Death of Prof. Chang

By Yom Syng-sup

The death of Prof. Chang Young-hee sent ripples of sadness across the nation, among many of her friends and readers who appreciated her writings as well as her personality.

When I read her obituary Monday morning, I felt like weeping, for I knew her and had awaited another opportunity to see her or talk with her after her recovery from her bout with cancer ― a meeting which I had vaguely thought was possible. How sad!

Some 13 years ago, there was an international translation conference under the auspices of the Daesan Foundation, as I remember, at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.

I was formally invited as one of those concerned about the translation of German literature. I was climbing the stairs to the conference hall that morning when I saw a young woman also walking up, or rather plying up, the stairs on crutches. I paid a glance at her and her sharp eyes immediately met me half way.

I was struck, for her rosy face was an image of intellectual acumen, sentimental charm and sensibility. I thought to myself that she must be Miss Chang Young-hee, who had written an article about the difficulties of driving around in Seoul as a disabled person.

At the entrance to the hall, I exchanged a few words with her, and confirmed my suspicion. I told her that I appreciated her articles in English.

She replied that she would try henceforth to write in Korean. Then I went to a vending machine and brought her a cup of coffee ― an act I later came to much regret, as I realized that she would have had to restrain herself from drinking too many beverages.

In a way, my suspicion was confirmed, as she did not show up at the luncheon prepared by the organizer of the event. Oh, how amiss of me at times not to be sufficiently considerate toward the disabled!

But the point is that she tried to be on her own as much as possible. At any rate, Prof. Chang and I exchanged a few e-mails thereafter and in the meantime, she sent me her book, a compilation of her essays in English.

In a certain Korean newspaper article, she reminisced about her encounter with German romantic writer Novalis, and discussed the romantic aspect of being in search of a blue flower.

I was keenly aware of that topic as a professor of German literature at that time. Now Miss Chang is gone! She was certainly in pursuit of her blue flower, a symbol of beauty and truth and knew the joys of life ― la joie de vivre.

I am at a loss for words when I read about how undaunted she was in her stride to the other habitation. What beautiful truth she brought forth in her last words to her dear mom! May God bless Miss Chang, our beautiful compatriot, henceforth!

Yom Syng-sup is German literature professor emeritus from Keimyung University. He can be reached at ssyom@kmu.ac.kr.