Those who wait, those who never came back (4)
Gidang Hyeon Sang-yun
One million signature drive for the repatriation of abductees gaining momentum
P.3, Chosun Daily, Jul. 12, 1964


News of Gidang Hyeon Sang-yun's survival spreads

○ Gidang, one of the 44 participants and brain of the 1919 Independence Movement, was jailed for three years. Before he was abducted, he was an educator and a scholar. He was a pioneer of the independence movement, to which he devoted his life. For this reasonthere are many anecdotes about him related to the Independence Movement and education. The night before the 1919 Independence Movement, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson declared the principle of self-determination of peoples. The declaration stimulated many Koreans to fight for their independence. Then, Song Taek-baek, a representative of students studying in Japan, came to Gidang with a draft of the Declaration of Independence written by Lee Gwang-su, and asked for the cooperation of influential people.

Gidang was working at Jungang Middle School at the time. He had thought about the Independence Movement for a long time, but was not sure that the timing was right. After discussing the matter with Incheon Kim Sung-su and Gilha Song Jin-u, with whom he used to live in the school dorm, and with whom hehad spent many hours discussing national issues, he decided to begin the movement. YukdangChoi Nam-seon also joined, and they got the agreement of Choi Ik. This was the beginning of the 1919 Independence Movement.

The immediate family members of his famously frugal household have already passed away.

○ As you can tell from his nickname, Seokdu (“head made of stone”), Gidang was famous for his incorruptible integrity. Even when the son of Inchon, his close friend and a founder of the school, failed the school entrance exam, he did not use his position to alter the score. When Gidang was the President of Korea University, the school gave him a car to commute, but he did not use it. People used to say, "You cannot find water usedfor washing rice in President Hyeon's house," because he would cook rice without washing it to save money. These stories show howhe lived frugally.

○ Gidang's family members used to think that he was difficult to live with, but now they all miss him dearly. Unfortunately, his wife, Mrs. Hyeon (76), and his second son both passed away last year. His eldest son passed away at a young age, and his daughter also passed away without the chance to see her father again. His wife, two sons and a daughter have likewiseall passed away. Now, there is a son-in-law and seven grandchildren, along with two daughters-in-law with their seven children and their grandchildren.

Those who are no longer living all missed Gidang dearly. Mrs. Hyeon sold her home in Gahoe-dong and moved near Korea University. She would walk around the campus whereGidang used to work and wish for him to come back soon. She and her son would prepare the manuscript of Ideas and Values of Chosun Dynasty that he never got to publish, and the family members would look up to the northern sky and sigh deeply.

According to his grandchildren, Gidang, now 72 years old, is known to be alive in North Korea. They heard this news from a Mr. Jo, who escaped from North Korea and came to South Korea in 1960. He had seen Gidang in North Korea. They firmly believe that because Gidangwas in good health, he is still alive and will come back soon.