아래 글은 임홍근 교우님(수학 68)께서 보내오신 글을 그대로 올린 겁니다.

어서 빨리 올리고자 하는 마음에 복사, 붙여넣기로 일단 올리고 여유가 생길 때 

정리하여 다시 올리겠습니다. 학창 시절의 귀한 사진도 첨부파일로 붙어 있습니다.

-- 이과대학장 양성덕

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Enjoy Challenging the Challenges with Math

       Congratulations on the College of Science for its 70^th anniversary this year (2023). Korea University (KU) was founded in 1905 to uphold “Liberty, Justice and Truth.” This philosophy has been well reflected in the Motto of Korea, “Hongik Ingan (홍익인간).” This motto is intended to broadly benefit the human world and/or to devote to the welfare of humanity. In the pursuit of these worthwhile causes, KU students have been educated to be more intelligent (aka Jih-Sung) and to develop a strong spirit of patriotism (aka Yah-sung). In addition, they have developed open-minded leadership skills for the global community. To this end, KU has made remarkable contributions to the advancement of humanity by overcoming various huddles over a century. Most of these historical events and related activities have been well documented and displayed for future generations at the KU (100^th anniversary) Museum. In this regard, it is commendable to start compiling important documents about historic events for the 70^th anniversary of the College of Science. Thus, I express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Yang (SungDeog), Dean of the College, for his leadership to initiate this important endeavor. This writing is to share my experiences and unforgettable memories at KU.  

       In 1968, I began my college life with a BIG dream to be a great (Math) teacher and scholar. During my school years (1968~1972), Korea was in chaos and divided into many different interest groups. As one of the poorest countries in the world, Korea needed to implement good economic development programs for industrialization and for creating more jobs. During the three phases of (5-year) economic development programs in the late 1970s, Korea’s economy grew rapidly to achieve the Han-River miracle. This had been well recognized around the world. Korea became one of developed countries in a short time. But some people demanded for more freedom, fairness, and justice in the society (aka democratization movement). These two conflicts resulted in numerous demonstrations and social upheavals even in university campuses. It is sad to encounter dark news of various demonstrations by some special groups. These two conflicts could have been resolved through mutual understanding and reconciliating efforts. Unfortunately, they became political issues to put our country in chaos with many divisions, even in these days (2023).

       Continued demonstrations and social upheavals resulted in partial or full closures of universities by the Government order. Many classes and campus activities had been blocked or cancelled. This had big impacts on Korean economy and academic fields (loss of valuable times for production, learning, and research activities). Some of my old textbooks clearly testify its impacts with underlines up to 30 pages. Despite these troubles, we could manage to maintain academic excellence with the help of Math professors. They encouraged us with the words, “Study first; later go out for demonstrations, if needed.” In Appendix, I attach some interesting pictures to share memorable moments of my good old days at KU.

       I achieved my first goal to be a teacher (dream job) in 1973. I started teaching Math at S (and later D) High School (Seoul), but I had not been fully satisfied. The main reason is that I taught the same (Math) stuffs to students of similar-age groups every year. Finding my bliss was not easy nor a factor in any Math equations. Math is the foundation of knowledge to discover properties of elements and relationships therein. I wanted to face new challenges in different filed(s) where I can apply my Math skills for more productive causes.

After serious considerations, I thought Math could be a perfect fit for (business) Finance. Math skills can be used in achieving the goal of a corporation, which is to maximize/increase its value for all stakeholders through efficient allocation of its economic resources. In 1977, I began to study for an MBA degree at the Graduate School of Business, Seoul National University. It was hard to catch up the classes while teaching Math at high schools (two-job life). The topics of business courses were new and difficult for me to digest without any decent background. Based on strong Math skills, I successfully finished the program to earn an MBA degree (Finance) in 1979.

During the periods of fast economic growth in late 1970s, MBA graduates could easily find three or 4 decent jobs. I had been happy with a job at S Corp. (another dream job). But I had not been fully satisfied at work due to daily routines, and lack of flexibility and self-development opportunities. In most of the times, I had been instructed what to do for the department. Thus, my ambition pushed me to face another challenge for a better-quality life. After vigorous job searching, I found an excellent job as a research fellow at the Korea Development Institute (KDI), which has enough flexibility and ample opportunities for self-developments. It was possible because of the MBA degree and good social networks. I worked hard to make some contribution for the Korean economy during the 3^rd phase of (5-year) economic development programs for industrialization. I was happy with good working conditions and flexible schedules. But I had not been fully satisfied with the job due to skewed salary systems between the doctorate holders (higher salary) and non-degree ones for the same kind and amount of works. NOT fair to me!! My ambition aroused me to face another (Big) challenge. If others could have made it, why not me for the degree? Thus, I planned to study abroad.

I thought it a good investment to sacrifice five years for a higher degree. In Aug. 1981, I came to Penn State University (PA, USA) to study for the Ph.D. degree (Finance). I had a BIG dream to be a world-renowned scholar or manager. Of course, the journey was not easy due to many huddles but no way to retreat. As for other foreign students, one of big barriers was English (speaking, writing) in classes.  

In Aug. 1986, I successfully finished the program to earn the Ph.D. degree (Finance). There were two choices for my careers, academic field or business world (e.g., Wall Street firms, corporations). After much consideration, I chose the academic side (teaching, research), which is a better fit for me with more flexibility and opportunities for self-developments. I started teaching Finance courses at S University (one of 14 PA State Universities) from 1986.  I had been fully satisfied with this job. Many of my students have been working in big US corporations (e.g., Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Vanguard, …). To present my academic/practical research papers, I attended many academic conferences around the world. During my sabbatical leaves, I taught Finance courses at several universities in Malaysia (UMS, Kota Kinabalu; Fulbright Scholar), Thailand (Bangkok Univ.), and K University (Kyung Nam). I also met with many foreign scholars and visited their universities. During my tenure at S Univ., I loved teaching an applied course, IMP (Investment Management Program). In this course, each student is a portfolio manager, specializing in one to 3 stocks and/or industries. The class as a whole makes all the (buy, sell) decisions based on their research reports to manage a portfolio (almost $300,000) since 1995. Its profits have been used as scholarships for Finance students ($4,000 each year). Every year in March, they attend the Q-GAME Forum to compete with other students around the world in the real portfolio management game (New York). My students had won the first prize several times in a few categories (out of 7 categories; value fund or growth fund or any mix). After 34-year teaching, I retired in Aug. 2020 due to corona pandemic.

In sum, I ask young alumni not to be afraid of facing any new challenges. With strong background in Math at KU, you can be successful in many fields of your choices. In an effort to help them to be good managers, let me talk about two books, “Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? (Richard Maybury; for personal reading)” and “(New) One-Minute Manager (NOMM; Blanchard and Johnson).” NOMM would be a good starting base to develop excellent management skills because everyone will be promoted to higher-level managers regardless of major fields in the future (discussed at a meeting with Math students in June 2023). This book was one of required readings in my (basic, advanced, and global) Finance courses. Some of my students informed me that they had been asked to read this book even at the entry level job(s).

To be an effective manager or team leader, this book emphasizes three themes: One-Minute (OM) Goal Setting, OM Praising, and OM Redirect (or Reprimand (old version)). Everyone (NOMM) should be able to write his/her (personal, project) goal(s) in one paragraph so that other people or team members should be able to read and understand it in one minute (be concise). If some members had successfully finished a project in time, praise them or even yourself (by tapping shoulders) for the job well done in one minute. If you praise them too much, they may become too arrogant with too much pride. This may hurt morale and overall productivity of the team or organization. If any member(s) had failed to finish a project(s), NOMM needs to point out in person why it failed and redirect the process(es) with constructive suggestions in one minute. In some cases, OMM needs to reprimand the person in charge for the failure in one minute (avoid discouraging words). NOMM should try to treat everyone equally as a valuable asset for the team to obtain its goal(s) together.

This concept can be easily applied to all of us at personal levels. What will you do if you have only one minute to live? How about one hour, one day, one month, or one year? Let’s remember the desperate answer by an American soldier when fully surrounded by enemies during Korean War. He replied to a war correspondent: “I can do anything if my ONE more day, MY tomorrow, is guaranteed.” Are we sure of our TOMORROW, one more day, or one more year?

I visited KU Campus in June 2023, first time in 50 years after my graduation (1973). I had been very impressed by so many modernized buildings, equipped with high techs. These excellent buildings had been donated by major Korean companies. I really appreciate for their contributions, which helped KU more competitive around the world. I hope that more of our alumni should be good managers, who will be able to make many  Korean companies to be the world-class corporations for the betterment of our nation, Korea.

Appendix: Memorable Moments at Korea University

       Two pictures (P.1) were taken at a graduation celebrating dinner (Nov. 1971). Featured are two Math professors [Han PhilHa, Yoo HeeSae (speaking)], and Hong Rim (chair, Math Student Association). Prof. Han created Math Dept. through his endless efforts. I have remembered him as one of best teachers and mentors. I learned how to effectively teach Math. Some examples are: A good introduction, emphasis of main points, stand half-way facing students while speaking and writing on blackboard (old days), looking straight at students for any Q&A, and a short conclusion with summaries. He had been very strict in exams and grading (no jokes). I followed his styles during my 34-year teaching careers of Finance courses (not Math). Prof. Yoo has been remembered as one of most kind teachers with some flexibility. In his classes, we had been very busy in writing a lot (no slides).

       Pictures (P.2) show most of my classmates, participating in various sport events during the freshmen year (1968). We won the first prize in a (5-men-2-leg) game (Hong Rim (center) with other classmates). Noh JooIk is featured as the commander of GihMahJun (cavalry battle) with other classmates (good fights). In the other picture, we celebrated the first-place trophy in the basketball game (1971 freshmen) with two professors [Jang TaeHwan (Dept. Chair), SahGong JungSook], Hong Rim (first on the left), and other freshmen reps (need to be identified). Prof. Jang has been remembered as one of most open-minded teachers. As a class rep, I visited his (Dept.) office very often to discuss various issues (e.g., student activities (sports, picnics), demonstrations, or class cancellations). Prof. SahGong has been remembered as one of the most principle-oriented teachers with strict classroom policy (no cancellation). Pictures (P. 3) show most of my classmates, participating in various sports events and picnics. Pictures (P.4) show groups of classmates in a hiking contest (WooEee Dong to SaeGum Jung; Dec. 1969). Since my graduation, more than 50 years have passed, but some of us have been well connected through various SNS platform. Most recently (May 2023), some of these friends met to share valuable memories of good old days at KU. We have been getting older physically, but mentally our memories remain strong and clear. When visiting KU campus in June 2023, I felt sad to find because there is no place or building for my nostalgia. The building in which we used to study had been demolished to be parking places. Most of my professors (including Prof. Kwon and Park) passed away but Prof. SahGong. My best wish for her to stay healthy along with her family.