S. Korean Remembered 25 Yrs after Death in Tokyo Tragedy

Tokyo, Jan. 23 (Jiji Press)–A memorial service was held Friday morning at a Tokyo railway station to mark nearly 25 years since the death of a South Korean student who was hit by a train while trying to save a Japanese man. Lee Soo-hyun, then 26, was killed while trying to rescue the man who fell onto the tracks under the influence at Shin-Okubo Station of East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, in Shinjuku Ward on Jan. 26, 2001. The accident occurred around 7:15 p.m. Lee and another individual went onto the tracks to save the man, but all three were struck and killed by an oncoming train. About 20 people participating in a bilateral exchange program, including South Korean high school students, attended the ceremony to commemorate his death. They arrived in Japan on Wednesday as part of the study program, organized by the Japan Foundation, an independent administrative institution supervised by the Foreign Ministry. Since 2002, the foundation has held programs aimed at deepening understanding of Japanese culture and fostering future leaders through bilateral exchanges to carry on Lee’s legacy. The latest program is the 25th, with about 500 participants to date. Students and others prayed for Lee in front of a monument in the station. Ahead of that, they visited the Japanese language school he had attended. A 17-year-old high school student from South Korea expressed a wish to learn from Lee’s act so that the two countries will be able to understand each other better. Lee’s act of bravery became a symbol of friendship between the two East Asian countries and garnered significant attention, even inspiring a film. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]