Over the past two years, the faculty members of our school, gathered from a wide array of backgrounds and academic disciplines, have been preparing for an unprecedented voyage under the flag of the Graduate School of Digital Humanities and Computational Social Sciences. It is my honor to introduce myself as its Head, Bonggwan Jun, as we embark on this voyage towards an unknown land.

Digital Humanities and Computational Social Sciences is a relatively new research field globally, without clearly established definitions, subjects or methodologies. It is undoubtedly a precarious, painful and exhausting process to forge a new path rather than following footsteps left behind. However, considering the deep crisis we currently face in the humanities and social sciences, the path that we open may spell the beginning of a renaissance for the humanities and social sciences in the 21^st century.

Since its establishment, KAIST has been setting the agenda for Korean society. Now, with the knowhow in transdisciplinary research accumulated from over half a century, KAIST rises up to the new challenge of educating humanities convergence engineers.

As with all challenges, nothing is for certain. We have no way of knowing who will be the students joining us on this voyage, or the kind of perils and tides that await. We have no way of knowing if the islands we encounter on this voyage will barren and deserted or full of treasures. We only know that our journey will not always be smooth sailing but promise to continue our mission of innovation in the field of humanities and social sciences with purpose as our guide.

Thank you.