▲ Professor Kim Nan Do Provided by the Korea University Communications Department

Korea University’s (KU) the fifth Library Story’s guest lecturer was Professor Kim Nam Do, an applauded writer of It hurts because it’s Youth and You become an Adult After Being Shaken a Thousand Times and a renowned professor at Seoul National University (SNU). Focusing on the possible works that individual youths can make in their lives, Professor Kim started his lecture at Inchon Memorial hall on May 27th.

“I am grateful that my book is a bestseller but at the same time, it is painful to see how insecure and battered the youth is today. I get incessant questions about directions in people’s lives. I cannot give a definite answer but here are some tips I want to share with you today,” Professor Kim said, as he started his lecture.

“First, always remember that the definition of a ‘good’ job always changes in time. Just a decade ago, a lawyer was one of the most prestigious jobs that guaranteed a rich future but today, we can see that it is not the same. Make your own brand by searching and failing instead of following the majority,” said Professor Kim.

He advised youths not to try to “find an escalator for your future”. “Many students agonize over which escalator they should ride but what’s really important is how much effort they put in to climb up. Life is not a long jump but a hurdle race with so many obstacles to face,” Professor Kim continued.

Professor Kim ended, “Success is finding the best inside of you that can only be retrieved by constant failure and learning. Do not be afraid to fail and please, slow down. What you really need in your 20’s is to to sharpen your ax for the future.”

As Professor Kim’s book rose as the bestseller in the Korean society for over two years and started to gain attention in 10 other countries as well, Kim realized how hurt youth were all over the world. “As I traveled around China and Japan, I realized that the problems that Korean youth had were very similar with those of their peers in other countries. What the youth is going through today is not only influenced by the social irregularities but also by the era itself,” commented Professor Kim.