The Renaissance of Sookmyung Life Academy

On March 9, 2018, the inaugural ceremony of ‘Sookmyung Life Academy’ took place at the Samsung Convention Center in the Centennial Hall.  Sookmyung Life Academy is a one-year program created and sponsored by Dongwon Education Foundation to train university students as talented individuals.  Dongwon has sponsored several universities including Yonsei University, Sogang University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Chosun University, and Pukyong National University, but this is the first time the Foundation is sponsoring a women’s university.  At the ceremony for Sookmyung Life Academy, many high officials were attending.  Among them, Park In Goo, Vice-President of Dongwon, gave a congratulatory message to the fifty students accepted into the program.  In his speech, he quoted a famous line from the novel “The Little Prince”, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders.  Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”  He continued his speech with, “Students should not be taught how to study but be given opportunities that will increase the desire of learning, and yearn for more.  Through this program, I hope students gain new love for self-autonomy learning and increase their interest in learning.”  He ended his speech with a compassionate congratulatory remark to the participants as they enter the Academy program.  Yoo Jin, Department of Social Psychology ’16 said, “On my quest to find out about and join an academic program, I came across this program.  I am looking forward to the experiences I will have in the Sookmyung Life Academy program this year.”  Throughout the year, students will be learning valuable lessons from invited experts in their respective fields as well as Sookmyung Women’s University professors and alumnae.  Participants will engage in reading, discussion, design thinking, group activities, and more.