What are the top universities in Korea? Off the bat, most people will answer “SKY” (Seoul National, Korea and Yonsei), KAIST, POSTECH, and perhaps a few upper-level private universities. We may say these universities make up the “Tier 1” category. Based upon Joongang Daily’s recent research, Kookmin University was ranked 31st in the country, which admittedly, can be classified as Tier 2. This is a reality we must face.
What determines the university a student attends? In a nutshell, it is the student’s high school academic performance. Let me ask you a question, Kookmin students. Do you want to remain at the same place you started as a freshman when you graduate? Do you still want to be treated as “31st” after graduation? I do not think so.
If you make the same or less amount of effort as students in Tier 1, however, the end result is very clear. Therefore it is imperative that you make “extraordinary” efforts to surpass your forerunners. The next question is: How do we go about doing this? Every effort needs its own direction. I hope that the following 3 points will serve you well in setting up your direction.

1. Holiday from Commonplaceness

A famous scholar once defined the university as a “holiday from commonplaceness.” University is a place away from common reality, unrestricted from its chains and consequences, where you can practice, make mistakes and pursue the uncommon.
Take the example of oral presentation. As you are aware, presentation skills are inevitably required in most organizations today. Everyone, including me, gets nervous when delivering an oral presentation before a group of people. But as the occasion repeats, you become more comfortable and confident. To the best of my knowledge, a person with more experience makes a better presentation.
A phenomenon I witness in the classroom is that only a few students ask questions and participate in discussion. Modern society is a communication-oriented one. If you keep silent, nobody knows who you are and what you are thinking. If you make a mistake in a university classroom, people may laugh but will eventually forget. In the real world, however, mistakes may be blamed, claimed, or at least receive negative evaluation.
 
There is a saying among sports coaches that the best player practices like a real game and plays the real game like a practice. What I have learned from my almost 30 years of business industry career is that knowledge cannot conquer experiences.

2. Global Mindset

Up until recently, in baseball, Korea and Japan were the only ones to count the number of strikes first, and then balls, unlike other countries that count balls first. This system led to much confusion when participating in international leagues, and our players experienced disadvantages. For sports that originated from Korea, such as Taekwondo, we may make our own rules and systems, but for others such as baseball, it is important to follow the global standard.

For a year as I worked as a professor at Kookmin, only a handful of students held a door or an elevator open for me. This is a rare case I have not seen in more than 50 countries I have lived or travelled in. It is globally accepted that younger people give way to the older, men to women, getting-on after getting-off, and getting-in after getting-out. Then nobody complains and there is no margin for error in any part of the world.
Business is often defined as “give and take”. You have to give first to get something in return. Based upon my business experience, I give one first and then the other returns two if he/she is the right friend or partner. Otherwise, there is no need to continue business with such a person. Concession works not only in front of doors, but also in business.

English is another global “platform”. Speaking fluent English is not something to boast, but rather, your incompetence in English can be your handicap. Suppose most students in developed countries read a certain English article within 10 minutes. What would happen if it takes you an hour? How can you compete with them in terms of collecting and processing information? In international business, for example, who is willing to deal with an incommunicable person? A priority must be given to English studying and taking more English courses offered at Kookmin is recommended even if you do not plan to go abroad.

3. Humble, but Proactive Attitude

When I go to a restaurant, I usually find some waitresses are smiling and welcoming while others are not. The latter might think they do not deserve to work at such a place, or that they are working as much as they are paid. What is the result of such state of mind? The customers are not happy, they would not come again, and the restaurant loses money. Most of all, the waitresses themselves are not happy. On the contrary, the former may think that they will try to be positive as they decided to work in the restaurant for a given time. Their behavior would make everyone happy: the customers, restaurant owner, and importantly, themselves.   
 
Humbleness is said to be an Oriental virtue. Then what is the opposite of humble? Arrogant? Does that mean Western people consider arrogance a value? During my business career I met plenty of Western businessmen, but most of them were humble, or at least tried to be. There were some exceptions, but those relationships did not continue for long. It would seem that humbleness is not just an Oriental value, but a global one.  When meeting with people, the worst thing to do is to leave an arrogant impression. I have yet to see an arrogant person being truly successful. Even if a person is rich or high in position, without humility, he/she is neither liked nor respected. Above all, who will want to help such a person in trouble?  

“Proactive” is a word I most frequently heard when I worked for a Western company. To be proactive, you must try to know “why”, not “what”. If a professor asks you a question, you must try to understand the reason the question was asked, not just the question itself. If your boss directs you to increase sales, you have to find out the reason behind it: For more profit, market share, or cash flow? The solution will be different depending upon behind-the-scene objectives. For instance, at a restaurant, if a customer asks for more bread, it would be proactive for the waiter to bring more butter as well, before being asked.

I mostly wrote about experience, knowledge and attitude. If I had to choose the most important one among the three, I would say attitude. As the world advances, most things can be improved by technology, but a good attitude is something one must always strive for. If you continuously experiment and exert yourself through your university life with an open mindset and a humble and proactive attitude, you will surely be able to better yourself and leave Kookmin as a Tier 1.