Retired colonel awarded for his service

Retired Air Force Col. Kim Eung-soo, right in the back row, poses with his Kenyan students at Sejong Institute in Nairobi.

By Kang Seung-woo

The Korean Air Force Veterans Association announced Friday that retired Col. Kim Eung-soo has been selected as the winner of the “Proud Air Force Award” for his commitment in Kenya.

Kim, who had a 28-year career as a fighter pilot before retiring in 1996, has been teaching Korean in Nairobi since 2008.

The retired colonel also worked for Hyundai Space and Aircraft, the forerunner of Korea Aerospace Industries, but he wanted to do something that would make a difference.

As a result, he started teaching the Korean language to foreign workers in Paju and Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province.

After completing a teacher-preparation course, he flew to the capital of the African country in 2008 and opened a Korean language institute.

Despite his ceaseless efforts to teach Korean to Kenyans, fiscal problems nearly forced him to close the institute.

However, the Korean government’s Sejong Hakdang program, supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, came to his rescue in September 2011.

Thanks to the program, he teaches 30 students each six-month semester.

The total number of those of have taken the class has climbed to about 540.

Financial contributions from his fellow Air Force Academy alumni have enabled some 30 Kenyan students to receive scholarships.

So far, 10 of his students have been admitted to several Korean university including Korea University and Sookmyung Women’s University on scholarships.