1. In the fall of last year, reporters rushed in front of this man's lab, and a media company went to the country house where he was born.
This is because this person was mentioned as a prominent candidate for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Although he failed to win the award, he has become a celebrity since last fall.
I wondered what kind of person would be'the person standing on the top of the world' and'the person closest to the Nobel Prize'.
To get to the top, I wanted to know how much effort I had to put in and what kind of thousand minutes I had to be born with.
I wanted to hear from this person the story that he would have had to reach the summit, the process of growing, changing, and completing a human being, and I wanted to know what the scholarship and the human world looked like from the summit.
If I could, I wanted to make sure that the place where this person was standing was really normal.
After liberation, there were several national challenges in our society.
There were goals such as escaping poverty, political democratization, exports of 10 billion dollars, Olympic gold medals, and advancement to the World Cup round of 16, and the only thing that could not be achieved is the Nobel Prize in science.
The Nobel Prize is given to individuals, but it also feels like a national competition.
The commentary that Japan has produced 24 Nobel Prize winners in the science field so far, and that we do not have one, shows that recognition.
Hearing the word that he is the closest professor to the Nobel Prize at Seoul National University, the life of this person can be guessed to some extent.
Of course, he must be a smart genius, and there will be a legendary anecdote that suits it.
For example, I have never missed a senior, and even after studying abroad, I was told that I didn't bother with high level foreigners in terms of skills at all.
There will be talks about accumulating world-class academic achievements, and journals such as <Science> and <Nature> will be mentioned that have heard their names, but have never been viewed or read.
So far, this is a 99% predictable scenario.
For some reason, this person visited the Seoul National University laboratory on the afternoon of the 11th with a foreboding that he would release a bunch of other stories other than this rather obvious story.
2. I was born in the house of Yeongi-hyeon, Habin-myeon, Dalseong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
His father, who had a high school diploma, was a local resident who worked as a leader of the Saemaul Undong, but the farming family was not very well equipped.
It was ten miles from my home to an elementary school in Myeon.
When I was in the 5th grade of elementary school, I thought of becoming a scientist when I got a silver medal in the military science contest.
From then on, my long and long study abroad life began.
After graduating from high school as a senior, he passed the Department of Chemistry at Seoul National University with excellent grades.
When he was in the second year of university, he left a ``legendary'' that the placenta of the physics and chemistry students of Seoul National University, who were said to be smart, got 100 points in the <Applied Mathematics> test, which was about to reach an average score of 30.
After completing his master's and doctoral courses at Seoul National University, he was selected as a state-funded scholarship student, and went to study at Illinois State University in the United States in 1991.
If there is anything that is different from what you expected, it is the main part of your study abroad life of 6 years.
When I was studying in the U.S., it was hard enough to feel the urge to put my head on the cement floor every day.
I was selected as a nationally funded scholarship student and came to study abroad, but there was no achievement in the whole three years.
It was a time when I was worried,'Would I be able to get a Ph.D. degree, or would I be able to get a place like a small business, let alone a university professor even if I get a degree?'
As the head of a family and the father of a just-born child, it was a painful and difficult time due to the uncertain future and skepticism of one's abilities.
The scholarship support, which was about 30 million won per year, has been cut off in three years, but the research results have not come out well, the wife's boat has been brought up, the future is uncertain, and the pride has been ruined.
How hard would I have wanted to put my head on the cement floor, even every day.
This man wanted to tell more about how he overcame the ordeal rather than the cause and content of the ordeal.
Although the shadow of failure murmured deeply, I was not frustrated.
I had a difficult time reading various papers in the university library and taking notes on ideas.
He showed me the idea notes he wrote back then and said it was his treasure chest.
Perhaps because of this experience, the disciples were told not to be afraid of failure.
No, I invited you to fail.
It just means that you shouldn't stop there when you face a failure.
"I tell my students that if you sit down there when you fail, you'll end up and that analyzing why you had to fail will give you a lot of things both academically and humanly. If you talk like this, people who get stuck in the inside may curse me, but Harvard I've seen many cases of failure among those who gained a degree easily and became a good university professor because of the fame of a supervisor at famous universities like Caltech and MIT.”
In her fourth year of her doctorate, she first published a thesis in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and the second in the year she received her doctorate in the same journal.
Two papers on ultrasound research were evaluated, and in 1997 he was appointed as a professor at Seoul National University.
Four years after becoming a professor at Seoul National University, he walks on a flower path as a scientist while writing a great thesis in the field of nanoscience.
The uptake of the domestic science awards that began with receiving the'Young Scientist Award' led to receiving the POSCO TJ Park Science Award in 2008, the Hoam Award in 2012, and the Korea's Best Scientist Award in 2016.
I received all the awards that could be received in Korea.
Currently, he is the head of the Nanoparticle Research Center at the Institute of Basic Sciences (IBS), which has only 6 seats at Seoul National University and 127 researchers including 29 doctoral-level researchers.
3. This person's reputation is higher abroad than at home.
He has worked for over 10 years as the deputy editor-in-chief of the American Chemical Society (JACS), which is proud of the world's prestige.
This is the first time a Korean has become the editor of this journal.
In fact, the name of this magazine is somewhat strange.
"When I go abroad and meet someone for the first time, it ends when I say'I am a JACS editor'. I don't need to explain who I am anymore. I'm a professor at Seoul National University, I'm the head of IBS. I don't need all these things."
The fact that he received tens of millions of won per year while serving as the vice-editor also gives us an idea of the status and authority of this journal.
At the end of last year, when he stepped down this position after 10 years, he won a more glorious title.
Global information service company'Clarivate Analytics' nominates for the Nobel Prize every year.
It nominates 4 to 7 people in each field, and this prediction, which strictly reflects academic achievements, is famous for being accurate.
The person nominated here is recognized as the closest to the Nobel Prize.
Until now, only three Koreans have been nominated here, including this person.
"Because this is not for everyone. The field of chemistry only selects about 6 people a year. I think this is more authoritative than the title of editor-in-chief of JACS."
The number of citations of this person's representative papers exceeds 3,000 times, and the number of citations by Nobel Prize winners is about 1,500.
If you look at the number of thesis citations alone, it means that you will remain even after receiving the Nobel Prize.
It is good news that this person is close to the Nobel Prize, but there was also an idea that our society was too clinging to the Nobel Prize.
-Don't you think there is some kind of Nobel Prize complex in our society?
"Of course, there is a Nobel Prize complex. All Koreans are like that and even more so for scientists. Among our wishes, there is unification, but the Nobel Prize is also our wish."
Scientific journals such as <Science> and <Nature> do not fall out when talking about this person.
I know it's the world's most prestigious journal, but it's not easy to guess how difficult it is to put a paper here.
In 2005, I still remember that Professor Hwang Woo-seok of Seoul National University was confused as if the country was turned upside down because the dissertation in <Science> was manipulated, but in fact, there are not many people who know this journal properly.
SBS reporter Han Se-hyun, Ph.D. in veterinary medicine's explanation is easy to understand in this regard.
“The most rated thesis I wrote is in the 5s range, but in order to be published in Nature, the rating must be 40 or higher. At first glance, it would be 8 times difficult, but you can see it as 2 times 8 times difficult. "It's hard to imagine that it will be a cover paper at the University of Korea. It can be said that if a thesis is published in Nature or Science, you are guaranteed to be a professor at a university."
Last year, he published three papers in this journal, including a nature cover paper, and decorated the science cover paper as a co-author.
It can be said that this is a far-off academic achievement, but this person described last year as a'miracle year' to himself.
The names of world-renowned scholars were comfortably called as if they were local friends.
In my field of study, I did not hide my confidence that I was the main character.
I was so confident that I wasn't stingy in acknowledging the achievements of others.
If there is a Nobel Prize in the field of nanoparticles, those who have done prior research in the field of theory should receive the prize first, and if there is a chance after that, they can also receive it.
There is no exaggeration or humility in explaining by entering numbers how much one's academic status is and in what context his achievements deserve to be evaluated.
These words come from the mouth of a person who has such an objective perception, so the following words do not sound boastful or exaggerated.
“I explain to the students who want to join my research team for about an hour what research our research team has done and what they have accomplished.'Our research team is not world-class. We are the best in the world.' In the case of last year, in the nano field. Not only that, but in all fields of science, medicine and engineering, our team will be the number one in the world. I am confident that no other team can match our research team.”
I was very confident, but I didn't overdo it, and there weren't a few words that sounded like proud of myself, but I didn't feel uncomfortable to hear it.
However, it was a bit difficult to know which part of this man who was neat, cheerful, brilliant and full of passion to pay homage to.
I understand that this man's academic achievements are great because they are neither visible, touched, nor drawn in their minds.
This person's representative research achievement was to be able to uniformly mass-produce small nanoparticles that are only 50,000th of the thickness of a hair.
Despite this person's kind explanation, it was difficult to know what the general public benefited from this study.
In other words, this guy did a great job in competition with the world's best brains, but I had never seen this guy fight them, and it was very difficult to understand what kind of game this person participated in.
The nature cover paper this person wrote last year is only (?) 6 pages long.
I tried to read this paper and read even a few lines, but it was difficult to read a single line rather than a few lines.
For a person who has lived as a literary student his entire life, the language was not English, but the language of aliens.
I understand that it is important, but I realized once more while covering this person that there is a world that is difficult to understand.
4. Our society is always thirsty for heroes.
They look for sports, politics, and entertainment.
Sometimes there are collective attempts to create heroes.
Then, the disaster that happened was the'Hwang Woo-seok Incident'.
The attention that has been focused on this person since last year is not comparable to that of Dr. Hwang Woo-seok in his heyday, but it is remarkable.
There are no signs of making this person a hero, and I don't know any signs of that.
The saying that the scientist should speak only of science, or that the driver should not recognize his face when taking a taxi also shows that this man is conscious of public interest.
He said that if a taxi driver recognizes his face, he is at the level of an entertainer, but there are drivers who already recognize his face.
I didn't seem to feel much of the burden of getting my name and face known yet.
He said he had an obligation to inform the public about the results as he conducted research by receiving a national tax.
That is why they respond to requests for media coverage.
The road to success is a splendid minefield.
He said he was wary of money problems such as the use of research funds, research ethics problems such as plagiarism, and sexual scandals.
In this person's head, there seems to be Dr. Hwang Woo-seok, who has temporarily fallen from a national hero comparable to Admiral Yi Sun-sin to a fraudster.
I say that I am not a genius, but if this man, the world's top scientist, is not a genius, who would he call a genius?
When it comes to a genius scientist from Seoul National University, it's easy to think of a sharp and cold figure with a razor-blade-like image, but this person seemed a little far from that figure.
It wasn't a genius that once heard anything, never forget, everything was in my head, and I could always bring out what I needed.
Rather, like this man's lab, which seemed a little cluttered, this man's head seemed to be full of all kinds of ideas.
Sometimes he said he had to go crazy.
Sometimes he also said it wasn't normal.
"What's the biggest success factor for a scientist. Freedom, freedom. To succeed in what nobody has done, it's not the usual way. You have to be a little crazy. I think I'm sometimes not normal. My wife often does." I'm talking about that, but when others see it, it's going to be ugly."
Words were quick and thoughts were quicker than that.
When I asked a question, I often used the question as a stepping stone to get an answer that went well beyond a few steps.
For example, if you ask a question about the issue of the usefulness of research funds, science is important to the future of the country. For this, venture companies are important, but it is unnecessary to think about basic science and applied science separately, and the important thing is human relations.
Thought overflowing in my head, I understood that I was giving a somewhat unfamiliar answer, but there were times when I was confused as to where to stop talking about this person.
He wasn't armed with the charisma of being a leading Nobel Prize candidate, nor was he empowered to be a seat professor at Seoul National University.
As he expressed it, there was a slightly awkward appearance and a wrong corner.
Ajae-hyeong's self-help gag seemed to be in the body, easing the alertness of the other person.
It didn't necessarily sound like a joke to say that I would have become a comedian if I hadn't been good at chemistry.
"I'm good at speaking silly and silly, so when people meet me, I feel less nervous. When I go to an overseas conference and get on the stage, people who know me already start to laugh. When I speak English, I speak very fast. Besides, I can say stupid sound. I do a lot, because I think there should be no one in the audience screaming."
The seat professor at Seoul National University said that he didn't know what others would say if he used these words, but he comfortably wrote the words that the working men would use.
Some of this man's words were purified and transcribed.
There were various expressions.
At times, the face was like an ordinary village uncle, and at other times, he showed the face of a serious believer.
There were times when I felt playful in my eyes, and my witty eyes flashed through my glasses.
I used all of my facial muscles to talk, but I also thought that if I were angry with that expression, I could look scary.
I was a person who studied well, so I wondered if there would be an apostasy (?) saying that studying was the easiest and the most fun, but I didn't say that.
"Where are people who are fun to study. Memorizing and memorizing is not fun. But research is really fun. It's really so much fun doing things that others have never done before and surprising others."
5. The most important thing for the researcher is human relations.
I did not say this once or twice, but a few times.
The scientist thought he was a person who was immersed in his own research in the lab, but he said he should never do that.
It was the logic that human relations were important for joint research, because you cannot do meaningful research on your own.
He said that all his studies for the past 10 years have been joint research, and the nature cover paper written last year was the result of the efforts of a total of 23 researchers.
"Collaborative research is not an option, it is essential. Because I can never hit a home run by myself. It is the same in all fields, but especially in the field of science and technology, it is necessary to study head-to-head in the field of science and technology to truly impress and help people. I can get it."
He said that for a successful joint research, we must have trust in each other, and that we should not go on a small expedition.
In almost every interview, they express their gratitude by naming their fellow researchers and students.
He was wary of being told that he would take the ball alone.
He said that there has been only one conflict that has occurred over hundreds of joint researches so far.
In his 30s, he became a professor at one of the best universities in Korea, and before he turned 40, he became a world-recognized scholar, so this person must have lived in his position as a researcher. It may not.
If you look at the professor's evaluation site, most of this person is well-received, but there are also evaluations such as'don't pretend to be humble and respect your subordinates.'
I chose my father as a person I admire.
My father said that he couldn't drink a drop of alcohol, but he had so many friends and no one said anything bad about him.
It was said that he had done the wicked work of the village so that he could not refuse the salt attack that collects the bodies of the people who died in the world.
The bright and sociable character seemed to be the greatest legacy he inherited from his father, and that legacy was the foundation that made this man a successful scholar.
6. Originally, the interview was scheduled from 1 pm to 4 pm.
As bureaucrats, regulations, and venture firms were on the topic, this person's words quickly became even faster.
Like a person living with an aphorism saying,'Come with your thoughts, put it on the wall of the lab, I didn't know that it would stop once the words burst.
He continued to speak passionately by canceling the schedule after the interview, saying that we should do this properly.
Taking advantage of exceptional deviant behaviors such as the use of research funds by some researchers, they argued that bureaucrats created regulations that suppressed researchers' creativity.
"As much as the money was given, it's like this or that. Give it a feel. Give it a stomach. If you make a little mistake and start to regulate one by one with that, there's no end." Using
foreign cases, he strongly condemned the regulation on venture start-ups.
He described the case of Professor Bob Langer, who has not made three or four ventures among foreign scholars who have achieved similar academic achievements, and became a billionaire by creating twenty ventures and listing eleven on the NASDAQ.
"But this is not the case with me. I am a member of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), so I only ask you to do basic science. If Taek-Hwan Hyun made a company and made a big hit, it would be frustrating. I'd say it just filled my stomach. I'll be grateful right away. I'm scared of that and IBS doesn't even do it. It's a huge loss nationally."
There were also many complaints about large companies.
Conglomerates criticized it as a kind of politicianism, arguing that researchers from renowned foreign universities such as Harvard and MIT were given generous research funds compared to domestic researchers.
The criticism of large corporations didn't stop there.
There is a lack of respect for the original technology developed by domestic researchers.
"Large companies are very stingy about domestic technology. Our original technology is the best in the world so that our papers are published in Nature and Science. But large companies want completed technology. Our corporate culture is so-called turn-key basis. I'm used to bringing technology from a foreign country and building a factory as ordered there to switch on. I just take the original technology or try to eat it free."
He said the original technology was like planting a seedling.
Throwing the seedlings does not mean that they become rice.
You have to give manure, pick grass, and spray pesticides, but large corporations don't intend to do that, and small and medium-sized enterprises don't have that ability.
At first, it was said that there was some compromise with the Institute of Basic Science, which was stubbornly opposed to it, so it seems that it is not too long to hear that this person made a venture business.
The story of venture companies is also a matter of rewarding scientists.
As a scientist, he said that he was a person who has walked on a flower path in relation to research funds, but he did not give a clear answer to the question of whether he thought the reward he received was sufficient for the size of his achievements.
It has become a hot topic that this person transferred nanoparticle-related technology to Hanwha and received 4.3 billion won.
He said that he actually returned to himself about a third.
Some people said it was a big hit, but there was also an evaluation that it was a penny compared to foreign countries.
"I did it for the time ohsejeong Director (current Seoul National University President) when IBS leader. 'Sir, I I'll be no going halfway. Hadeunga very basic research, or you'll be going to be the money" did "
was once the most talented people of the land They dreamed of becoming a scientist, and Taek-Hwan Hyun is also a person who has lived with such a dream.
In the eyes of Taek-Hwan Hyun, the reality in which excellent talents are concentrated in medicine will be worrisome and disappointing.
I asked this person why this was happening.
I heard it because of a culture that doesn't respect scientists.
He cited the example of China that when he became a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he received vice-growth courtesy both socially and economically, and President Xi Jinping was the first to find an elder scientist at the beginning.
Then, she confessed her own story.
“I received the <Young Scientist Award> directly from President Kim Dae-jung at the Blue House in 2002 and had a cup of tea, and the more authoritative <Korea's Best Science and Technology Award> was awarded in 2016. The person who gave the award at that time was then Deputy Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning Hong Nam-ki. It wasn't a minister, and I was awarded an award from the vice minister. Isn't it a clear indication of our society's perception of scientists."
This man was envious of the foreign academic world, which is a leading teacher and disciple.
The Nobel Prize is not something that can be earned by researching that a smart person die, but that it takes a long time to accumulate.
He said that we have reached this level as'the second miracle of the Han River'.
This expression itself is cliché, but it contains the truth.
The Max Planck Institute in Germany was founded in 1911, and in 1917, the Physics and Chemistry Institute, Japan's leading research institute, was established.
Since 2012, the Institute of Basic Science was founded, there is a difference of almost 100 years from ours.
Despite the difference, it was a miracle that we followed up so much, and I felt proud that I was standing in the front row.
Taek-Hwan Hyun said to himself that he would not retire and continue his research even after he reached his retirement age as a professor.
He said he would give back to this society as much as he received because he received so much.
He said he would raise people in a specific way.
He said he would give his students more research opportunities and lend their names if necessary.
The story of giving up a shining spot to the disciples was talked for quite a long time.
Originally, the interview time was promised about 3 hours, but the interview that started at 1 o'clock was finished until 6 o'clock.
After about 3 hours, the person who asks also gradually loses his mind, but this person has more words to say as time goes by, and his voice doesn't lose strength.
He continued talking passionately, canceling his later schedule without drinking a glass of water.
Even now, ideas are constantly springing up, so only the ideas I took note of this year are over 100 pages.
The goal seemed solid about where to go and what to do in the future.
It means that we will challenge the new world without staying on the results of our research so far.
Treatment of incurable diseases using nanotechnology and research on hydrogen fuels were priorities.
7. This person's major, nanotechnology, is derived from the Greek word Nanos, which means'dwarf'.
It's a one-billionth of a meter-sized word, so it's a study dealing with the invisible world.
I wanted to hear the thoughts of the invisible transcendental beings from those who deal with the invisible world.
After entering university, he became a Christian.
I am a person who is studying a field based on reason, and I was curious about the reason why I came to have a faith that transcends reason.
"It seems like a scientist who is like that will know a lot, but the truth is, even if I leave my field a little, it is full of things that I do not know. The more I research, the more I realize that there are many things I do not know. It only imitates, but there is a 0% chance that such subtle things have arisen from numerous accidents."
That is why he believes in an omnipotent creator.
The humility that this man emphasizes is also linked to faith.
Some of the aphorisms posted on the walls of the laboratory say'I am not proud or proud.'
"Why write that down because it's really easy to be proud. It's easy to boast. So I declared. I only boast in front of people. I only boast that I am a Christian and not the rest.... I am not perfect. Duck. Is floating gracefully on the water, but struggling underneath, my life is just like that.”
While criticizing some of the Christians who speak and act out of common sense for violent words, the contribution of this religion to our society is not properly appreciated. I didn't hide my regret for what I couldn't do.
8. He said it has been about a year and a half since he started playing golf.
He said he went to the field about 10 times and went to the practice range often.
When a friend's wife heard that this man started playing golf, he said,'Taekhwan, the Nobel Prize has crossed the water'.
It seems that I wasn't the only one who accepted playing golf to mean that I didn't focus on research.
These words came and went when we got in the elevator together after an interview for nearly five hours.
-What time do you come to the lab in the morning?"
"It's a bit irregular these days because of the corona, but before the corona, I came out at 9 a.m. and left at 10 p.m."
-Then how do you eat?"
"If you don't have a special appointment, we'll do it in the lab with a sandwich."
-How much time do you have to study per day?
“I devote more than 7 hours a day to pure research, except for administrative tasks that have to be handled as a professor or head of the IBS Research Center.”
I felt that the puzzle was solved only after I was told that I was doing more than 7 hours of research every day.
Some of the aphorisms on the wall of this man's research lab at Seoul National University included this.
'Do not neglect mental rest and physical rest and exercise'
Do not neglect to study, not to rest!
It means that you think that not resting is your problem.
When asked why you are ahead of so many geniuses around the world, this person answered with constant sincerity.
When I first heard the answer because it was so plain, it didn't get in my ears, but only after hearing that I was immersed in reading and writing for 7 hours every day, I understood the expression that this person refers to as'constant sincerity'.
I have lived like this for several decades, and the result is today's Hyun Taek-hwan.
For such a person, exercise is a break, whether it is tennis or golf.
In order to stand at the top of the world, we must not neglect that break.
On the day when the Nobel Prize winners in Chemistry were announced in October last year, they played a video of BTS''Not Today'.
He expressed that he was not likely to win this time.
After listening to this person for a long time, it seems that'Not today, but someday' was what he really wanted to say.
* This interview was conducted in the form of a two-on-one conversation with Editorial Writer Yang Man-hee at Seoul National University's laboratory on March 11th.
▶ Interview with Professor Tae Hwan Hyun, go to the 2nd video