Commencement weekend is always a momentous occasion at Roanoke College, but this year’s event, which took place the first weekend in May, was enhanced by the presence of two special visitors.
Dr. Kim Soo-oak traveled from Seoul, Korea, and Allen Kim traveled from New York City to walk the campus where their grandfather, Kim Kyusik, graduated in 1903, according to the college. Kim Kyusik went on to be instrumental in the formation of the Provisional Korean Government and as an advocate for Korean independence.
The visit to Roanoke College was a once-in-a-lifetime event for Kim Soo-oak, who is the president of the Korean Provisional Government Memorial Foundation. She met Stella Xu, John R. Turbyfill Professor of History, and Roanoke College students in Korea last year as part of an ASIANetwork research trip. During that trip, she took the Roanoke College group to her grandfather’s church, Saemoonan Presbyterian Church, and to Kyungshin High School, where Kim Kyusik worked as a teacher and board member.
Xu was honored to host the Kim family and diplomats from the Korean Embassy to show them the campus where their grandfather was educated as one of the first Koreans to study in the United States.
The Kim family was accompanied by Consul Gilhyun Lee, first secretary and consul of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. He was particularly interested in the history of the relationship between Korea and the United States, and he described Roanoke College’s campus as the cradle where that relationship was born.
During the visit, the group met with Roanoke College Dean and Vice President Kathy Wolfe, toured campus with College Historian Jesse Bucher and visited the Roanoke College Archives. They were able to see memorabilia from their grandfather’s student days at Roanoke and hold books and letters he sent back to Roanoke College after he graduated. They also attended Commencement, where they were introduced by Malon Courts ’92, chair of Roanoke’s Board of Trustees. It was the first time since 1903 that Korean diplomats attended Commencement.
In honor of this special visit to their grandfather’s college, Kim Soo-oak and Allen Kim made a generous donation to the college. They said the gift was in appreciation of Roanoke College protecting Kim Kyusik’s legacy. In 1945, Kim Kyusik himself donated $1,000 to Roanoke College. He gave the money to a friend while he was in exile in China and the friend carried it back to Detroit, deposited it in a bank and then provided the check to Charles Smith, president of Roanoke College at the time.
“It had been 121 years since Kim Kyusik graduated from Roanoke College in 1903,” Xu said. “We were thrilled to have Dr. Kim Soo-oak, Allen Kim and Consul Lee visit Roanoke College. We sincerely hope this can be an opportunity to revive our connection with Korea.”
The connection between Roanoke College and Korea was initiated in 1892 by Julius Dreher, Roanoke’s third president. During a business trip to Washington, D.C., Dreher knocked on the door of the Korean Legation, and Ye Cha Yun, the Korean chargé d’affaires minister, warmly welcomed him. During their conversation, it became evident that Koreans were seeking a suitable college for Korean boys to study. Dreher extended an invitation for Ye to attend Roanoke College’s Commencement. Ye couldn’t make the June ceremony, but he and his wife visited the campus later that summer.
Many Roanoke alumni know the history of this most distinguished Roanoke College alumnus. Kim Kyusik was born in Korea in 1881 and graduated from Roanoke College in 1903. Kim became an orphan as a young child and was adopted by Horace Underwood, a Presbyterian missionary. It was through Underwood and the Korean Legation that Kim came to Roanoke College, a Lutheran-related institution.
Kim served the Provisional Korean Government based in China as secretary of foreign affairs, and later as vice president and minister of education. He advocated for Korean independence at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, promoted the Korean cause in the United States as chair of the Korean Commission, and helped organize the Korean National Revolutionary Party in China. After World War II, Kim opposed the permanent partition of Korea into North and South. He was kidnapped by the North Korean army during the Korean War and died in captivity in 1950. The most recent visit by Kim descendants was in the 1990s when his daughter, Pauline Chang, visited Roanoke College.
Roanoke College holds a unique place in history because of its early engagement with Korea in the 1890s. The college distinguished itself as one of the earliest U.S. institutions to host a substantial number of Korean students. A total of 34 students attended from the 1890s to the 1930s. In addition to Kim Kyusik, other noteworthy individuals who studied at Roanoke College during this period include:
∙ Prince Eui Hwa (Yi Kang, 1877-1955), the fifth son of King Kojong;
∙ Yi Kijong, the son of Korean minister Yi Pǒmjin (1852-1911) and the older brother of Yi Wijong, who was one of three members of the Korean delegation to the Hague Conference in 1907;
∙ Park Hi Beung, uncle of Korean nationalist and independence activist Park Yong-man, who were both highly respected leaders of the Korean Independence Movement;
∙ Song Hurn Joo, a leader of the Korean Independence Movement; and
∙ Yi Wonn Ick, credited with inventing the first Korean typewriter in 1914.
Roanoke College maintained a close relationship with the Korean Legation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Six Korean ministers from the Korean Legation visited Roanoke College between 1892 and 1903 to attend Commencement ceremonies. The last visit was during Roanoke College’s semi-centennial celebration in 1903. Korean Minister Cho Min Hui and Secretary Ye Ku Seung came to celebrate and share in this important milestone of Roanoke College. Kim Kyusik graduated that same year and gave a Commencement speech.
On his own graduation day this month, Lewis Edwards ’24 made sure to find the Korean guests as they toured campus. He met Dr. Kim Soo-oak last year during the research trip to Korea.
“It was an honor to welcome the Kim family to Roanoke College for such a momentous celebration,” Edwards said. “It was a beautiful opportunity to be able to connect with the family again, this time at our home. The ties between Roanoke College and South Korea are in a very important stage of their relationship, and it has been an amazing experience to be a part of these historic events. 감사합니다 (gam-sa-ham-ni-da or thank you) to the Kim family and their guests for celebrating with us!”
-The Salem Times-Register
