Good morning, fellow Koreans,

I send my greetings to you all on the first day of the Lunar New Year’s holidays.

Many of you may have already arrived at your hometowns and met with family members and other relatives by now. Some of you who set out a little late due to one reason or another may now be in a rush to get to your hometowns.

At this time of year, it is true that people tend to have warm feelings and get a little excited with the thought that they will soon meet their families again.

On the other hand, I feel great regret over what happened in Yongsan a few days ago. As President, my heart aches deeply to learn that many precious lives were lost. We must do whatever we can to prevent any recurrence of such a tragic incident. I take this opportunity to pray for the repose of the souls of the victims and offer my condolences to the bereaved families.

My fellow citizens,

I had many thoughts watching the inauguration of President Barack Obama three days ago.

One part of his inaugural speech, in particular, came home to me. He said, “On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.” He was full of confidence in making this proclamation.

His remarks reminded me of the pledge that I made to the nation at my inauguration. I said, “We must move from the age of ideology into the age of pragmatism.” I promised, “I will invigorate the economy and unite our society.”

Facing an unprecedented crisis, all countries around the world are now setting national unity and integration as one of the top priorities among other important tasks.

They understand that nothing is more urgent than unity in addressing the pressing problems facing us. They encourage the people to put down trivial conflicts of interests as well as confrontation and promote hope and courage.

Fellow citizens,

On this Lunar New Year’s Day, I hope we will also be able to talk about hope and reaffirm it among family members and other relatives. Rather than squabbling and fighting with each other over our differences, let us empower one another, give each other courage with a pat on stooped shoulders and soothe hurt minds.

Aren’t we the great Koreans who pulled off a miracle that startled the entire world even with a far worse situation than now?

These days, I often think about a family man in his 40s whom I met several years ago. He confessed that he once decided to commit suicide because he was so completely frustrated and guilt ridden when his small business failed.

Hounded by debtors, his family was scattered all over. He made up his mind to fix things with death and headed for the sea down south. On his presumably last journey, he stopped by a small village and met a woman who was paralyzed below the neck. She told him that she was so grateful because she was still able to see, hear and talk even though she had to lie in bed and couldn’t even move a finger. Her words greatly shocked him and brought him to his senses.

Seeing that such a woman could still appreciate life valuing each and every day, he changed his mind and thought that there was nothing he couldn’t do with his healthy body. He started all over again by working as a laborer in a small factory.

He worked hard and five years later, he managed to rent a house and gather his scattered family members. Happiness seemed so far away for so long, but eventually he found it again. Everyday has been special since then, indeed. “How lucky I was to be able to make the crucial decision at the crucial moment,” he beamed with self-assured, big, happy smiles.

My fellow citizens,

Let us keep our hopes up. We can overcome any hardships as long as we have hope. With self-confidence and courage, let us forge ahead for a better tomorrow. When you are in distress, think of your family, and then you will find unfailing inspiration.

Our family is the reason for our being. You share happiness with them and you share sorrow with them. That is why the family is called the best gift from Heaven.

Here is another story about the family. Interviews were conducted with former Prisoners of War. Asked what sustained them during captivity under the constant threat of death, almost all of them named their families. The hope that they would be reunited with their folks was their main source of strength that kept them alive.

This kind of story does not come as a surprise to my generation. My family was destitute like many other Korean families. So my mother had to do backbreaking jobs every day. I know she cried a lot even though she tried to conceal it. But she always told her children, “We may be having hard times now. But I assure you that your future will be much better. My hopes are very high for you.” These words gave me confidence and courage all my life.

A few weeks ago, I met a woman peddler at a traditional market. She told me basically the same thing. She said, “We all know this is a difficult time. But pitying ourselves does not help at all. Only decades ago, many Koreans had to go hungry. We are surely doing much better than then. We will make it again as long as we keep trying with courage.”

When the country was in dire need, our mothers and fathers persevered because they had hope that their children would live better than they did. They did not have any food and clothes to speak of, but they never failed to plant hope and courage in their children. Their fervent desire for a better future made today’s Korea. Isn’t it because of that hope and courage that the nation has progressed so far, overcoming all kinds of crises and poverty?

Fellow Koreans,

I hope that this Lunar New Year’s Day will serve as an occasion to reaffirm the power and value of the family. In this holiday season, however, many members of the Armed Forces, National Police and local fire stations will be sorely missed by their families. I extend special thanks to these officers who cannot join their families on this joyous holiday because they have duties to perform, protecting the lives and safety of the people.

At the same time, I wish the Korean workers overseas as well as the foreign workers staying in Korea far away from their loved ones a very happy holiday.

Please be mindful of the solitary senior citizens and minors who have to support their families. I sincerely wish that special care will be offered to these underprivileged neighbors who are sure to long for a warm family environment at this time of the year.

I offer words of comfort to those citizens who decided to forego traveling to their hometowns because of financial reasons. As President, I will do all I can so that next year, you will be able to visit your loved ones.

I wish you and all your families a very happy and healthy New Year.