"Fluffy Soft Child, Moving to a Wider World"... Full of Love for Students on Graduation Certificates

Blessing-filled Graduation Certificate at Gaeun Middle School Draws Attention
Hyoam High School Uses 'Utmost Sincerity' Instead of 'Graduation Certificate'

"I want to hold and embrace you, and there are so many things I want to say, but I send you off biting my lips as if watching a child leave home. I hope you meet better teachers and better friends than us and cultivate a wonderful life."

A graduation certificate filled with a teacher's heartfelt feelings toward graduating students is drawing attention. Gaeun Middle School in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, operated by the Hyoam Foundation, handed out graduation certificates with different content than usual to 284 graduates at the 2023 academic year graduation ceremony held on December 29 last year.

Gyeongnam Yangsan Gaewoon Middle School wrote heartfelt messages from teachers on the diplomas and distributed them to the graduates in December last year.
[Photo by Gaewoon Middle School]

The graduation certificate, released by the Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education on the 11th, contains phrases such as, "The student came to our school as a soft, downy child, and after three years of crying and laughing, their body and mind have grown, and we send them to a wider world."

This breaks away from the typical graduation certificate phrase starting with "The above person~." According to Gaeun Middle School, this phrase was written directly by Vice Principal Kim Sun-nam.

In a phone interview with Hankyoreh, he said, "The children change every year, and I thought it was somewhat insincere to send them off with the same words regardless of which school and when they graduated, so from this year, I decided to write the graduation certificate phrase reflecting the feelings of living with the children each year."

He added, "Last year, the fact that teachers had difficulties due to conflicts with students or parents heated up the whole country, but I believe that such processes will ultimately be the foundation for the children’s growth. I put my heart into sincerely blessing the children who overcome their hardships and mature as they move forward."

Hyoam High School in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, distributed graduation certificates to about 250 graduates last December with the phrase "Utmost Sincerity" written on the cover instead of "Graduation Certificate."
[Photo by Hyoam High School]

Principal Oh Su-jeong of Gaeun Middle School said, "When I see the graduating children, I feel like sending my own children into a wider world," and added, "It is always a time when blessings and anxious concerns intersect."

Another school operated by the Hyoam Foundation, Hyoam High School in Yangsan, attracted attention by putting the phrase "Utmost Sincerity" on the cover instead of "Graduation Certificate." It means, "If you put utmost sincerity even into small things, you will become diligent; if you are diligent, your inner self will appear outwardly clear and bright, ultimately transforming yourself and the world."

This is a condensed version of Chapter 23 of the Doctrine of the Mean, and the calligraphy was personally written by Lee Kang-sik, a teacher at Hyoam High School who is deeply knowledgeable in Kelly calligraphy.

He said, "There is no graduation in life. We created a graduation certificate with a unique name in the world, reflecting the teachers’ opinion that 'ultimately, putting sincerity into every moment is the essence of life.' This name will change every year."