Former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon gave special lecture titled 

“The United Nations and Global Leadership”
Ban encouraged students to look ahead and have future-oriented thinking.

On Dec. 7th at 3 pm, the Social Science Korea (SSK) research team of KU Ilmin International Relations Institute hosted a special lecture titled “The United Nations and Global Leadership” delivered by former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the Centennial Memorial Samsung Hall of Korea University.

More than 200 participants including Jaeho Yeom (KU President), Sung-han Kim (Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies and director of Ilmin International Relations Institute/SSK research team), professors, and students of the university attended the event.

Based on his nine years of experience as the UN Secretary General, Ban focused his lecture on studying the role and future of the organization in a rapidly changing global landscape.

Referring the experiences he gained as Secretary General, Ban talked about the virtues of a leader. What he stressed most among the virtues was courteously listening to others. He pointed out, “Talking fluently can be a source of knowledge, but listening carefully is a source of wisdom. I told many leaders in the world to listen to the voice of their people, but most of them only focused on what they wanted to say.” He added, “The reason that South Korea had one of its presidents impeached and imprisoned for the first time in its constitutional history was that its leaders tended not to listen to the voice of the people.”

Ban also advised, “When you have your head above the clouds, you should make sure that your feet still remain on the ground. In other words, when you have a faith in your ideals, you should pursue them without wavering. At the same time, you should be careful not to lose the sense of reality.” He referred to his visit to Myanmar in 2008 when the autocratic state was hit hard by a cyclone. Despite the Western countries’ opposition to his visit, he did what he thought was right. While introducing the anecdote to the audience, he reiterated that if you pursued an empty ideal, you might lose sense of reality and eventually cause trouble for others. 

Ban also gave advice on setting the life’s motto. “When you design your life, you should have a future-oriented agenda.” He continued, “For example, YOLO (an acronym for You Only Live Once) – a recent life-style trend – cannot be an agenda for your life. Remember that the generation of your grandparents tried hard not to leave the difficulties they faced to the next generations.”

During the Q&A session following the lecture, he received a question asking, “While the UN Deputy Secretary General is visiting North Korea, do you think intervention by the UN is effective in addressing the North Korean nuclear issue?” He answered the question by saying, “The nuclear issue of North Korea should be dealt with by a close cooperation among the two Koreas, the United States, and China. It is essential to be equipped with expertise in the related fields when you handle diplomatic issues.” 
  

To a question asking, “What are the virtues or qualifications of someone who wants to work for international organizations?” he answered, “You should be ready to sacrifice for others and put the public ahead of personal gain like Sir Inchon Kim Seong-su said.” He continued, “Working as UN officers is not something fancy, rather it is toilsome. Sometimes, they get kidnapped or murdered while working for the protection of human rights in conflict zones.”

To the participant questioning, “What types of efforts should be made if South Korea does not get the diplomatic cold shoulder known as ‘Korea passing?” he answered, “The US President Donald Trump gave his word during his state visit to South Korea that there will be no skipping the Asian ally, so I think we can trust him. There is no need to make it a bigger issue by ourselves.”

After the lecture, Ban took time for those requesting photographs with him.