“Do you believe in aliens?” On September 20th, alien seekers gathered at Pusan National University (PNU). This gathering was for the “You Already Know Aliens” lecture at the “PNU SF DAY” weekly lecture series held at the Learning-Commons on the first floor of the Saebyeokbeol Library.

Astronomer Dr. Lee Myeong-Hyeon, Park Sang-Jun (CEO, Seoul SF Archive), and an artist Unhappy Circuit, considered the “alien seekers,” discussed methods to communicate and connect with aliens, going beyond proving alien existence. PNU Library prepared this lecture to foster a reading culture in the science field by discussing science fiction topics that interest PNU members.

■Chemistry As an Alien Communication Language

CEO Park, a product manager specializing in liberal arts books related to science, explained that the public is becoming friendly with alien life through a variety of literature and films. CEO Park described alien civilizations depicted in globally renowned science fiction novels such as “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Solaris.” He then cited well-known films like “Star Wars” and “Transformers Series.” Also, he added “Independence Daysaster,” where aliens appear as parasites, and “Prometheus,” which deals with the origin of human aliens, as examples.

CEO Park mentioned that communication with extraterrestrial beings could be possible through various languages. He identified chemistry as a fundamental language unit for communication with extraterrestrial life. Suppose extraterrestrial civilizations are at a level comparable to Earth’s civilization. In that case, chemistry, a universal law applicable anywhere in the universe, could be the starting point for dialogue. CEO Park stated, “Unlike humans expressing water in H2O, aliens will express it in their language, but element identification would be quickly possible. Starting with chemistry, gradually deeper levels of communication would be possible.”

■Extraterrestrial Biology Entering Science

Astronomer Dr. Lee claimed that aliens exist, but the commonly known UFOs, often thought of as evidence of aliens, are not alien spacecraft. Dr. Lee argues that the movements attributed to UFOs, which some claim exceed the speed of light over vast cosmic distances, are scientifically impossible. Based on the scientific fact that matter is made up of molecules and molecules are made up of atoms, he explained, “Atoms consist of atomic nuclei and electrons, and flying at the speed of light is an impossible situation in which a fast-flying atomic nucleus hits a stationary atomic nucleus.”

Dr. Lee gave the “SETI project” as an answer to how to confirm the existence of aliens if UFOs were irrelevant. The SETI project has been detecting signals from extraterrestrial life since 1959 under the premise that they want to launch radio waves and exchange information. Through the project, Dr. Lee presented the “Wow Signal,” published in 1977, and the signal captured in the Centaurus alpha system in the 2010s as evidence of aliens. He noted that such astrobiology has lasted over half a century and is gradually progressing toward quantification. In addition, Dr. Lee recommended reading books related to astrobiology, such as “Alien Oceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space” and “What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions.”

■Message to Aliens

Unhappy Circuit, a media artist, creates works that can interact with alien life through a scientific approach. He introduced his new artwork, “1 HUMAN MESSAGE,” currently on display at the Saebyeokbeol Library. The artwork is an audio-visual form of text delivered to extraterrestrial life composed of binary and decimal. He said, “It is composed of “numbers,” the simplest system for expressing information. I thought it could be a useful clue when an alien astronomer in the distant universe decodes this signal.”

The artist cited communication with aliens as the motivation behind creating that artwork. He said, “When considering what extraterrestrial intelligent life might be, they may have different ways of thinking and biological characteristics from ours. However, I envisioned them as beings facing difficulties in life, much like us. Focusing on “life” that can empathize with alien life, the artwork began with the idea of ‘I also live on Earth like this, so don't be lonely, too.'"

Reporter Lee Yun-Jeong

Translated by Kim Tae-Yi