YIL-HYUNG CHUNG AND TAI-YOUNG LEE
MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
Dr. Yil-Hyung Chyung (104-1982) and Dr. Tai-Young Lee (1914-1998) were well-known activists who devoted their lives to the democratization of Korea from the 1940s to the 1980s. Dr. Chyung, former Foreign Minister and National Assemblyman of the Democratic Party, gave himself to the improvement of democracy and human rights in Korea. Dr. Lee, the first woman lawyer of Korea, devoted her life to fight for women¡¯s rights in Korea. Even today both Dr. Chyung and Dr. Lee are remembered as great pioneers of modern Korean history.
The Yil-Hyung Chyung and Tai-Young Lee Memorial Foundation was founded in 1989 to help people in difficulties, especially teenage students in need of education and financial support. Currently the Korean government provides education only through middle school (grade 9), and thus there are many teenagers who encounter hardships in order to continue their education. Each year scholarship candidates and their parents go through intensive evaluation by our board members so that our scholarships will not be wrongly used in any way.
Another objective of the foundation is to encourage the improvement and reformation of democracy and social service in Korea. Depending on the government in power, the Korean society¡¯s level of democracy tends to waver. We find it our duty to locate truly good-hearted people who will continuously devote themselves to the cause of democracy in Korea. Our board consists of former assemblymen and professors in diverse fields of knowledge. Candidates for the foundation¡¯s Democratic Unification Award are closely examined and selected through careful research and discussion.
Dr. Chyung and Dr. Lee¡¯s grandson, Hojoon Chyung, and eight board members now run the Foundation. All of these board members do their best to follow in and pass on the spirit of Drs. Chyung and Lee to our generation today. We believe that there is much to be learned from our predecessors, like Drs. Chyung and Lee, in order to provide for a brighter future for the f generations to come.
It is a great honor for us to have this opportunity to request your kind support. Your assistance will definitely make a difference in the lives of many students as it will also help make Korea a place of hope for everyone.