HYBE's chairman Bang Si-hyuk becomes first pop culture figure to receive an honorary doctorate degree from SNU

On April 28, HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk, also known as Hitman Bang, was awarded an honorary doctorate in Business Administration by the Seoul National University. With this, the HYBE chairman has become the first entertainment figure to receive an honorary doctorate degree.

The university announced that he contributed extensively to HYBE's growth as a mega global company, as well as to the expansion and innovation of the Korean culture and arts industry.

HYBE corporation, previously known as Big Hit Entertainment, was first established in 2005 by Chairman Bang Si-hyuk. The entertainment company currently has numerous subsidiaries that are collectively known as HYBE labels.

The company is home to world-famous K-pop sensations like BTS, SEVENTEEN, Lee Hyun, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN, and many other acclaimed artists.

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Bang Si-hyuk on being bestowed an honorary doctorate from SNU

After accepting his degree, HYBE chairman Si-hyuk delivered a speech in front of the entire congregation of the Seoul National University. As a former Esthetics major at SNU, he said:

"I never learned business administration through a formal curriculum. My management was done with difficulty by combining lessons I learned from failures in the field and knowledge acquired from books."

Keeping a simple philosophy in mind, he continued:

"Looking back, the decisive reason why our company has survived until now is that I myself gave it a diagnosis and prescription that I should focus on the essence rather than the solution."

Since Si-hyuk was with global K-pop sensation BTS from the beginning and continues to encourage them, he practically raised the group and is the mastermind behind its success.

It can be said that his management philosophy was the crux that enabled BTS to rise to its current position in the music business.

He added:

"The No.1 goal of a company is to survive. We should pursue survival with continuous growth and a long-term vision, not a one-dimensional survival just to exist."

According to Seoul National University’s degree awarding rules and regulations, honorary doctorate degrees are presented to those who have made positive contributions to academic development or impactful contributions to the improvement of the overall human culture.