Dean’s Congratulatory Address

2017 Commencement Ceremony

Dear Graduates, Congratulations! You have successfully completed your medical education! Under the teaching philosophy “Sugichiin” and “In-Eui-Ye-Ji”, you have persevered to earn your degrees over the last 4 to 6 years. To all of the families, who supported our students, and to the professors, who taught them with sincere hearts, I want to thank you all for your hard work and congratulate you on your graduation. You have completed the first step towards becoming a medical practitioner.

Over the course of an insurmountable number of days, weeks, months, and years, you studied your textbooks countless times for the national medical exam. To pass and go on to practice what you have learned in the real world, you have strived to hold your degree and a medical license. Now, I’m certain that you feel like you can do anything! Once again, congratulations on your graduation. Families, please give them a round of applause for their momentous achievement. And, cheers to their success.

Medical education stands apart from other biological sciences, because we interact with human beings on a daily basis. And, we work for the recovery of the physical and mental health of the human condition. I need not reiterate the statement of the Hippocratic Oath. You have been bestowed with a very critical vocation. Nowadays, EQ (the Emotional Quotient of a human being) is valued more than one’s IQ (the Intelligence Quotient of a human being). For a medical doctor, it is an obligation for them to possess the humane characteristics to care for their patients. Your medical career should be performed with honesty and consistency. I hope that you become a wise doctor, who operates with compassion and a warm heart.

Dear graduates! Earnest Hemingway, the Nobel Prize novelist, said, “Courage is grace under pressure.” Real courage becomes a blessing when you go through hardship and overcome it. The world always wants us to be challenged and be innovative. Medical education, also, needs new innovative challenges along with the 4^th Industrial Revolution, which is represented by cold artificial intelligence (AI) such as AlphaGo. We can stand against uncompassionate AI and the industrial revolution, because we are capable of hope and courage. Hope and courage derive from honesty and an unbiased point-of-view. I am certain that our SKKU family will maintain a challenging spirit and overcome all the changes and innovations that can be heartless to human beings. I hope that you will nurture the honesty and the unbiased view which you have learned during your time here.

Dear graduates, families, and professors! For the students who are graduating from here, today, I know that there will be a bright future ahead for all of us. Several years of diligent training from now on will be the foundation for you to become better doctors and great medical researchers. I eagerly look forward to seeing you become the best SKKU alumni: a prominent professional who everybody wants to love and respect and the world renowned doctor who surpasses your mentors. Thank you.