The award ceremony of the LSH Asia Scholarship Foundation was held in Tokyo. Established in January 2002, The LSH Asia Scholarship Foundation grants scholarships to Asian students studying in Japan every year. Over 900 students have received this scholarship.

The Foundation is supported by donations from Japanese citizens honoring the late Lee Su-hyun’s actions. Lee Su-hyun is a Korean youth who passed away in January 2001; he lost his life while rescuing a passenger who fell on the railroad track at Shin-Okubo Station in Tokyo. It is a pity that he died so young, but his actions and thoughts still impress many people.

At the time of the accident, Lee Su-hyun was taking a leave of absence from Korea University and studying at a Japanese language school in Tokyo. Anti-Korean sentiment was widespread in those days, but the action of the Korean youth who sacrificed himself for someone else triggered a great response in Japan. Although it might be a mere coincidence, the “Korean Wave” as typified by the Korean TV drama series Winter Sonata evolved and spread nationwide about two years after the accident, and Shin-Okubo became the heartland of the Korean Wave.

To carry out the wishes of Lee Su-hyun who wanted to serve as a bridge between Korea and Japan, his parents established the LSH Asia Scholarship Foundation a year after the accident using the sympathy money gift received from all over Japan. LSH stands for Lee Su-hyun.
His story appeared in a Japanese elementary school textbook. A documentary film Kakehashi based on the incident was produced in 2017, and we had a screening at the Tokyo Galaxy Japanese Language School in May this year. Lee Su-hyun’s mother appears in the movie, and we were deeply affected by her words. We had strong emotions about the deceased, and felt that we should have more passion for living.
Every year, we select one candidate for the scholarship by writing contests and so on. This year, Ms. Lee who is studying hard as a student of our special preparatory class for college admission, was awarded the scholarship.

Our Principal Sakiko Nagai, enthusiastically engaged in the activities of the LSH Asia Scholarship Foundation, attended the scholarship award ceremony together with the student.
NHK(Japan’s national broadcasting organization) filmed the ceremony, and Tokyo Galaxy students responded to their interview.
Congratulations to all recipients of the scholarship! We hope that all of you carry on Lee Su-hyun’s spirits, and enjoy a fulfilling student life in Japan.