The late REE, Soo Hyun and South Korea boom
~ participating in the meeting in memory of REE, Soo Hyun ~

Graduate school of Asia Pacific Studies Doctoral program, second year, RHA, Soo Kyung

Participants who are praying after offering flowers

With Mr. REE’s parents (center) (the second from left is the writer)

Recently, things Korean are in vogue in Japan. I don’t really feel this South Korea boom at Waseda, but I can see it in Shin Okubo, which is a little bit away from Waseda. On the 26th of January, the fourth anniversary of REE, Soo Hyun‘s death was commemorated at the Shinjuku Welfare Pension Insurance building (Shinjuku Koseinenkin Kaikan). On the same day four years ago, Mr. REE and the late Shiro Sekine, who was a photographer, jumped down onto the tracks at Shin Okubo station in an attempt to save a Japanese man who had fallen in and were killed together with him by an oncoming train.

The memorial meeting “Remembering the late REE, Soo Hyun” was attended by only a small number of people, and its atmosphere was very quiet. It seems that the number of participants is shrinking every. I have only few friends who remember Mr. REE even at Waseda University. The situation is same beyond the Genkai Sea in South Korea. Right after the accident, he attracted a lot attention and was spoken of in terms like “a young man who has a heart of gold” or “a righteous man”. However, now, four years later after that accident, I can hardly find even an article about him.

Fortunately, there are interested Japanese who miss the “foreigner” REE, Soo Hyun at the grass-roots level. As a result of their donations, the “REE, Soo Hyun Memorial Scholarship Association” has been established. It offers scholarships each year to students attending Japanese language school. They get less support from the Japanese government than foreign students studying other subjects. Mr. REE was studying Japanese at the time of the accident.

This year is extremely important for the relationship between Japan and South Korea, two countries with a history of love and hatred. 2005 is the centennial of the treaty that made Korea a Japanese protectorate (1905), the 60th anniversary of the end of the war and liberation (1945), and the 40th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea (1965). Therefore, governments of both countries have declared this year “a year of friendship between Japan and South Korea” and are planning various exchange events. This is a very good thing.

However, haven't we forgotten something very important? Mr. REE‘s parents said “we really look forward to this day every year” in their remarks at the meeting. They might say this because they have overcome their grief for their son. I offered flowers, praying that the noble sacrificial spirit of two young men who gave their lives for a stranger will contribute to a real “South Korea boom” and “Japan boom”.