Link to clips of the movie
Recommended song to listen to while reading the post
I peruse the paper from time to time, reading about the facebook IPO, gossips of China’s fallen leader Bo Xi Lai, and the violence of Mexico’s drug cartel. I want to be informed, educated, and I have an unwarranted feeling that whatever news that is in the newspaper must be important. After about an hour later, I feel like a human automaton, my eyes shifting from one word to next, aimlessly trying to gather more facts and trying to impress myself with how much I know. Very rarely does any of these news or stories shake the tip of my fingers, rib cages, and heart forcefully that I have to pause for a while to reflect on who I am.
I came across a Korean documentary, Don’t Cry for Me Sudan, when my close friend La, gave me a Korean contemporary movie collection as a present. On the cover of the DVD, there was a man with a bright smile surrounded by African children who were waving their hands in the air with joy. The story is about a Korean Catholic priest named Lee Tae Suk who sacrificed his entire life for the people who are bitterly abandoned by the world.
Lee Tae Suk was born in South Korea in a single-mom household as the ninth of ten children. After graduating from a medical school, he chose to be ordained as a Catholic priest and went to Tonj, South Sudan, to become the only doctor in the neighborhood. From HIV to leprosy patients, Priest Lee Tae Suk put all of his waking time to better the lives of these patients. He built Tonj’s first hospital, installed a sunlight powered electricity generator to power the refrigerator for the vaccines, established the first school, founded the first brass band in South Sudan, and became the first outside figure to be a friend, teacher, and father to the people of Tonj.
In his book, Would you be my friend?, Priest Lee says, “At first I made many plans because these people [in South Sudan] were so poor. But, as time passed, I realized that the most important thing is to be with them. No matter what kind of difficulty I may face, I want to stay by their side.” To soothe children torn by war and violence, he shared with them the gift of music and opportunities for education.
Words are beautiful because that’s sometimes our only weapon against injustice. But words backed by actions show character and courage. Winston Churchill once said, “A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality.” May God bless Lee, the epitome of human morality.
