Dear SNU College of Medicine family around the world,

It is with great pride and deep affection for our alma mater that I write to you on behalf of the Seoul National University College of Medicine Alumni Association of the Americas (SNUCMAA).

We are honored to contribute a message of congratulations to this inaugural issue of inside SNU Medicine — the new English-language face of our beloved Hamchun Inside.

About Our Association

The SNUCMAA of North America was established in 1974 to unite SNU College of Medicine graduates who have made their homes across North America — from the Atlantic to the Pacific, across Canada and the United States. Our association is currently serving its 54th term of leadership, a testament to more than five decades of continuous commitment to our members and to our alma mater.

Over the years, we have held annual conventions — now transitioned to biennial gatherings — as well as online academic symposia. We publish our quarterly newsletter, 시계탑 (The Clock Tower), first issued in July 1974 in New Jersey as one of the earliest Korean-language publications in the United States. We also provide scholarship support for SNU College of Medicine students and Korean-American high school students, provide research grants to young SNU College of Medicine alumni who reside in US, and maintain Green Project initiatives designed to support and engage younger alumni who have more recently settled in North America.

Our Connection to SNU College of Medicine

No matter how many years or miles separate us from Yeongeon Campus, the identity forged at SNU College of Medicine never leaves us. Our members have gone on to build distinguished careers at institutions including Johns Hopkins, Harvard, UCSF, Yale, Cornell, Mayo Clinic, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Inova, and many others across North America — yet at heart, we remain 서울의대인.

The values instilled in us during our years at SNU College of Medicine — intellectual rigor, compassion for patients, and a responsibility to advance medicine — are the common thread that binds our community across generations and continents.

In recent years, we have been gratified to see the relationship between SNUCMAA-NA and the College deepen through formal institutional collaboration. The newly established SNU College of Medicine–SNUCMAA of North America International Research Grant represents a milestone we have long hoped for: a mechanism that transforms our alumni community from a gathering of proud graduates into an active bilateral academic partnership. We warmly encourage eligible faculty members and early-career researchers on both sides of the Pacific to apply, and to see this grant as an open door to science without borders.

Congratulations on the Launch

The launch of inside SNU College of Medicine is a moment we celebrate wholeheartedly. For too long, the extraordinary achievements of our faculty, students, and institution have been shared primarily within Korea. This publication will help change that by giving the global community a window into the vision, ambition, and human stories that define SNU College of Medicine.

We have no doubt that it will become an indispensable channel connecting SNU College of Medicine with researchers, clinicians, educators, and alumni around the world.

The motto “Beyond & Ahead” resonates deeply with all of us who have built lives and careers beyond Korea while continuing to carry our alma mater forward in our hearts and in our work. We are proud of where SNU College of Medicine has been, and excited for where it is going.

With warmest regards from across the Pacific,

Myong Ho “Lucy” Nam, M.D. 

President (54th Term)

Seoul National University College of Medicine Alumni Association of North America (SNUCMAA-NA)