Mrs. Kim has a new ritual: three times a day, she pours fresh water in a cup her son regularly used to drink from. The cup is placed in front of her beloved son's gallant picture."He would often call for me when he got thirsty, and I would bring him fresh water in this cup", she endearingly reminisced, as she cradled her precious son’s photograph.

KIM Hye Ran, 58, showed us videos and pictures of her late son in her apartment in Mun-jeong dong, Seoul. Mr. OH Doh Gyu, a graduate of SNU's Department of Physics and Astronomy, passed away last January.

"Having raised a son with a disability, I now have a comprehensive understanding of the help students with disabilities desperately require. Even if it is not an enormous amount of money, I earnestly hope it will help other students with disabilities attending the university my son worked so hard to graduate from." Mrs. Kim's family donated the 50 million KRW to SNU last month. It was the condolence money friends and relatives of Mr. Oh gave to his parents at his funeral. SNU has decided to establish an 'Oh Doh Gyu Grant' for students with disabilities.

Mr. Oh had a problem with his heart valves from birth. However, he was healthy enough to receive assurances from his doctor that there would be no problems throughout his entire life. In the course of his life, he had to undergo two heart-valve adjustment surgeries. He overcome this adversity, and grew up to be a handsome well-built young man - 183cm tall and 82kg heavy. In 2001, he successfully enrolled in SNU and even taught as a ski instructor for the SNU ski club.

In June 2002, out of the blue, sudden tragedy struck. While the nation was enthralled by the fervor of the Korean World Cup, Mr. Oh had his third heart surgery. What was supposed to be a fairly routine six-hour surgery unexpectedly developed into a grueling 15-hour one. When he finally regained consciousness a month later, he found himself paralyzed from the waist down.

Mr. Oh willed himself through a pain-staking rehabilitation and he remarkably managed to return to SNU in order to continue his studies in 2005. His mother, Mrs. Kim, had to drive her son to school and stand by until his classes ended. As using the toilet was an unreasonably difficult ordeal, Mrs. Kim had to be nearby and available to help her son at any moment. Mr. Oh earned his degree by attending school for five years straight without ever taking a leave of absence.

After graduation, he had to give up his life-long dream of becoming a physicist to study for the national exam to become a civil servant. Last January, while studying, he was struck by a sudden onset of a serious fever. He died in the emergency room due to a brain hemorrhage.

Numerous traces of her son could still be found in the apartment. There were clear markings left by the wheelchair on the door and doorsill of Mr. Oh's room. His mother confides,"I still sometimes think, any minute now, my son will call for me as he rides out of his room in his wheelchair."

Written by YU Minseok, SNU English Editor
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor