On October 7, on the 4th floor of the Daerim International Building, the SNU Language Education Institute (LEI) held an opening ceremony for the new mini library 'GaGyo'.
'GaGyo' is an archive compiled for students who wish to learn Korean. It is funded by Masmoto Geigo (66, Korean name Lee Suk-Oh).
Mr. Geigo is a Japanese of Korean descent who started learning Korean because of his late mother (Ms. Kim So Boon). When his mother entered her eighties, she forgot Japanese and only used Korean. Mr. Geigo couldn't understand what she was saying and sadness resided in his heart.
Due to his status as a Korean-Japanese, he was at a disadvantage when applying for jobs. However, he started an energy distribution company and succeeded. In September 2009, only a year after his retirement, he applied for the Korean course at SNU LEI and studied Korean for a year.
The idea of donating books first came to Mr. Geigo when an Advanced Korean class professor expressed a wish last fall. The professor said,"Although students reach an advanced level in Korean, other than the textbooks, there aren't many books for them to read. It is my personal dream to make a small library for the class and provide various reading materials." Mr. Geigo agreed with this dream and decided to make it into a reality.
At the course completion ceremony last November, Mr. Geigo donated 5,000,000 won for the library books. The University Development Fund and Budget also contributed a portion of the funds needed to open the mini library. This library will hold about 1,400 books and 89 audio materials covering various fields (including travel, culture, and history) and will be for Korean learners of all levels.
At the opening ceremony, Mr. Geigo commented,"When I decided to make the donation, I pictured a little bookshelf, but now I'm surprised that such a large library has been made." He also said that he is planning to donate every year so that the library will be able to buy more books.
In his Advanced Korean class, Mr. Geigo came across a quote from the former President Kim Dae Jung. President Kim had told a Korean woman who was adopted by a Swedish family to"become a bridge connecting Sweden, Korea and Asia." He was impressed by this and named the library"GaGyo", meaning “Bridge”.
Kim Jin Wan, the head of LEI, congratulated the opening of 'GaGyo Library' saying that"the library will quench the thirst of students who had trouble finding Korean books right for their level." He also said,"I hope this library will become a bridge that enables Korea to reach out to foreign students."
Written by JANG Hyo Jeong, SNU English Editor, fatalbonds@snu.ac.kr ?
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor, morningcalm2@gmail.com