SNU to open a classroom to honor modern poet Lee Byung-gi

SNU to open a classroom to honor modern poet Lee Byung-gi. October. 07, 2016 07:34. by 전주영기자 aimhigh@donga.com. Seoul National University will open a classroom honoring Lee Byung-gi (see photo) (1891-1968), known for his pen name Garam. He was an independence fighter who initiated a movement of using the Korean alphabet by creating a research group studying Korean language under the Japanese colonial rule and also a pioneer who developed modern Korean poetry. The university’s College of Humanities said on Thursday that it will open a classroom honoring the scholar in Room 105 of Building14.

While a classroom or a building is often named after a donor or a company, it is unusual that a classroom has a senior scholar’s name. “As we found it regrettable that people’s respect for senior scholars and their study is disappearing, we decided to create a memorial hall honoring Lee Byung-gi who devoted his life to the Korean language, Korean studies and Korean history,” a source from the college said.

The College of Humanities will use the room as a classroom where student can rest or read books. A bulletin board will be set up on the wall to show his poem titled “Stars,” the university’s anthem, and his profile.

Lee laid the foundation for Korean studies under the Japanese colonial rule and organized the Korean Language Research Society to spread the Korean language and alphabet with other scholars such as Kwon Deok-gyu and Yim Gyeong-jae in 1921. While working as a member of a committee for the Korean alphabet in 1930, he actively participated in making Korean grammar, but he was jailed after the Japanese colonial rule rounded up the members of the Korean Language Society in 1942. He served as a Seoul National University professor for four years from 1946, and returned to his hometown after the Korean War, and he lectured at Chonbuk National University before retiring in 1956.