President Moon Jae-in on Monday urged young adults to take on challenges, noting many may fail, but they may learn more from failure than success.

"The future of you, who are about to embark on a new journey, cannot always be smooth. You may face failure and frustration. I want you to keep in mind that sometimes failure can be a more valuable experience than success," the president said in his congratulatory remarks at the graduation ceremony of the state-run Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology.

"What makes us (stop trying) is never the failure itself. Unless we lose hope because of failure, failure can rather be the driving force that can make us grow," he added.

President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech at the graduation ceremony of the state-run Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in Ulsan, located some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Feb. 12, 2018. (Yonhap)

Moon's trip to the college graduation marked the first of its kind since he took office in May 2017. The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae explained Moon had a special connection to the institute as he helped found the only state-run college in Ulsan while serving as the chief of staff to the late former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2007. The school, located some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, opened in 2009.

The president urged the graduates to continue moving forward, if not for themselves, then at least for those who have helped and still have faith in them.

"Today's President Moon Jae-in did not become the president all by himself. President Moon Jae-in is another name for us, who opened our hearts and helped," he said, according to a script of his speech released by Cheong Wa Dae.

"The anxious world awaits you, our graduates," Moon said. "I hope you will walk your own paths. But I hope the paths you walk will not only be for yourselves but for us all."

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