단국대학교

Professor Young-seok Song (Fiber Systems Engineering) used algae to develop a photosynthetic cell battery with nearly 20 times higher efficiency than before. His study, entitled “A broadband multiplex living solar cell” with corresponding author Young-seok Song, was recently published. Recognized for its excellence, Professor Song’s research was published in the online edition of Nano Letters (impact factor: 12.279), an international scientific journal for nanoscience and nanotechnology, and was also introduced on the cover of its print edition. Sunlight absorbed by algae drifting on water surfaces is an excellent source of electric energy. Placing algae in a photosynthetic electron extraction system can convert solar energy into electric power. The electric power extracted from algae this way is globally in the spotlight as a sustainable and eco-friendly energy source with various studies currently underway; however, most studies have been limited to low energy efficiency and certain visible wavelengths. Professor Song used gold nanoparticles and zinc oxide nanorods to develop a ‘hybrid nanostructure.’ Combined with the photosynthetic electron extraction system based on cyanobacteria, Song succeeded in extracting energy with around 17 times more density in wider bands than existing plant cells. “Various technologies such as nanotechnology, optical technology, biotechnology and energy converged to develop a high-density energy cell system that works in broadband,” explained professor Song who also added that “even though it may not be commercialized immediately, [I am] looking forward to this study serving as a foundation for research in developing technology for photovoltaic conversions.” This study was carried out with the support of the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Gyeonggi Regional Research Center (GRRC).

Face-to-face classes begin for lab, field experience, and practical courses…"placing safety as a top priority" “Today we will begin with a basic plié move we learned while distance learning.” It is twelve thirty in the afternoon on Monday, April 20th. The basic ballet technique class is in full swing in room 402 of the Jukjeon campus Dance Hall. The six students participating in the class are all freshmen who joined the department this year. As the professor calls through the drill, students perform basic moves learned during remote learning. When a movement is not executed properly, the professor demonstrates the move and helps students make corrections. “This is the first time I've come to school since becoming a university student. Everything is still new to me but I'm excited and motivated to finally be in an actual classroom,” said Do-gyeong Kim, a freshman majoring in ballet in the Department of Dance. Classes are taking place while strictly observing COVID-19 preventive guidelines. Students must first fill out an online questionnaire on their current conditions prior to attending classes. People entering buildings such as the Dance Hall or Music Hall, where face-to-face classes are taking place, are obligated to undergo fever checks and sanitize their hands before entering. Students must not only wear masks during classes but also maintain a certain distance between each other. “It is normally a class of 12 students but we have split the class into two groups of six. Learning the basics is essential for performance arts classes like ours and seeing the students in person makes it possible to instruct them with more precision than through distance learning,” said Professor Sobin Choi (Ballet, Dept. of Dance) who is in charge of the class. Dankook University has strived to make improvements in remote learning by identifying issues through class evaluations and satisfaction surveys. It found there is a limit to how much can be done online for lab, field experience, and practical courses and decided to start offline classes for these courses. Instructors and professors for each course and a special committee desigated for the process held closed discussions to determine which lab, field experience, and practical courses to hold in person. As a result, 322 of the 4,920 undergraduate courses have been selected to start face-to-face classes. On April 11th and 12th, all buildings on campus were cleaned and disinfected in order to prepare for the opening of classrooms. In addition, the classrooms where actual courses take place will go through separate disinfection and sanitizing procedures every night.

Cross-border 'friendship' blooms in the age of the coronavirus 4 Chinese educational institutions, including Shandong University of Arts and Dankook's Chinese alumni, donate 4,000 face masks Four thousand face masks and a touching handwritten letter were delivered to the Office of International Affairs in support of Dankookites. Behind the special gift were Shandong University of Arts and 3 other Chinese educational institutions (Peking University’s Overseas Study Program, Yanzhiyu’s Language Center and Northwestern Polytechnical High School), along with Chinese alumni couples Gao Yang and Sun Meng (Dept. of Dance at Dankook’s Graduate School) and Zhuo Yan and Seonghyeon Yun (Dept. of Sports Science at Dankook’s Graduate School). Earlier in March, the four educational institutions first contacted the Office of International Affairs to express wishes to donate masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Chinese local educational institutions that took part in the donation are organizations that have been working closely with Dankook University in international cultural and mobility exchanges across various fields. With more than 170 Chinese students entering temporary living facilities and hearing news of how difficult it was to buy masks in Korea as the coronavirus rapidly spread, the group proposed donating masks. Gao Yang wrote in the letter that “(we) wanted to do our part in helping our alma mater which is undergoing tough times due to the novel coronavirus. We have been touched by how Dankook has managed the crisis until every single foreign student was released healthy from temporary facilities,” and added that “studying abroad can be lonely and tough, so (we) wanted to express our gratitude to the members of the Office of International Affairs for being there for these students.” Meanwhile, the masks were delivered in front of the International Hall on Monday, April 13th. The masks will be handed out to all international students and currently enrolled students who entered dormitories beginning on Friday, April 17th.

First streaming session records 10 thousand views, peaking at 1,800 concurrent viewers and gaining 5,950 subscribers DKU President’s words of encouragement and support for new Dankook members…widely welcomed by freshmen 'Danggul Live' on Dankook University's official YouTube channel invited Dankook University’s President to a live streaming session to talk to the 5,037 (2,540 in Jukjeon, 2,497 in Cheonan) freshmen starting their college life via distant learning. The first live stream, with contents for Dankook's newest members, took place at five thirty in the afternoon on March 26th and has recorded over 10 thousand views. The highest number of viewers at a given time was 1,800 as of 10 am on March 27th. Instead of a formal orientation and matriculation ceremony, the conversation was tailored for YouTube and grabbed the attention of viewers with relevant communication for new Dankookites. It offered freshmen information on the overall academic calendar, campus details, student clubs, student cafeterias, the hottest places to eat near campus, and even dating tips. The live streaming session with DKU President Soo-bok Kim, Jukjeon campus Student Union President Seon-woo Min (Senior, Department of Applied Statistics) and Cheonan campus Student Union President Min-ho Kim (Senior, Department of Chinese Language) included a Q & A session, in addition to special events for viewers. Prizes such as an AirPod Pro (1 person) and mobile coupons for fried chicken (100 people) were given to select freshmen who sent in acrostic poems using 'Dankook University' or who took part in the pop quiz. Excitement was added as the streaming also included congratulatory messages from alumni, including Seoul Mayor Won Soon Park (Department of History, entered in 1979), history lecturer Min-seok Seol (Department of Theater and Film, entered in 1994), and actor Hae-soo Park (Department of Theater and Film, entered in 2000). “These are tough times for us due to COVID-19, but we should gather our intellect to overcome this crisis,” said DKU President Soo-bok Kim who also added that “although we cannot gather together on campus for the time being, (I) will do my utmost to continue communicating with students regularly through YouTube Live.” Meanwhile, the YouTube broadcast for freshmen can be viewed again on Dankook University's official YouTube channel. The second live stream is scheduled to air at 5:30 pm on April 9th.

Designated as a 'Leading University for Startups' every year since 2014, to receive 6.9 billion KRW in funds over the next 3 years Achieved cumulative revenues of 55 billion KRW and attracted investments of 4.2 billion KRW over the past 3 years Dankook University was named the lead organization for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ ‘2020 Initial Startup Support Package.’ DKU has been a part of the Ministry's startup support program for seven consecutive years since first being designated as a ‘Leading University for Startups (former name of the Initial Startup Support Package)' in 2014, reaffirming its position as an innovative base for entrepreneurship in Gyeonggi Province. The university will be sponsored 6.9 billion KRW over the next 3 years and plans to nurture student entrepreneurs and new business founders to contribute to fostering new industries in Korea. During the past 6 years, DKU has transformed into a 'startup-friendly campus' with more than 17 thousand students taking part in the 500 or so courses offered by the university related to establishing businesses. With over 1,000 students participating in student clubs for startups, the university hosts a 'Festival for Student Startup Clubs' each year to promote their pilot products and also attract investments. Moreover, efforts have been made in connection with the local community to address difficulties faced by 'the entrepreneurially unprivileged' including the K-Startup Academy for immigrants and multi-cultural families, startup training and support for North Korean defectors, partnership programs with schools for the disabled, and a startup contest for universities in Yongin City, just to name a few. There have been tangible results since 2018 such as cumulative revenues of 55 billion KRW, the creation of over 450 jobs, 1.2 billion KRW in exports, and achieving 4.2 billion KRW in investments. The university plans to leverage the foundation for startups built by Dankook to cooperate with other organizations in the province such as the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation and the Gyeonggi Business & Science Accelerator to leap forward as a true startup hub in the Gyeonggi region. DKU will help with financing to attract direct investments for businesses early on, incubate experts for the fourth industrial revolution, and diversify inroads to global markets. “The goal of this year's program is to materialize 'Win-win Glocal Startups' as part of the university's 'Dynamic Dankook 2027' vision,” said Ki-hoon Yum, head of Dankook's Startup Support Foundation, who went on to share aspirations to “go beyond startups and also develop unicorn companies and star venture businesses that can build various new growth engines for the future.”

Chinese students studying at Dankook University gathered 2.3 million KRW along with a generous donation of 1 million KRW from DKU President Soo-bok Kim The first group of Chinese students in Korea to deliver donations Chinese students studying at Dankook University collected 2.3 million KRW for the citizens of Daegu. It was the first donation to be gathered by Chinese students studying in Korea. DKU President Soo-bok Kim, who heard of the news, added 1 million KRW to deliver a total 3.3 million KRW to the Korean Red Cross branch in Daegu, the city which was recently hit hard by the global pandemic. Chinese students in doctoral programs started collecting donations on February 27th after witnessing the fast spread of COVID-19 upon arriving in Korea. They wished to extend help to low income citizens who were suffering from shortages of emergency protective equipment, such as hand sanitizer and masks. Ninety-seven Chinese undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty members participated in the three-day fundraising drive. Most Chinese students were in self-quarantine in temporary living facilities prepared at the university’s dormitories before the school year started on March 16. Everyone had been assigned to single rooms to prevent the spread of possible infections; however, not being able to meet face-to-face did not stop donations from being gathered quickly through online communities. Chen Ling-Wun (Department of Fine Arts, Doctoral Program) and Liu Wen-Hao (Department of Physical Education, Doctoral Program), who started the fundraising campaign, said that they were “aware of how Korea helped China when it was faced with the coronavirus crisis,” and added that “(we) wanted to also express our appreciation for how Dankook University has been considerate towards Chinese students.” “I was proud to see how the students voluntarily gathered the donations and I hope they will be able to help the Daegu citizens suffering from the coronavirus outbreak,” said DKU President Soo-bok Kim, who added that “(we) will do our utmost to make sure students, both domestic and international, can study safely on campus.”

As the nation fights against the novel coronavirus from spreading, Dankook University is also coming together to ensure the campus remains free from COVID-19. The COVID-19 Emergency Committee was set up last month for DKU President Soo-bok Kim and each university department to closely cooperate and to respond in a timely manner to frequently changing circumstances. President Kim sent a letter to all faculty members, enrolled students and graduates that said “our university is working hard to create a campus for healthy and safe learning, education, and research to take place,” and went on to add that “(I) look forward to starting a new semester by renewing the Dankook spirit that has continued to march forward even when faced with hardships.” As part of our efforts, Dankook University pushed back the start date for the new semester from March 2nd to the 16th and cancelled large-scale events such as the commencement and matriculation ceremonies. Although the commencement ceremony, where students celebrate years of hard work, was cancelled, students understood the need to take preventive measures and displayed maturity by simply taking photos with gowns and caps provided by the university to commemorate their graduation. Urgent decisions were made to set up a COVID-19 Emergency Bulletin Board for timely communication of changes to the academic calendar and school events, to send SMS notifications which have been sent 15 times so far, to temporarily close public facilities such as libraries and student centers, and to restrict campus access for visitors. Meanwhile, around 170 Chinese students, including undergraduate and graduate students, exchange students, and language students, entered temporary living facilities (Woongbi Hall at Jukjeon / Haksajae at Cheonan). This measure was taken to protect both domestic and international members of the university community as 14 days of quarantine was required before school started, even for asymptomatic individuals. Thanks to the willingness of current student tenants of Woongbi Hall and Haksajae who moved to other dorms, the university was able to prepare living facilities to be used for the quarantine process. Employees of the Dormitory Administration Team and the Office of International Affairs were present full time at the temporary living facilities managing the students. Temperatures were taken twice a day and reported to managers on each floor. A close cooperative system was set up with the Suji Public Health Center to prepare for and mitigate emergency situations. Online contents for learning the Korean language were offered so students could improve their Korean skills during the quarantine period. Led by Zhou Yun-Long, President of Dankook University’s International Student Association (Sophomore, Communications), Chinese students already living in Korea collected donations and also delivered hand sanitizer and fruit to the students in quarantine. Students will leave the dorms in the order in which they complete their quarantine period, from April 8 to 10, after which the dormitories will all be sanitized. President Soo-bok Kim visited Woongbi Hall on February 27 and Haksajae on the following day to share his support and encouragement. Kim expressed his “gratitude to everyone on behalf of Dankook University for being at the forefront of making a ‘Clean Dankook’ amid the national state of emergency,” and went on to add “let’s make a campus where all Dankookites, regardless of nationality, can always feel safe.”

The Overseas Volunteer Corps from Dankook’s two campuses made visits to Nepal and Myanmar to provide social services during winter break and practice the university’s guiding principles of ‘Truth and Service.’ The 35 members of the Jukjeon volunteer corps (led by Dean Hyeong-soo Kim of the Jukjeon campus Office of Student Affairs) spent 16 days, from December 23 to January 7, in the Dhading district of Nepal to offer education programs for local students. The volunteer group prepared educational materials in science, math, music, art, and physical education and provided a fruitful program for the 200 students at Dhading’s Sunaulo Bhairabi secondary school. In addition to regular classes, the volunteer group performed Korean traditional dances, including the fan dance, K-POP dances, and cheerleading to promote Korean culture. They also stepped up to take part in maintenance work on outdated facilities, such as repairing the school building, creating wall murals, and installing a water tank to store drinking water. Meanwhile, 28 members of the Cheonan volunteer corps (led by Dean Ki-hong Kim of the Cheonan campus Office of Student Affairs) travelled to Yangon, Myanmar for 9 days, from January 4 to 12. At the No 5. Basic Education Primary School North Oakala, the volunteer group taught 250 primary school students subjects, such as Korean language, science, art, and physical education. They also helped paint the school walls and gate, not to mention fix broken facilities to create a more pleasant atmosphere for the children. Along with volunteer work, the group presented the 450 students studying at the school with gifts of school bags, lunch boxes, colored pencils, paint, scissors, glue and other school supplies and snacks. Dankook’s Volunteer Corps, which were founded in 2007, have since had over 2,200 students and faculty members take part in service trips on 46 occasions, including in Cambodia (14 occasions), Mongolia (11 occasions), Nepal (7 occasions), Myanmar (6 occasions), Laos (5 occasions), Vietnam (1 occasion), Uzbekistan (1 occasion), and Indonesia (1 occasion).

Suhui Bang (Department of Healthcare Administration) topped the state exam for certified hospital administrators, which is conducted by the Korean College of Hospital Administrators. Hospital administrators are recognized as professionals that handle the administrative work needed to run hospitals, such as patient affairs, staffing, planning, management, and financing. More than 3,000 applicants aspiring to serve in the field of hospital administration take the test each year. Thirty prospective graduates of Dankook’s Department of Healthcare Administration applied for the 22nd National Hospital Administrator Exam last November and 29 students, including Bang, successfully passed, recording a high success rate of 96.7% compared to the national average of 68.5%. “Above all, as I graduate from university, I have gained a lot of confidence in passing not only the exams for hospital administrators and health insurance officers but also the national exam for certified health information managers,” said Bang, who shared her dreams of “becoming an outstanding specialist, which would be expected of someone who passed the exam with the highest scores, in order to contribute to the advancement of healthcare administration in Korea.” Meanwhile, Dankook’s College of Health Sciences has also recorded high success rates in national exams for healthcare specialists, exceeding the national average.

For the first time a Korean university, Dankook University, signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) last October with BIFT (Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology), a prestigious university in the field of fashion education in China. The effort was led by DKU’s Department of Fashion Merchandise Design and the Industry-Academia Cooperation Foundation to promote exchanges in fashion education and make inroads into the Chinese market for exports. BIFT, a university based in Beijing, was founded in 1959 and has over 6,000 undergraduate students and around 400 graduate school students. The six ‘BIFT PARKs,’ a platform that integrates the fashion industry with fashion education set up around China, now serve as a model for industry-academia partnerships in the field of fashion by pursuing international cooperation, hosting fashion design contests, nurturing new designers, and offering tours of China’s fashion industry. Dankook’s Department of Fashion Merchandise Design has been preparing for student, faculty and educational exchanges with BIFT since 2016. Last October, Soon-cheol An, Dankook’s Executive Vice President for External Affairs, was invited to the ‘International Fashion Education Leaders Forum’ in commemoration of BIFT’s 60th anniversary and delivered a keynote speech where he introduced Dankook’s fashion merchandise program and capabilities in partnering with industries. Following the event, an MOU was signed with BIFT Vice President, Liao Qing, promising close cooperation in areas such as joint studies with DKU’s Department of Fashion Merchandise Design, starting exchange programs for students and faculty beginning in the second semester of 2020 and taking part in the BIFT fashion show. “The Department of Fashion Merchandise Design, the Industry-Academia Cooperation Foundation, and the Office of International Affairs worked together to create this golden opportunity to share Dankook’s capabilities in K-culture fashion with China,” said Soon-cheol An, who also added that “as student exchanges will begin next year, we look forward to exchanges in education spreading to the industry going forward.”

Working with companies in Pangyo, to play the role as a platform for entering the U.S. market MOU with Naver Happybean On November 20, the ‘Global Startup Innovation Center’ was set up in the second Pangyo Techno Valley to support entrepreneurship in partnership with the local community and to target overseas markets. The center will train entrepreneurs on how to make pilot products and also provide assistance for tax accounting, an essential part of managing businesses, in addition to offering support for promoting and marketing products. The center also plans to actively host events for building networks to start businesses to contribute to forming a culture of active cooperation with influential companies. The Global Startup Innovation Center is located at suite 165 of the Enterprise Support Hub at the second Pangyo Techno Valley. The 360.15㎡ space will offer users offices, meeting rooms and lecture rooms. The opening ceremony was attended by Dankook University President, Soo-bok Kim, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Jin-woo Eo, Executive Vice President for External Affairs, Soon-cheol An, and Vice President for Industry-Academia Cooperation, Kyoung-hoan Na, 30 students from the Family Business·Startup student club, CEO of Naver Happybean, Inhyeok Choi, Vice President of the Lotte Future & Strategy Center, Gwang-cheol Shin, and Seong-min Ahn of the Korea Productivity Center. “Instead of universities and the business field offering education on entrepreneurship separately, we set up the Startup Innovation Center off university grounds to build a cluster for startups and industry-academia partnerships that build synergy between local communities and businesses,” explained DKU President, Soo-bok Kim, who also shared hopes of “carry[ing] out various projects, including support for corporate IR, developing sales routes, building platforms for technology transfers, and attracting corporate subsidiaries.” Dankook University plans to leverage the Global Startup Innovation Center as a base for entering the U.S. market (research, product development, market testing, and attracting investments). Therefore, there are also plans to build global startup platforms together with KOTRA centers in San Jose and Dallas. Following the opening ceremony, an MOU was signed with ‘Happybean,’ Naver’s donation portal, to pursue social and public value by developing startups and social enterprises, implementing joint programs to support such companies and to carry out education programs for fostering and utilizing talent.

The Dankook University History Museum that showcases the university’s history of 72 years opened on November 1st. Construction started in February of last year and was recently completed as a six story building (gross floor area 5,432㎡) consisting of multipurpose facilities such as the Dankook University History Museum, a convention hall, an MOU office, museum storage, an administrative office and conference room, a café, and a parking lot. Dankook University representatives shared the need to build a university history museum when the university commemorated its 70th anniversary in 2017, and conducted a major fundraising campaign where more than 1,300 people took part in a funding relay including Chairman Choong-sik Chang of the DKU Board, former DKU President Ho-sung Chang, current DKU President Soo-bok Kim, other alumni and faculty members. The ‘Dankook University History Museum’ on the second floor of the building is an exhibition of 72 iconic moments that show the timeline from when the university was founded as Korea’s first four-year full-time university (1947) to the Hannam-dong campus days, opening of the Cheonan Campus, and relocation to the Jukjeon Campus. Divided into three sections, documents, photos and relics are displayed for visitors to experience. The Dankook University History Museum does not stop at simply exhibiting the university’s history, it is also equipped with a convention hall that can accommodate around 200 people and an MOU Office (3rd floor) to be used for international conferences, academic seminars, various exhibitions and venues for signing ceremonies. A museum storage (4th floor) and an administrative office and conference room (5th and 6th floors) are also in the building. President Soo-bok Kim said “the History Museum will be where we can meet the entire Dankook family who have made hard-working efforts and dedications to shape Dankook into the university it is today. I look forward to that encounter guiding us so we can march forward together towards new milestones.” The Dankook University History Museum will be open from 10 am to 4 pm on weekdays. Groups of seven or more persons can request guided tours of the exhibition. Reservations should be made at least five days in advance.(Contact: Curatorial Reference Office +82-31-8005-2069)

LOI signed at the ASU campus… ”To build a university like ASU in Korea,” says DKU president Soo-bok Kim Dankook University joined hands with Arizona State University (ASU), which ranked first among the most innovative schools in the U.S. for four consecutive years (2016~2019), to cooperate in the field of ‘innovative education.’ Dankook University President Soo-bok Kim and the Innovative Education Exchange Group visited the U.S. and signed a letter of intent at the ASU Main Hall on October 29 (local time) to embark on a journey of active exchanges. The ceremony was attended by DKU President Soo-bok Kim, Associate Vice President for Planning, Se-won Chang, Executive Director of the Big Data Information Service, Eung-kyo Suh, and ASU Deputy Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Stefanie Lindquist, and Managing Director, Julia Rosen. The two universities will enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and further outline details in the near future, such as pursuing academic exchanges, joint research and partnership programs. This agreement is expected to play a key role in preparing an innovative plan for realizing President Soo-bok Kim’s vision for advancement of the university, which was shared when he was inaugurated as university president in August. The vision includes building a digital creative campus, reinventing education based on the Korean tradition, realizing humanitarian education, and pursuing bio and health fields. “I learned about ASU’s innovation through the University News Network and became interested in relevant programs starting around two years ago,” said DKU President Soo-bok Kim. He added that “[we] hope to create an opportunity to contribute to cultural advancement and guide higher education in a future-oriented direction through active exchanges between DKU and ASU.” “Korea is known for its energy that has led to many global technology innovations that have driven the country’s development,” explained ASU Deputy Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Stefanie Lindquist, who also said that “[we] wish to learn many things from Dankook University that has been practicing innovation such as opening the first second campus in Korea, introducing designing thinking in education and setting up an artificial intelligence campus.” Founded in 1886, ASU is a state university located in the Phoenix metropolitan area in Arizona with currently around 103,000 enrolled students. It was named the most innovative university in America by US News & World Report for four straight years (2016~2019), and is globally in the spotlight as an ‘innovative university,’ being covered by U.S. media including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

At 10:30 am on September 26, Dankook University held a ceremony at the Nanpa Concert Hall on the Jukjeon campus for the outgoing and incoming university presidents. Following DKU’s 17th president, Ho-sung Chang, Soo-bok Kim was inaugurated as the 18th university president and the first-ever Dankook alumni to be appointed head of the university. Chairman Choong-sik Chang of the Dankook University Foundation and other university officials, as well as 500 participants representing political, educational and diplomatic circles, attended the ceremony. Dignitaries included parliamentarian Choun-sook Jung (Democratic Party), Yongin mayor Kun-ki Baek, Soongsil University President Jun-seong Hwang, Myongji University President Byong-jin You, Kongju National University President Sung-soo Won, Seoul Venture University President Ho-gun Park, Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology President Nam-kyung Kim, Director Nam-seok Hong of the UCN President Summit and Ambassador Csoma Mozes of Hungary. The ceremony started with an introduction on the outgoing president and his achievements followed by his speech. Afterward, the new president and his achievements were introduced prior to a handover of the school banners and the incoming president’s inaugural address. Former president Ho-sung Chang expressed gratitude to members of the university community who dedicated themselves to the advancement of Dankook and asked for “members to unite around President Soo-bok Kim and continue to make endless efforts and demonstrate challenging spirits for the further advancement of the university.” President Soo-bok Kim also said “thank you to President Ho-sung Chang who displayed outstanding leadership to prepare the university for the fourth industrial revolution,” and added that “(I) will build on the innovative minds of Dankook’s founders and its 72 years of aspiring and pioneering spirit to build a digital creative campus, establish a smart education support center, and open the ‘Dankook Renaissance’ by developing the Eurasia road for international peace. Serving as university president for 11 years, former president Ho-sung Chang consolidated academic units based on future competitiveness, strengthened the Jukjeon campus and boosted industry and academia partnerships during his term. “New leadership and energy is needed as we face transformation triggered by the fourth industrial revolution,” said Chang when he resigned from his post last June with 8 months still remaining in his term and added that “it is necessary to open up the way for new leadership to come in and guide Dankook university and its history of 72 years.” President Soo-bok Kim graduated from Dankook University’s Department of Korean Language and Literature where he went on to receive his masters and doctoral degrees. Afterward, he was appointed professor in 1985 and served as the Associate Vice President and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs in Cheonan, Dean of the College of Arts, and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of Cheonan Campus. Outside the university, he served as President of the Society of Korean Literary Creative Writing, Senior Vice President of the Society of Korean Poets and is currently Chairman of the Board at the Catholic Literary Society of Korea. His term will be for four years, which started August 26, 2019.