Most people will have heard about the death of former South Korean President Noh Moo Hyun, who committed suicide last week. I feel obligated to respond to this tragedy, not only because I am Korean, but also because I feel somehow responsible. I still remember when I met him, before he was elected as president, in a small gathering in Korea. He was short, solid, and reminded me of someone’s uncle. He was a very warm and friendly person who loved to sit and eat, smoke and have a drink with people. I still remember how his speech touched the people who were gathered at that time.

Many people will miss him; many people will miss his work; how he supported the plan for alternative service for conscientious objectors to military service, how he worked to improve the relationship with North Korea and how he worked at the governmental level to improve human rights. Many people will miss how, as a young lawyer, he supported the workers and students who stood against the military dictatorship, volunteering his services without payment.

This tragedy makes me think about the Korean people, each one, from the high school student to the president. There is so much pressure on each person to succeed, to excel in studies and work, to gain power and to compete, and yet no one, certainly not society as a whole, wants to shoulder the responsibility for what this pressure does to people, and no one wants to do their part to care for people.

I live in a Christian community in England, and am currently visiting one of our communities in the United States, where many Korean people come and seek for new life. Since the early 1990s, the flood of visitors from Korea has never ceased. They come all the way from Korea to faraway England, Australia, Germany or America looking for something. Friends of mine have asked me why they come from so far. I do not know the reason, but part of the answer may be the pressure on students to excel in their studies, pressure on young people to get into good universities and then get good jobs, pressure on fathers to provide their children with the best education, pressure to succeed and pressure on each person to be someone that they are not. Thinking about Noh’s death, I thought that there might be a connection with the pressures that drove him to take his own life and the longing that sends people so far from home to find new life and new purpose.

So many people are lonely and do not have friends they can talk to when they meet difficulties in their life. I know that it is not only Korea where this is the case. I have been thinking of the words that Jesus said;

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt: 11:28-30)

These words hold such hope and love for all people. I wish for myself and everyone that we can find assurance that each life has purpose and we do not need to despair even though we are not successful, we fail, or make mistakes. I wish for each person to find the peace that Jesus promised.

I know that former President Noh was involved in corruption, but are any of us free from dishonesty, large or small? I certainly cannot say that I am, so I think we all need to see our responsibility in a society that drives people to despair.

I mourn President Noh’s death and feel that this is a chance to support each other instead of criticizing and pointing fingers at each other’s faults. We need to care for one another and help each other find the love that Jesus expressed. Isn’t that the answer to the loneliness and desperation in our society?

 

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Responses

Dear One,

You mentioned, "*I know that former President Noh was involved in corruption,..."

I do not know this. I wonder how much he was like King Sejong or like **Barack* *Obama.

I am sorry he died. I do not think death is a solution. I am still looking for a peaceful resolution to the conflict of his death and the loss felt by the people.

John A Perazzo
listener
Western United States