This year is the 30th anniversary for POSTECH and the members of POSTECH would not help recognizing the fact. Recently there is a popular drama called 'Respond 1988', which reminds us of the emotions of the moment as we look back to the era of 30 years ago. This trend makes us remember the past easily as I do in this article.
The late 1980s, when POSTECH was founded, were a time of growth in Korea. The GDP growth rate of Korea reached nearly 12%, which was the highest rate in the world, and people experienced price stability and surplus balance in international trade. At the same time, the national economy finally exceeded the population of 40 million people and started to make some progress in domestic demand and distribution problems, which resulted in the increase of income and maturation of citizenship. At the time our target was clear and there were inspirational leaders in various fields including politics, economy, society, and religion with many talented labors. It was the time when people thought 'the world is wide and there are plenty of things to do' and 'there would be no failure despite of existing difficulties in this era'.
POSTECH was established in this era and made an unprecedented miracle. This is comparable to the one made by the foundation of POSCO, which started in the shoddy circumstances of Korea but became a huge scale steel mill.
It was true that POSTECH was a miracle and a rising star in the past, but we cannot live the present with only memories of the past. We have to face a new mission for the next 30 years for the future of POSTECH. The gloomier the future of our economy becomes, the more important it will be for Postechians to create new R&D and education, develop new paradigms of technology, and initiate start-ups. We must transform Pohang from an industrial heart of Korea into the Mecca of global best-in-class intellectual exchange and convergence. We can do this if we build upon the intellectual foundation our alumni have set.
I hope the meaning of '30 years of the school's foundation' does not merely lead to a series of events and celebrations, but encourages POSTECH members to remember and debate about the past 30 years of POSTECH history with its activities and memorable events and inspires everyone to think about the next 30 years of POSTECH with new ideas and attention.