Memories of May 2017 with Lee Jae Eui
I am at the Central Bus Station in Kwangju (or Gwangju). Its 11:00pm. I just arrived from a supposedly 4-hour bus ride from Incheon airport—the bus driver sped through the highway to arrive in Gwangju in less than 3 and ½ hours! I was late to start the journey from Incheon. And I am now worried that I cause inconvenience to my host in Gwangju. There was no wifi in the bus. And my data roaming is not working. So when we stopped at the midway rest stop I approached the friendly young man with two earring of the shape of crosses. He let me use his phone to call Lee. I called and let him know that I am late. On the other end, Lee tells me, “no problem, I will pick you up at the bus station.”
I look around, a few people in the bust terminal. The man at information counter with green florescent lighting is checking is cell phone. Shops are closed and the a guy sitting on a floor cleaning machine skillfully moves sets of 4-metal seats to allow him to drive through the gaps between rows of seats. People who are sitting gets up and move away to let him clean. Finally, everyone is standing and he has finished his cleaning. He then take his long forclip to pick tiny pieces of rubbish that escaped his machine. He makes sure that the floor is absolutely clean and then start rearranging the seats. He leaves and we all go back to take our seats.
I manage to connect to one of the free wifi provided by one of the shops at the bus station. I got up and took a photo of the information counter and send it to Lee though FB Messenger to indicate my location. A few minutes later, a young man in pajama-like causal closing walks towards me. As he closes in I recognize him—Min, Lee’s older son. He greets me and helps me with my luggage. He does not talk much. I know that even in Korean he does not talk much. He is a quiet but thoughtful lad. He asked me follow him. I hear the word Shinsagae, a large department store chain in Korea and the bus station is adjacent to one of Kwangju. Lee is telling him exactly where he is going to pick us up. I see Lee’s car we meet and greet each other. “Hello, Sanjee, Welcome to Kwangju! Are you tired?” I tell him I am fine and the bus ride was smooth. I see the colorful neon signs. Not so brightly colored and randomly placed like in TST of Mongkok in HKG. These signs are neat and organized. I take a photo of these neon lights before I get in to the car. Lee drives showing the neighborhood. Its late and less vehicles on the street. The weather cannot be more pleasant than this—typical May weather in the south of south Korean: cool and comfortable. I feel it. I have my feet on Gwangju again. This city that has offered so much for me. This city that has amused me. This city that has made so many life-long connections to me. This city that has a deep place in my heart. The feeling is overwhelming and indescribable.
We arrive at Lee’s spacious apartment. This is more modern and bigger than his older apartment I visited on the 19th May of 1996, some 21 years ago. Lee agreed to host me for a night, a home stay arrangement after the rough youth camp site where I have been together with other youth from Asia in the suburbs of Kwangju. Where I had a terrible introduction to Korean food that I started having running stomach and I could not eat anymore. Where Lee helped me to find plain bread in the nearby town called Tamyang, famous for its bamboo works: Lee drove me every afternoon looking for bread, which kept me going. And it was at Lee’s old apartment I overcame my fear for Korean food. The home made dinner by Lee’s wife, Mrs. Kim, did the magic. Its mid-night. I was planning to have drinks with a few friends. But it seems a bit too late. I ask lee to all Jin to apologize. But Jin says, I am OK to come out now. But Sooa may not join. I consult Lee again, and call Jaeman to see if he could join for a late night drink. But he is not answering his phone. I all Jin again to call of the drink arrangement. Mrs Kim greets me warmly. She looks fine and healthy. There is always a certain intense look on her face. She does not smile much but when she smiles and laughs, it’s the most honest and beautiful smile you could ever expect. She tells Lee to tell me to make myself at home that I am family to them. I am touched. How wonderful to come here after all those years. I give them some chocolates and wine I brought with myself. They immediately open and start eating them, Cailler from near Gruyeres. We taste some warm grape fruit tea. Min is roasting something right on the fire of the gas stove. It’s a dry cuttlefish. Then he rips the roasted cuttlefish into thin stripes. We eat this while drinking tea,
We talk about elections, candle light protests and the revised version of the Gwangju Diary that has been published only a few days ago. Things are new here. Candle light protest have ended. The president has been impeached. New presidential election has been completed on the 10th of May. And new president Mun Jaein has sworn in as the president. And I am in Kwangju 2 days after this election.
Lee tells me how much tension there was during the protest months. He tells me that they were worried that military may be deployed to disperse the protesters, which may have had very negative repercussions. However, the protests have been extremely peaceful that there have been no room to justify such an intervention. I missed those peaceful candle light protests. The last time I remember such huge rallies took place was in the year 2002 when S Korea (and Japan) hosted the FIFA World Cup. South Korean football team kept surprising the world and went all the way to the semi-finals, the first time an Asian team has achieved such a feat. The football team was accompanied by a sea of fans inside and outside the stadiums they played. The fans wore red tshirts and called them red devils. They beat drums and created one of most moving chants in unison. Lee told me that if Moon was not elected president, first act would have been to indict and arrest organizers of the candle light protests. In fact, later that week I met the key organizer of the protest, Andy Kim, and he confirmed that it was inevitable he was going to be arrested if there would have been a different outcome at the presidential election.
Then we talked about the revised Kwangju Diary, co-authored by Lee, another writer and famous novelist, Hwang Sogyong. Lee tells me about the successful press conference held a the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Seoul to launch the book. Lee tells me how all major media were there to cover this event. He also tells me that on Korean social media the book is getting a lot of positive coverage. Lee then tells me that if there would have been a right-wing president elected, the whole atmosphere would have been different with relation the publication of the book. Lee tells me about the case against him or rather the allegation against him. He proves to me though careful laying out of events and facts how this campaign against him has been carefully orchestrated. It started in around May 2015 with his announcement of the project to revise/update the Kwangju Diary. Lee leaves his job reluctantly to take up the position of the Chief of Staff of the Mayor of Kwangju. Not even a week he is there, the prosecutors initiate investigation on him on alleged corruption. Later that year a so-called Korean scholar based out of California published a scandalous book to provide an alternative narrative to Kwangju Uprising. The old theory that the N Korea of DPRK was behind the Kwangju Uprising. He then attacks Lee extensively in his book and details information about Lee’s case. Its all well linked—how can this author know so much details about alleged corruption charges. It’s a character assassination of Lee and the objective is to challenge Lee’ credibility so the credibility of the Kwangju Diary itself can then be easily questioned. Lee shows me one after another factual errors in the book by the so called Korean scholar. He then shows me the profile photo of this scholar on the FB and looks comical and crazy! So, this May 2017 has been special, end of protests, new democratic president and best timing to publish a historical book about Korean democracy.
We talk long into the night or early morning hours until around 2am. Before we go to sleep Lee asks me whether I will be up early to take a walk with him in the nearby hill track. I tell him yes, I will be ready at 7am.
Suddenly I remember my first memories of Lee. It was in 1996 and I am in Kwangju as a participant of the International Youth Camp on Human Rights and Peace, organized by then civic group, Kwangju Citizens’ Solidarity or KCS. Lee was a founding member of this group. So was Dr. Yoon Jang-Hyun, current mayor of Gwangju, So Eugene, Prof. Of Su-sang, and a few others. I remember one scene vividly. We participants are on a bus travelling from our camp site to the Chonnam National University (CNU) where students first organized themselves in 1980 May. Lee grabs the microphone meant for the tour guide of the bus and stands up on the isle facing us and start explaining details of the atrocities committed by the military. He was wearing the white t-shirt made for the Camp with the wood carving by Hong Song Dam printed on it. His thin hair streaks are combed across his bolding upper forehead trying to unsuccessfully cover it (BTW, he has much more hair now than in 1996 and I think whatever trick he tried has worked tremendously. On the contrary, I had a lot of hair then and now my bold batch is incomparable to him). He is detailing torture suffered by the students leaders and citizen’s who took part in the Uprising in the aftermath of it. He tells us he was captured and taken into the military camps in Sangmu area and was heavily beaten and tortured. He is struggling to detail these incidents with limited English vocabulary. Some participants are getting impatient and trying to ignore Lee. But I am trying my best to listen and grasp as much as I could as all these info are new and fresh to me. More I hear more get drawn to what happened in Gwangju. Lee keeps talking as he is determined to pass as much as info as possible to us. That was one of my first impressions of him. These flashbacks remind me how committed and humane person he is. I retire to my comfortable room at Lee’s apartment to fall asleep like a baby.
Next day, Sunday the 14th May, I come out of the room to see that Lee is already dressed up for a walk. I get ready quickly and join him. It’s a sunny, clear and beautiful day. I am a bit worried about my knees. But I badly need this walk. We say hi to a few neighbors on our way to the hill. We stop by briefly at the Kun Yam temple at the foot of the hill. Then we keep climbing steps going up. We reach a flat area where there is a place for exercise. Lee takes a hula hoop and plays with it. I am impressed. I cannot do that. Then he try a parallel bars which are almost 6feet high. He gets on them and starts swinging his legs like a gymnast. Lee is 60+ and he can do this? I cannot even get on those bars! He totally impresses me. We then keep walking. We talk about Hwang Sogyong and Kwangju Diary. Lee tells me about many meetings he had with Hwang recently which brought them closer to one another. These meetings also helped clear some unfortunate misunderstandings and Hwang has apologized to Lee for not knowing full circumstances relating to the publishing of the English version of the Diary when Lee asserted him as the author. Lee tells me a lot of about Hwang and his background, forced exile in Germany and Europe. His many visits to the DPRK and multiple meetings with Kim Il Sung. Lee also tells me that the circumstances that lead to Hwang’s association with the Lee Minbyok’s government, which surprised many. Every incident has its background and reasoning and without knowing them we cannot judge just by looking at what we see on the surface.
We walk more and keep talking. Lee tells me that he brought Fung Waikong on this trail. Lee calls him Lo Fung and I tell Lee that Lo Fung is his pen name. He only knows this now. I tell Lee that I as so pleased that he could meet Fung, host him at his home and take care of him when Lee was going through one of the roughest times in his life. I learned that Lee was not ready to meet anyone in May 2015 but agreed to meet Fung. Lee shows me the hill we are walking through and how his early morning daily walks during most difficult months of his life helped him to be sane. He tells me this hill in a way saved his life. It brought the much needed positive energy to counter all the negative things happening around him. Hit kept the balance he much needed. It kept him healthy, physically and moreover, mentally. We are almost done with our walk and then meet quite an old gentleman. Lee greets him and then a small talk before they part. Lee later tells me that this old man is the most famous calligrapher in South Korea and he lives a few floors up in the same block where Lee’s apartment is. Lee tells me though this man is renown, rich and famous, he lives a modest life and how much he enjoy drinking different kinds of alcohol. On our way down the hill, Lee tells me his encounters with current president Moon Jae In. Lee has voluntarily offered his advice to Moon with relation to his electoral strategy in Cholla area where Moon’s party has suffered a heavy defeat during a regional election in 2016. Lee has suggested a few ways to win back Cholla to Moon and let him know that without winning Cholla, he cannot become the president. Lee has asked Moon to come and stay in Cholla region for about 6 months. He told Lee that he would consider that but then travel to a European country to spend a few months, but sends his wife to Kwangju, who ended up staying there about three months. And Moon’s wife connects to key social and political groups to win them back to Moon’s side. Moon himself spends his last few days before the election in Cholla and all these efforts results in a decisive victory for him in the Cholla region and thus his success in the overall votes to win the election. Yet, Lee stays humble in the background.
On the 19th, Lee invited me to join a group of his friends to go a “cultural event” to a coastal town called Boseong located in the south of South Korean. We met at ___ subway station got onto MPV car and with 9 seats. Then we drove about an hour to reach a newly built traditional Korean house. The house belong to one of the founding members of the Hangkyureh newspaper and Confucius scholar______. There were so many historical people at that gathering including _____ who has been one of the body guards of Yoon Sang Won. We had a great meal, drank one of the best home-made mackholi I have ever tried, was entertained by a live band, watched a very special movie about police abuse in South Korea, had another round of snacks and drinks inside the house before returning to Kwangju at around 11pm. This is another fine example where Lee connects people to one another. Thus Lee is also bridge that connect people. I was so privileged to be in the company of these brave people who have sacrificed much in their lives for Korean democracy.
While what Lee has done for Korean democracy is incomparable to whatever I have done in the human rights field, he and I share something common. We both are people behind the scene: sort of anonymous people doing bulk of the work and doing strategic thinking. Well Lee is known now more than two decades ago but we both do not see publicity or acknowledgment for our efforts. On the contrary we are more interested in change we could effect in the society through our humble and modest contributions. It was at Lee’s old apartment on the 19th May 1996 I brought up the idea to him of declaring Asian Human Rights Charter in Gwangju. Lee didn’t know much about the Charter then but was keen about the idea. He asked me to send more information about the Charter and then kept working on it in the background. Then when he was ready, in early 1997 he let me know that KCS is considering the idea to host the event for the declaration of the Charter. It was one of the biggest events with more than 50 civil society leaders from Asia and about 200 Korean CSO leaders, social activists, religious leaders and academics who gathered in May 1998 to declare the Charter. Lee and I worked hard in the background to coordinate this event and subsequent publications. We had a deep understanding among each other although we didn’t speak much with each other. We were keen to walk the walk than talk the talk. Thus our friendship grew.
Lee was the first person to call me through FB Messenger. Whenever there is something happening in Korean political landscape we would have talks. I know Lee preferred to talk than write. So, he often called me and we talked. We talked before elections, including Mayoral election in 2014 when Yoon Janghyun got elected against the odds. Right after voting was closed, I called Lee and I could hear in the background that it was a busy place like a pub. Lee’s first words were: “Yoon won! Yoon won!” Do, due to Lee and Soh Eugene, I was always a step ahead of people who get analysis through mainstream media outlets.
Lee also possess a tremendous spirit in him. That spirit remained unshaken when he was tortured by the military in 1980. That spirit made him take great risks when he was writing the Kwangju Diary between 1980 and 1984 secretly evading KCIA who was using all its powers to seek and shut down such activity. That spirit which kept him going to document even more to solidify the experience in Kwangju during the Uprising and the aftermath. That spirit which kept him going when suddenly he lost almost everything when politically motivated “corruption” allegations were brought against him and the prosecutors started investigating him. All throughout, Mrs Kim has stood by him as a firm rock. It was on that solid rock Lee found unshaken support and solace. Mrs Kim possessed the sixth sense we most men don’t have. Mrs Kim has predicted things and urged Lee to not to give up his earlier job to take up the position at the Mayor’s office. When the office of the Mayor finally compelled Lee to resign, that surprised and frustrated Lee. He has not even being charged then (even after 2 years, he has not been formally charged!) and the prosecutors has only launched an investigation. But Lee was compelled to resign and he lost the much needed support from the office of the mayor. This experience has made Mrs Kim very sad and upset. She is such a wise and dependable partner for Lee. It was together with her Lee shares his successes. I also see them as a such a warm, close and lovely couple. Lee demonstrates great respect for Mrs. Kim. I can see clearly that Mrs Kim is the real boss at home. She is a strong matriarch at home. In 1996 Mrs Kim cooked the first home made Korean meal for me on the eve of 19th May. That meal made me fall in love with Korean food. This time she went out her way to make my stay comfortable at her place. She cooked many meals despite that she had a full time job. In 1996 I asked Lee and Mrs. Kim of a set of Korean masks inside a glass frame hanging on the wall of their living room. Next day just before I left their apartment, she gave me a bag. She has taken down those frames with masks and wrapped them in a paper put them in that bag. Those masks are still hanging on the walls of my home in Sri Lanka. This time, Lee and Mrs Kim came to pick me up from my hotel to bring me to the bus station where I was to take the bus from Kwangju to Incheon airport. They brought me a box of homemade kimchi and kochuchan (chili paste) packed with dry ice to make sure they stay fresh. Then she drove to the nearby market and came back with a huge pack of dried cuttlefish. I was overwhelmed!
Lastly, I want to say that in my life I have been so lucky to meet great human beings. And Lee is undoubtedly one of them. I am very lucky have met him! We have become working partners, friends and now we feel like brothers. We can say without a doubt that we can depend on one another and we could fully trust one another too. I look forward to many years and decades of friendship and brotherhood with Lee Jae Eui.
(Written on the 5th June 2017 during a 8hr45min flight from Geneva to Washington DC).