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Alumni

Syngman Rhee (1875-1965) graduated from George Washington University with an A.B. degree in 1907. He received a Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in 1949 and an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1954. He became the first president of South Korea, ruling from March 1948 to April 1960. Rhee, a professed Christian, was identified strongly with the conservative, anti-Communist side in Korean politics and geopolitics, and led South Korea throughout the Korean War. His presidency ended in resignation following popular protests against a disputed election. He died in exile in Hawaii.

While at GW, he was a member of the YMCA Club and Enosinian Society, a debating club. He was noted to be a graceful after-dinner speaker and a regular attendant at morning chapel. The 1907 yearbook had this description of him:

Syngman Rhee

There is a young fellow named Rhee,
From the realm of Korea is hee.
Lest perchance you should stray,
He is careful to say,
“I am neither a Jap[sic] nor Chinee[sic].”

Thus spoke our Syngman when he came to America from Korea, less than three years ago. Now he has most of us beat a block at our own language, as is shown by his feat of winning his A.B in two and one-half years. He is an active member of the University Y.M.C.A Club and of the Enosinian Society, a graceful after-dinner speaker, and- greatest distinction of all- a regular attendant at morning chapel. He intends to return to Korea on completing his studies, and will be a minister of the gospel in his home city of Seoul. Peng ani gasio, Syngman!

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“This is My Proud Day” (July 30, 1954) – Syngman Rhee

The University called a Special Convocation in honor of his Excellency, The President of the Republic of Korea, and awarded him the degree of Doctor of Laws. The Convocation was held in Lisner Auditorium. In addition to the University trustees and faculties, guests included representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, the Senate, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and other Washington officials, as well as officers of University alumni groups and of Washington cultural and civic groups. University president Cloyd H. Marvin cited President Rhee as a “son of the George Washington University…man of sincere attitude, in whom discerning understanding and Christian character are united; patriot and leader whose almost eternal patience, quiet will, and deep spiritual power have wrought for himself and his countrymen, through demanding periods of stress, a disciplined courage and a steadfast understanding that sacrificial service is necessary for public weal.”

President Rhee’s response, delivered with a warm simplicity that moved his listeners is of interest to all alumni:

“Dr. Marvin, Distinguished Members of the Board of Trustees, Faculty, Student Body, and Ladies and Gentleman: I want to say first of all, this is my proud day. In this unusual hour on a week day, a hot day, so many of my friends gather here to honor me, that I cannot express how I thank you. This is perhaps a greater honor for me than any of the similar recognitions I have received. This is my own alma mater, and you have told me that you consider me a worthy son of our great institution. You have made me very proud. I want to congratulate you - the faculty and the student body of George Washington University- on your great success in building up the University in almost half-century since I was here. When I first registered at George Washington University in 1905, I was told to go to Columbian College and enroll under Dean Allen Wilbur. I found the place. It was an old brick building on the corner of 14th and G Streets, NW. That building later was torn down, and today the location is scarcely recognizable. Let me tell you something of Dean Wilbur. He was respected by all the professors and students as a model educator and a perfect Christian gentleman. His lectures and his sympathetic manner in dealing with the students have been source of inspiration to me in all the following years.

“I must tell you that I came from my country to America not for advanced education, nor a college degree. I was sent by the old Korean Government to work for the cause of Korean independence. Then I had the idea that I could use the spare time from my work at our Legation to obtain an advanced education. Such an education, I reasoned would be helpful in my work when I returned to the Korea. At the time George Washington was the only University in Washington which had set up a program to accommodate students who are working in the government, and it was this fact that enabled me to enroll. Another reason for my interest in at George Washington was the fact that I already had become in my country a fervent admirer of George Washington, the father of American independence. I was working for the independence of Korea, and George Washington seemed the perfect school for me.

“I attended classes as faithfully as I could and in this center of American democracy I learned the ways of democratic government and how it protects the individual freedoms of its citizens. This was the true foundation of my life’s work. What I learned here helped tremendously in the fight in the freedom of my nation. In later years some of my friends, and all of my people, have called me the father of my nation. Whether this is true or not, I do not know. But if it is, it certainly has something to do with my association with George Washington University. The experience wasn’t’ without its trials, however. When I started attending classes, my English was not perfect. In fact, I might go further and confess that my English has never been perfect-then or since. In those days I tried to practice English in my classroom. I did the best that I could. But you know, I still wonder why in the world the professor spoke English so fast!

“I want to assure you that I have been trying to be one of the loyal sons of G.W.U. I am sure that every one of you is proud of this great university- our George Washington. There is something else that I would like to talk to you about today. As you know, I have been a fighter for two things-for freedom, and the self determination of nations, especially those small nations that do not have the natural advantages of huge territories and large populations. Both of these essential fundamentals of a worthwhile society are seriously threatened at this very moment. Domestic and international forms of communism are menacing the existence of personal liberty and the whole structure of nationalism. The Communists want to make man into the slave of a universal state ruled absolutely by the authoritarians of the Kremlin. Neither the philosophers nor the activities of Communism have concealed these objectives, yet there are many men and many nations that have refused to listen or to act in time, and some of them are now lost to both themselves and to us.

“It seems to me that we must change, and change very fast, or the Communists soon will succeed in obtaining a preponderance of power. Once they have done that, they will plunge the world into another global war that may well destroy civilization itself. Whether we were to win or lose, the price would be catastrophic. The change, I think must be in the direction of action. We must stop talking of Communism as though it were a common cold- uncomfortable but not dangerous- and begin to fight it as the deadly virus that it is. The universities of this and all other free countries should be in the forefront of this fight. Not all battles are won by guns, or the threat of force, but the violent aspect of Communism is only one of it hideous manifestations. It also operates in the area of the mind—in the ideological area, as it is called—setting up false values, making black into white, and eventually establishing a thought control from where there is no escape. The role of education is to study and expose the anti-intellectualism of Communism, to demonstrate to all who hold free thought precious that the Communists are out to destroy it for all time. It no longer is enough for education to express mere regrets about the excesses of Communism. Education must begin to fight for its freedom, too, while the very freedom to fight remains.

“Your stake is very great, because Communism destroys the right to unhampered inquiry at the very moment of its rise to power. Free universities, free faculties, free scholarship- all these are unknown in those countries that have succumbed to the might or to the lure of the Soviet. I say to you, therefore, that you cannot be neutral, that you cannot sit in cloistered halls and be content to see the Free World rushing toward that tragedy of destruction. You must join with all other free men who are fighting Communism, or risk the grave possibility that your aloofness will doom yourselves and them too. I think and hope that many of you are already fighting. Otherwise you would never have dared to honor a man and a country who are dedicating themselves to the struggle against the Reds. Those of us who know Communism and its perils can join together to preserve freedom. This, my friends is the time for both the unity and the action that is required for our own survival. Let us get on with the fight not only for academic freedom, but for all the liberties for all people.”

Document Information

Images: 1
Photographic Credit: GW University Historical Photographs Collection
Author or Source: Alumni biographical files; The Mall yearbook, 1907; GWU Alumni Magazine, November 1954
Document Location: University Archives
Date Added to Encyclopedia: December 21, 2006
Prepared by: Lyle Slovick

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