Dear parents and guests! Dear graduating students! I congratulate all our graduating students with all of my heart. I also thank the professor for their efforts and our parents for their support. Dear graduates! What was the best part of Yonsei for you? Why did you enter Yonsei, and what do you think is the best result from what you've learnt at Yonsei? Today, I think over Yonsei's school precept. "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." We took 'truth' and 'freedom' from this biblical phrase and adopted them as our school motto. Our ultimate value is attaining liberty of mind as well as that of body. Freedom comes from truth. Freedom without truth is mere self-indulgence. Yonsei taught you that the ultimate value of freedom comes from truth. I hope you would not forget this precious value of truth and pursue the world of freedom based upon truth. Dear graduates! It is true that the way to freedom and truth can be very rough, arduous, and tiring, but you should never waver from its path. I would like to tell you about Widang Jeong In-bo, the great teacher of Yonsei who taught Korean history and literature from 1922 to 1937 at Yonhee College, which now became Yonsei University. He used to cite Chen Ziang's poetry that explained the origin of the Yellow River in China. Cold water from sky runs through Kunlun mountain and lurks underground at Yanze. The undercurrent reveals itself at Qinghai, completing the Yellow River. Undercurrent! Widang liked this notion of flowing beneath and inside. Making a strong and firm root of the river, the undercurrent hidden from people's sight is more beautiful than the visible part of the Yellow River. A strength that makes a seemingly discontinued, invisible history assert its prominence is fostered through such undercurrent. Although your steps toward the world of truth and freedom may not see the light of day at once, do continue your effort in the firm belief that your perseverance and passion will finally bear fruitful outcomes. Dear graduates, Dear parents and guests! I wish to emphasize, as I always have, that the spirit the current age demands is one of self-reliance. It is the spirit serving society and country rather than waiting for them to help ourselves stand up. To have this spirit, one should support himself or herself. This is the spirit of self-reliance, a spirit of helping others make success and taking care of the hardships of one's neighbors. Yonsei's predecessors have shown this spirit in their lives. I urge you not to forget the spirit of self-reliance after graduation. Dear proud Yonseians! Those who graduated before you are waiting out there in the world at large. They would guide and lead you who are taking the first step outside of the school. All of us Yonsei faculty and staff, including myself will support you from behind. Take your first step with a full heart and firm step. On our part, we shall take the Yonsei spirit of self-reliance one step further as we create the new campus at Songdo. Let's support ourselves together and shout A. KA. RA. KA! August 28, 2009 Yonsei University President Kim Han-Joong