'Empty the Mind, Fill with Responsibility' - Life Philosophy from a 97-Year-Old Scholar

[Financial News] Former Seoul National University President Jo Wan-gyu is 97 years old this year and is a living witness to Korea's education and science and technology administration, respected by all sectors of society.
At the 1st Academic Cultural Forum Talk Concert hosted by the Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences SPARC Alumni Association on the 21st, former President Jo delivered a message needed for our times, beyond a simple retrospective. He conveyed lessons on responsibility for the community and the attitude of living by emptying the mind.
He said, “While serving as a professor at Seoul National University, I held positions as Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, Vice President, and President, and even served as Minister of Education, but I never took on a position on my own initiative.” He explained that he took on roles at the urging of others or at the request of the times, viewing them as responsibilities for the public good rather than honors, which is his life philosophy.
On this day, former President Jo shared an anecdote about taking on the role of Dean of Student Affairs at Seoul National University in the 1970s, a position all professors avoided during the height of student activism. During the military regime, he took on the role of Dean of Student Affairs, which typically changed every three months. However, he completed his two-year term and actively communicated with students to calm the unrest.
Although it was not a position he wanted, former President Jo clearly recognized his role. He said, “I didn’t go to monitor protesting students, but with the mindset of ‘let’s do it together,’ I communicated with them,” and “When the police came to find students, I would hide them or take them to my home to hide. By building trust this way, we could resolve the radicalization of student activism through dialogue.”
Introducing an open recruitment system for professors at Seoul National University to reform the closed university personnel culture and improving the research funding system to create an environment where scientists could focus on research were also representative achievements made by former President Jo during his tenure as dean. Reflecting on this period, former President Jo calmly stated, “Changing the system is a lonely path and inevitably invites criticism.”
Even after serving as President of Seoul National University and Minister of Education, former President Jo devoted himself to practicing the social responsibility of intellectuals rather than resting comfortably after retirement. He succeeded in attracting the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Korea's first international organization.
Former President Jo said, “At that time, I persuaded not only the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the National Assembly but also President Kim Young-sam to start the attraction work, and after considerable effort, in 1995, President Kim was able to declare the attraction of IVI at the UN General Assembly.” The activities for the attraction and establishment of IVI were so challenging that his hair and eyebrows turned white.
When securing a budget became a new challenge after the establishment, he took on the role of chairman of the support association and continued his energetic activities. He said, “IVI succeeded in developing a 2000 won oral cholera vaccine three years ago, and is currently supplying vaccines to protect the lives of children in underdeveloped countries.” The achievements of IVI were the result of former President Jo building a global network as a scholar, educational administrator, and bureaucrat.
Despite his advanced age, former President Jo, who commutes daily to the International Vaccine Institute and serves as a senior advisor, cited ‘small meals’ and ‘a life of emptying the mind’ as the secrets to his longevity. He said, “I don’t eat much. In the morning, I have a slice of bread and half a cup of milk, for lunch a glass of milk, and for dinner, I eat only about a third of a normal meal,” and “I also exercise, walking 10,000 steps every day.”
He continued, “More important than physical health is mental health,” emphasizing that “if you can’t empty your mind, you get stressed, and eventually stress causes illness.”
Former President Jo recalled that even while taking on positions with social responsibility, he did not regard the position and power as possessions. He always considered them as ‘assigned tasks,’ and during his tenure, he focused on creating systems that could bring good results. The reason why the systems and legacy left by former President Jo are still alive and breathing is because of his attitude of understanding authority as ‘responsibility.’


vrdw88@fnnews.com Kang Jung-mo Reporter