as the 16th President of Hanyang University.
The “White Mountain,” Baeksan, encompasses Baekdu Mountain and the Taebaek Mountain Range, which are the highest mountains on this peninsula, while the “Great River” refers to the Han River that swirls about Hanyang, the old name for Seoul. This spirit, both lofty and profound, is the very essence of Hanyang’s history as a school—our foundation and our awakening.
I will not deny the emotions that threaten to overflow my heart. More importantly, this pride and achievement are not and cannot be mine alone. This overwhelming pride is shared with all the Hanyang family, inherited together and carried forward together. Therefore, as the incoming President, I not only embrace your warm encouragement and applause with gratitude and blessings; I also cannot but face the spirit of endless effort and resilience shining through in each and every one of you with an answering gaze of wonder.
Thus, we are blessings unto each other, deserving of thanks upon thanks. I must begin, on this occasion, by giving voice to this genuine appreciation from the bottom of my heart. First, I would like to give my special thanks to Chairman Kim Chong-yang of the Board of Trustees of the Hanyang Foundation, President Sohn Yong-keun of the Alumni Association, President Chung Jin-taek of Korea University, President Kim Eun-mee of Ewha Women’s University, and the Directors of the Hanyang Foundation for attending this meaningful event.
I would also like to thank the search committee members who did not miss a single step in the incredibly demanding process of the presidential election, and the six candidates who ran alongside each other but became friends along the way and will become strong assistants as much as they could. I will always cherish the precious moments in this process of envisioning Hanyang’s future together. Also, I ask you all to accept my heartfelt gratitude—the 360,000 alumni around the world who represent the past and the present of Hanyang; our students, the future of the Hanyang community and the core of our driving force; above all, our professors who nurture that driving force into unimaginable growth toward national and global capability; and especially, our university staff members, who work behind the scenes from beginning to end, and who credit and uplift each other for all achievements. There are no words to express my gratitude for the honor you all have granted me to be a part of this amazing community as your President.
As the 16th President of Hanyang University, I would like to talk to you today about challenge, exploration, and love.
First, on “challenge.” The word “crisis” has become so monotonous that it seems as though we need a much stronger term to truly feel its impact. Moreover, global crises, which have become commonplace now that we have grown desensitized to them, are literally endless. We are only now beginning to emerge from the dark tunnel of the pandemic, which was a disaster for all of humanity. This is only one of many, of course. We are facing countless difficulties, from the climate crisis to the poverty crisis, the crisis of social inequality, and crises of conflicts among generations, genders, regions, and classes, many of which do not even seem solvable.
What is the significance of this crisis-ridden moment? Although the expression may be cliche, I am confident that the only true solution starts from the fundamental insight that every crisis represents an opportunity. As a community involved in the academe, whose trade is the discovery of principles and fundamentals, surely, we feel this on an intuitive level. At the same time, we must remember that Hanyang is now called to take a proactive role in the world. It is true that we were once at the periphery as an institution. How things have changed! No sooner had ERICA Campus and Seoul Campus risen side by side to the ranks of a prestigious private university than they are now soaring together on the world stage. I saw with my own eyes, traversing the globe as the Vice President of the Office of International Affairs, how the world’s gaze changed with every passing year. Hanyang went from an institution that must wait its turn to an institution that people await, from asking for people to accept our invitations to being asked for invitations. The pride I feel is deep and poignant, and it demands to be shared. At the same time, I cannot but be mindful of what this changed perception means. Yes, it is the world telling us, again and again, to challenge and take risks. The world was telling us, loud and clear, that the strides we made thus far were a foundation for new challenges; that new challenges must follow for a giant leap at Hanyang’s centennial; and the crises we now face are none other than opportunities for Hanyang’s new challenges.
Beloved Hanyang family, can you hear the call of the world? Would you like to undertake these challenges together? We can do it together, because, together, we are so much stronger.
The second point I would like to talk about is “exploration.”
During the presidential election process, I presented a specific development plan of four core pledges, three foundational projects, and the value of growing together. We will step boldly outside the rigid framework of education to nurture talent that crosses the borders of capabilities, and we will not only make decisive investments and provide support to cultivate a creative research ecosystem at global levels, but also aggressively foster global research challengers through creative motivation. Furthermore, as a university that has always been a leader in social innovation, we will make sure the name “Hanyang” shines everywhere in the world wherever it is needed and drives our quest for a stronger global status and a broader reach, allowing Hanyang’s reputation to resound at the gates of enhanced international competitiveness.
It will not be easy, and that is why I ask you to join in this challenge. To build the foundation for this difficult task, we must rove far and wide to secure our financial stability, constructively accept myriad critiques and input for the buildup of future infrastructure, and find optimal solutions that can satisfy our whole community. What does this mean? It means we must be constantly awake and aware, and make clear-eyed explorations seeking safe routes as Hanyang sails toward the future. We must go a step further. However, there can be no competitive advantage in simply avoiding the reefs. This search for safe routes must always be accompanied by careful prospecting for Hanyang’s future. Only then can we pioneer new ground to secure our future. This is the breathless journey of seeking and prospecting I speak of—an exploration full of anticipation and adventure.
I ask the Hanyang family, with all the esteem I hold and will always hold for you: if you are ready for a challenge, won’t you embark on this exploration with me, boldly and with glee? Put together the lion and the heart, the symbols of Hanyang University, and we get Lionhearts—a symbol of fierce courage. This is our birthright as the brave and lionhearted ones. I would now like to propose we begin our bold exploration for an astounding leap, with all of us together and our hearts bursting with lion-like courage.
My third point is about “love.”
Our foundational slogan is “Love in Deed and Truth.” To put love into practice and not let it remain empty words, Hanyang University launched Volunteer Corps in 1994, a first for a Korean university. We took specific action in our communities that gave shape to the beauty of love, becoming the good influence we wanted to see in the world. In 2017, we established a Social Innovation Center in keeping with global trends, inherited and developed as a UN Sustainable Goal.
As the incoming President, the word “practice” looms large for me on this day. I am reminded of the phrase: “Think before you act, and if you have thought about it, act. Otherwise, the thought will be warped in the absence of an outlet, and will rot away in the end.” This principle applies to me just the same. Thus, “If you have decided to love, put it into practice; and before you put it into practice, always look back on whether it comes from a place of love.” On the first day of my office, I solemnly pledge to you as the 16th President of Hanyang University to put “Love in Deed and Truth.” This cannot be mere lip service because I know all too well that only four years from now, the time is fast approaching when a clear record of this day will be my judgment.
I want to end this with this message. I am an academic who has specialized in the sounds of language. Although it may seem that there are so many identical sounds, in minute detail, they are physically different. These sounds were also, however, abstracted into the same sounds in their expression, blessing humanity with the gift of writing. This universal principle of similarity in difference, of difference in similarity, is reflected just the same in our lives. As members of the Hanyang community, we are all different and should be different in our irreplaceable dignity. At the same time, we must be one in the name of Hanyang and be the same, hour by hour. Would you like to discover together this paradoxical truth—the coexistence of similarity and difference? Would you like to experience as one the joy where our existence is an incomparable happiness to each other, and the sum of the individual is built up to be the achievement of all? As long as we are together, the future of Hanyang will shine in resplendence, and the great history of those who built the foundation will be remembered.
My Hanyang family, dearly admired, let us bless each other’s tomorrows. As the Hanyang University’s 16th President, as a laborer for challenge, exploration, and love, and as a leader of mediation and facility in togetherness, I wish the grace and protection of God on all the paths you take.
Thank you very much.