Young Shik Rhee
| Young Shik Rhee | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | December 13, 1894 Seongju County, Gyeongsang Province, Korea |
| Died | December 8, 1981 (aged 86) Tumon, Guam, United States |
| Nationality | Korean |
| Alma mater | Kobe Theological Seminary |
| Known for | Founder of Daegu University |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 이영식 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | I Yeong-sik |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yi Yŏngsik |
Reverend Young Shik Rhee (1894–1981) is the founder of Daegu University in Daegu, South Korea, a pioneer of special education in Korea, and a Korean independence movement leader in Daegu.
In September 1919, Rhee was imprisoned for 18 months in Daegu Prison by the Japanese colonial authorities for his leadership role in the March 1st (Samil) Movement and other Korean Independence activities in Daegu. Torture by the Japanese police resulted in permanent hearing loss in one ear.
In 1923, Rhee attended Kobe Theological Seminary (神戶神學校) in Kobe, Japan. He returned to Korea and began Christian ministry in 1927 at Daegu Seomoon Presbyterian Church, where he became an ordained minister. Although popular as pastor and well known for his stirring sermons, Rhee was drawn to serving the least fortunate around him. He embarked on his lifelong journey of social work and ministry by serving as pastor at a leper treatment center in Daegu.
After Korean independence from Japan in 1945, Rhee expanded his social work by looking after orphans and handicapped children. In 1946, Rhee founded the Daegu School for the Blind, the first special education school founded by a Korean. (The very first special education school in Korea, Pyongyang School for the Deaf and Blind, was founded by Rosetta Sherwood Hall, a medical missionary and educator from the U.S., in 1894. In 1913, the Japanese occupation government established the Seoul School for the Blind). When the devastating Korean War (1950–1953) resulted in increased number of war-orphans and the handicapped, Reverend Rhee was among the few who were devoted to helping them. The orphanage housed many handicapped children—who were clothed, fed and taught skills that would help them eventually leave the orphanage and live independently. Reverend Rhee ministered to the children's spiritual and emotional needs, as well as raising funds, eliciting donations and recruiting volunteer teachers and doctors.
Rhee saw the need to train special education teachers and social workers in addition to furthering the education of handicapped students who had special talents. In 1956, he founded the Korea Social Work School in Daegu. The school became a formal college in 1961. In recognition for the decades of invaluable contributions made by Rhee, South Korean president Park Chung-hee personally awarded him the 5.16 Minjok National Medal (5.16 민족상 교육부문 본상) in May 1969.
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