By Kim Sung-soo
In 1985, I began to attend the Quaker Meeting in Seoul, South Korea, where I met Lee Hang-woo. One Sunday afternoon, after a meeting for worship, Lee gave a talk about his visit to North Korea. As my father was a North Korean refugee, I listened to Lee's fascinating talk with great interest.
At that time, South Korea was ruled by a military dictatorship, thus Lee's talk on North Korea was a forbidden topic. Naturally people were very cautious about possible interference by the military regime.
Lee was a Korean-American Quaker and visited South and North Korea nearly every year and whenever he came to the Seoul Quaker Meeting, he talked about North Korea. Thus, he was blacklisted by the military regime in South Korea.
In 1960, together with a well-known Korean Quaker, Ham Sok-hon (1901-89), Lee founded a Korean Quaker Meeting in Seoul. In 1968, he went to Pendle Hill, a Quaker study center in the U.S., to study Quakerism for a year. Then he settled in Philadelphia with his family.
He worked there as a computer analyst and retired in 2003, when he was 73 years old. However, he did not even own a home of his own as he spent most of his wages and holidays working for the peaceful reunification movement of two Koreas.
Rather than going on family holidays with his wife and children, he met government officials and lawmakers in the U.S., North Korea, China, Japan and Europe and with them, he discussed, appealed and sought a way for the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas.
Moreover, Lee also spent money on publishing reports on Korea's peaceful reunification issues, and sent money to help South Korean dissidents and political prisoners.
He was not a good speaker, but he was a quiet man of action. He spoke through his life and actions.
In 1974, he founded a group "Meeting for Suffering of Koreans" in the U.S. to help and support South Korean dissidents and their families.
In 1982, as one of the delegates of the Quaker's American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), he visited North Korea and tried to promote peace between the two Koreas. Since then, he has visited North Korea more than 40 times with this goal in mind.
In 1986 he founded the Korea-U.S. Public Relations Center in the U.S., where he published a "Korean Report" in English, which was widely read among U.S. lawmakers, officials, activists and journalists as well as overseas Korea experts.
In 1987, he also founded the Korean Support Network (KSN) in the U.S. and through the KSN, he not only supported South Korea's democratization movement but also raised public awareness among American politicians, officials, and scholars in relations to South Korean democracy.
In 1993, when North Koreans suffered famine, as one of the delegates of the AFSC, he visited North Korea and supported agriculture facilities there.
In 1995, Lee founded the "Peaceful Reunification Institute for the Two Koreas" in the U.S., and the institute published various papers on peaceful reunification issues of the two Koreas.
Lee laid the foundation for the peaceful relations between the two Koreas and due to his relentless contribution, in June 2000, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung was able to visit North Korea and held a summit meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. It was the first summit meeting of the two Korean leaders since the ceasefire of the Korean War in 1953. Subsequently in October 2000, Kim received the Nobel Peace Prize, thanks to Lee's behind-the-scenes toils and efforts.
In 2009, Lee led an International Conference on 'Ending of the Arms Race in the Asia-Pacific Region.'
Due to his contribution, in 2011, Lee received the Korean Reunification Culture Award from South Korea.
In 2013, after 45 years of life in the U.S., Lee returned to South Korea for good. After that I was able to meet him every week at the Seoul Quaker Meeting. During this time, Lee gave me courage, comfort and inspiration while I was engaged in a lawsuit against a right-wing government minister. Thanks to his kind support, in 2016, I won this legal battle.
In August 2020, Lee received the Liberation and Peace Award from the South Korean government in recognition of his contribution to pursuing the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas.
In September 2021, when I made an international call to him, he was on his sickbed and he said to me, "Sungsoo, let's live cheerfully!" He passed away on the morning of Oct. 16 after a prolonged battle with cancer.
To me, he was like a father figure, and he talked to me throughout his life. An active peacemaker and a quiet Quaker, Lee Hang-woo, I miss you!
Kim Sung-soo (wadans@empas.com) is a member of the Seoul Monthly Meeting and Leicester Quaker Meeting of Britain Yearly Meeting of Religious Society of Friends. He is the author of "Biography of a Korean Quaker, Ham Sok-hon."
In 1985, I began to attend the Quaker Meeting in Seoul, South Korea, where I met Lee Hang-woo. One Sunday afternoon, after a meeting for worship, Lee gave a talk about his visit to North Korea. As my father was a North Korean refugee, I listened to Lee's fascinating talk with great interest.
At that time, South Korea was ruled by a military dictatorship, thus Lee's talk on North Korea was a forbidden topic. Naturally people were very cautious about possible interference by the military regime.
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| The late Lee Hang-woo |
In 1960, together with a well-known Korean Quaker, Ham Sok-hon (1901-89), Lee founded a Korean Quaker Meeting in Seoul. In 1968, he went to Pendle Hill, a Quaker study center in the U.S., to study Quakerism for a year. Then he settled in Philadelphia with his family.
He worked there as a computer analyst and retired in 2003, when he was 73 years old. However, he did not even own a home of his own as he spent most of his wages and holidays working for the peaceful reunification movement of two Koreas.
Rather than going on family holidays with his wife and children, he met government officials and lawmakers in the U.S., North Korea, China, Japan and Europe and with them, he discussed, appealed and sought a way for the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas.
Moreover, Lee also spent money on publishing reports on Korea's peaceful reunification issues, and sent money to help South Korean dissidents and political prisoners.
He was not a good speaker, but he was a quiet man of action. He spoke through his life and actions.
In 1974, he founded a group "Meeting for Suffering of Koreans" in the U.S. to help and support South Korean dissidents and their families.
In 1982, as one of the delegates of the Quaker's American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), he visited North Korea and tried to promote peace between the two Koreas. Since then, he has visited North Korea more than 40 times with this goal in mind.
In 1986 he founded the Korea-U.S. Public Relations Center in the U.S., where he published a "Korean Report" in English, which was widely read among U.S. lawmakers, officials, activists and journalists as well as overseas Korea experts.
In 1987, he also founded the Korean Support Network (KSN) in the U.S. and through the KSN, he not only supported South Korea's democratization movement but also raised public awareness among American politicians, officials, and scholars in relations to South Korean democracy.
In 1993, when North Koreans suffered famine, as one of the delegates of the AFSC, he visited North Korea and supported agriculture facilities there.
In 1995, Lee founded the "Peaceful Reunification Institute for the Two Koreas" in the U.S., and the institute published various papers on peaceful reunification issues of the two Koreas.
Lee laid the foundation for the peaceful relations between the two Koreas and due to his relentless contribution, in June 2000, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung was able to visit North Korea and held a summit meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. It was the first summit meeting of the two Korean leaders since the ceasefire of the Korean War in 1953. Subsequently in October 2000, Kim received the Nobel Peace Prize, thanks to Lee's behind-the-scenes toils and efforts.
In 2009, Lee led an International Conference on 'Ending of the Arms Race in the Asia-Pacific Region.'
Due to his contribution, in 2011, Lee received the Korean Reunification Culture Award from South Korea.
In 2013, after 45 years of life in the U.S., Lee returned to South Korea for good. After that I was able to meet him every week at the Seoul Quaker Meeting. During this time, Lee gave me courage, comfort and inspiration while I was engaged in a lawsuit against a right-wing government minister. Thanks to his kind support, in 2016, I won this legal battle.
In August 2020, Lee received the Liberation and Peace Award from the South Korean government in recognition of his contribution to pursuing the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas.
In September 2021, when I made an international call to him, he was on his sickbed and he said to me, "Sungsoo, let's live cheerfully!" He passed away on the morning of Oct. 16 after a prolonged battle with cancer.
To me, he was like a father figure, and he talked to me throughout his life. An active peacemaker and a quiet Quaker, Lee Hang-woo, I miss you!
Kim Sung-soo (wadans@empas.com) is a member of the Seoul Monthly Meeting and Leicester Quaker Meeting of Britain Yearly Meeting of Religious Society of Friends. He is the author of "Biography of a Korean Quaker, Ham Sok-hon."
