A centenarian woman's remarkable life and demise

By Lee Sun-ho

At 11:30 p.m. Jan. 5, the first Friday in 2018, my 105-year-old (103 years and eight months by Western count) mother passed away. The date of her death was registered Jan. 6, just after midnight at the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, upon the examination of her body by a doctor in charge at its emergency medical center.

Since my mother, Lee Seuk-hee, was over 100 years of age, and her health had deteriorated into a senile infirmity that had lasted 483 days, from Aug. 21, 2016, through Jan. 5, 2018, many of my associates and colleagues paid keen attention to her health problems prior to her death.

For her obituary, a couple of publications asked me to write something special about her life, whether it be about her younger years or more recent ones.

Here are some basic facts about the wonderful woman that was my mother. She was born on May 22, 1914, in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, and died on Jan 5, in Seocho-gu, Seoul, from cerebral obstruction that led to pneumonia. She attended Sookmyung Girls’ High School.

She married my father on Nov. 1, 1935; my father passed away on Dec. 26, 2002. She had six children ― three sons and three daughters, all college educated ― 42 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren.

Here’s a chronological list of memorable annual events before and after her centennial birthday May 22, 2014, from what I can remember.

On the occasion of her 98th birthday (called the “white age” in Korean) in 2012, my six siblings decided to publish a collection of works entitled “Unforgettable Grateful People” for my mother. The 303-page book contains her memo-script poems, essays, feeling memoirs, and notes from close neighbors and from grandchildren.

Only 500 copies of the book were published exclusively for relatives and friends. Since then, however, readers have spread the word of the exclusive book and a considerable demand for the book has emerged at home and abroad.

Owing to such demand, we could not help but publish another 500 copies the following year in celebration of her 99th birthday (considered her 100th year in Korean).

On June 30, 2013, shortly after her 99th birthday, the National Folk Museum of Korea published “Lee Seuk-hee’s Life Story: A Hundred Year Journey of a Woman Through Tradition and Modernity,” a hardcover book about her life, including various important events in her life, such as customs, coming of age, marriage, funerals and ancestor memorials, and her own experiences, following a number of interviews with three curators.

The hardcover set includes a two-volume, 512-page book and a DVD. In return for the museum’s exceptional hospitality in paying tribute to my mother, Oct. 16, 2013, my mother and I jointly donated 29 Korean traditional folk items; our names were engraved together on a woodcut plate in 2013.

After her 100th birthday Oct 2, 2014 (her 18th Senior Citizens Day), President Park Geun-hye presented her with a goosefoot cane. Subsequently, at the end of each year, she received other interesting gifts ― an insulated winter wear set from the government in 2015, H.O.P.E. (Hope of Perfect Everyday) health food products produced by Cheil-Jedang from acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn in 2016 and a gift from President Moon Jae-in in 2017.

As of 2017, there are 439 artifacts from three generations of my family that we donated to the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, including seven from my mother (given during the first half) and 161 from me (presented during the second half). The artifacts are in the custody of the same museum and will be available for public display in the foreseeable future.

A majority of mourners expressed to me their sympathies, saying, “Your mother raised her six children well for humanity, enjoyed her centennial life and finally returned to the eternal heaven of peace. It was a propitious funeral.” I very much appreciated their warm and courteous words of condolences in memory of what my mother stood for.

Lee Sun-ho (kexim2@unitel.co.kr) is an ombudsman columnist for The Korea Times in Seoul.