A miner who became a professor
By Sho Chang-young
Earlier this month, I attended the funeral of a famous educator and professor, Kwon Yi-jong. He was born in Jangsu County, North Jeolla Province, and graduated from a high school in Jeonju. To get out of poverty, in 1964, he went to Germany and worked for three years as a miner at the Merkstein Adolf Coal Mine.
After that, going through ups and downs, he obtained a bachelor's, master's and doctorate in education from Aachen University. He also got a teacher's license to teach German youth. While in Germany, he worked on youth movements such as the establishment of Hangeul schools.
After 16 years of living in Germany, Kwon returned home and spent a lifetime on the Korean youth movement and the development of education. He became a professor at Jeonbuk University and Korea National University of Education and served as director of the Korea Youth Development Institute.
Kwon greatly contributed to the formation of the Lifelong Education Act, which has become the legal basis for various lifelong education programs that are actively being undertaken today. At that time, the concept of lifelong education was very unfamiliar to us in Korea.
After leaving office, he started volunteering at a non-profit charitable organization to help educationally disadvantaged youth at home and abroad. On the one hand, he took the lead on several projects to commemorate the merits of the miners and nurses who once had been dispatched to Germany. He then passed away due to illness on Aug. 1 this year at the age of 81.
My first meeting with Kwon began in the early 1990s, when I entered my graduate program. The professor was already widely esteemed for his academic zeal and love for his students. He was an honest scholar and practitioner in the educational field who aimed for the development of education in our country. I think he was an expert who understood education not only in his head but also in his heart.
His stories of struggle and heartwarming anecdotes of life in Germany have become broadly known to the public through his books and media reports. I was deeply impressed many times while hearing about his experiences directly from him. A story of very dangerous mining labor in tunnels over 2,000 meters underground was a typical example. That of delaying his return home and staying there to study hard was touching, too. As the model of the main character of the movie, "Ode to My Father," his sincerity was bound to be acknowledged by anyone.
There was a common implication for all these stories. It was that "education is the seed of hope." He firmly believed that if he overcame difficulties and received an education, he could attain good results. It was what sustained him strongly.
Practically, education itself plays a significant role in achieving a good quality of life. It is because education provides important guidance in human life. It may be regarded as a core medium that induces a paradigm shift in an individual's life.
In terms of function, individuals who are equipped with knowledge are able to internalize and apply such knowledge in everyday life. In this context, education can be seen as part of the continuing process of one's development, so one can prepare for the future.
It is possible to say that Kwon personally confirmed these roles and functions of education. Although it feels like he passed away a bit early considering today's medical environment, his full life symbolically demonstrates that education is the source of hope.
His story is enough for him to be called an educational legend of our time. Sincere condolences to the loved ones of our deceased dear teacher.
The writer (
sochan57@naver.com
) is a retired principal of Gunsan Girls' High School.