[Provided by Kyungpook National University]
[Provided by Kyungpook National University]

Alumni of Kyungpook National University are channeling wounded pride over the school's exclusion from a major government project into a voluntary drive to support their alma mater's future.

The Kyungpook National University Alumni Association held its 28th Family Hiking Rally at Mungyeongsaejae Provincial Park on Saturday, drawing more than 600 alumni and their families.

The event opened with a trek through Mungyeongsaejae, followed by a festival featuring classical vocal and fusion janggu performances and a prize raffle.

Particularly this year, the rally served as more than a gathering for alumni solidarity — it marked a new starting point for efforts to secure government support for the university and for alumni to invest directly in its future.

Alumni Association President Chu Gyo-gwan proposed a long-term development fund of 100 billion won ($75.5 million), calling on the university's 300,000 alumni to take matters into their own hands and shape the next 100 years of their alma mater. He framed the proposal as a way to move beyond disappointment over the school's exclusion from the government's "Build 10 Seoul National Universities" project.

The initiative gained added momentum when an anonymous alumnus from the sociology department recently donated 50 million won to the development fund.

University President Heo Yeong-u said he deeply sympathized with the alumni's wounded pride and pledged to use the outcome as a springboard for a new leap forward. "We will lead regional development and grow into a prestigious university that stands shoulder to shoulder with the world's leading institutions," he said.


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