All Ph.D., Master’s, Bachelor’s graduates, congratulations!
I sincerely wish you all the best in your new beginnings.

Prior to the commencement, I was able to hear the graduates' emotions and aspirations through interviews produced by our students. The joy and gratitude, the memories of many encounters, the nervousness of starting a new life, the anticipation and anxiety of the future - all of these seem to be timeless experiences around the time of graduation. As we reflect on the meaning of today's ceremony, where the past intersects with the future, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations and encouragement to the graduates who are the protagonists of this precious time.

The years of study and research that have brought you to where you are today have been both challenging and rewarding. Your achievements are especially meaningful because they have taken place during the COVID pandemic. Throughout this difficult and uncertain time, you have continued to pursue your intellectual questions and eagerly broaden your experience and prepare yourself to meet the challenges of the future. The diverse capabilities you have developed through hardship are solid assets that will serve you well in the future.

As you remember the family and friends who have surrounded you with love and support, the professors who have taught and nurtured you, and the staff members who support your activities around campus, I hope you will express your gratitude to them and share your joy. Most of all, I hope you will cherish in your hearts the expectations of the country, society, and people who have placed their trust in Seoul National University and made your studies and research possible.

Dear Graduates,
Seoul National University has now become your alma mater. From now on, you will express and practice the self and values that you have formed at Seoul National University out in the world. The “Seoul National University values” that we have tried to share in the name of our academic community will now be realized in the world through your activities. You are the messengers and representatives of Seoul National University. If Veritas has grown by your light here, I hope that you will now spread that light to the world. If in your pursuit of Veritas, you have discovered the sprout of hope and the possibility of happiness, I hope you will now share that hope and happiness with many more people.

To congratulate you on your graduation, Mr. Kim Junkoo, CEO of NAVER Webtoon, is here to celebrate with you. He stood at a new starting line just like you about 20 years ago, and after graduating, he pioneered new territory, showing us all the power of hope and passion. From the time that webtoons, now a huge culture, were in their infancy, when the webtoonists we all know today were unknown artists with an uncertain future, he and his team planted and nurtured the seeds of webtoons in Korea. He is now spreading K-Webtoons beyond Korea to the rest of the world. As you graduate today, I hope you will believe in your abilities and potential, dream big, and boldly move into a new realm, a new world. There will be hope for your happiness, and hope that will spread to everyone through you.

Dear graduates, you who are the future of us all,
I trust that you will not lose your sense of pride in being an SNU alumnus when you go out into the world. This pride, which is different from self-promotion and arrogance, is a passionate pursuit of universal values. The name of an SNU alumnus is not a qualification to be used to assert yourself, but a credential that represents our pride in the value of learning and contributing to the future. I hope you will live up to that credential and take the lead in pioneering an uncertain future, instead of being complacent. I hope you'll think bigger and farther afield, and use the skills you've honed to brighten the future for all of us and realize the common good. Your alma mater will always support and be proud of you.

Even as you leave the campus today, Seoul National University's doors will always be open to you. Whether you are hungry for more learning during your experiences in the field, in need of the wisdom and advice of those who have taught you the meaning of maturity, or nostalgic for the memories of your time on campus, we hope you will return to our doors. As an academic community leading the era of great transformation, Seoul National University will continue to innovate and develop, becoming a source of pride for both you and the nation.

Graduates, you've been on a path of learning,
I would like to congratulate you once again on your graduation and wish you all the best in your future endeavors. May your future be filled with fulfillment, both big and small. Thank you.

August 29th, 2024
RYU Honglim
President of Seoul National University