hankyoreh

In the above photo, a woman shares condolences and hugs a bereaved family member of Park Yong-gil, widow of late Rev. Moon Ik-hwan, at the funeral home of Seoul National University Hospital, Sept. 25. Park died of a chronic illness that day. She was 92.

In the second photo, Park smiles in front of her house entitled, “House of Reunification,” leaving for a visit to North Korea by a train of the Gyeongui Line that was expected to have a test run in May of 2007.

In the third photo, Park crosses the border and walks back to South Korea after her visit to North Korea to participate in a memorial service for the one-year anniversary of the late Kim Il-sung’s death in 1995.　

In the fourth photo, Park and her husband, Rev. Moon, are interviewed after Moon was released from prison at a hospital in Jeonju, North Jeolla, in Oct. 1990.

The final photo shows Park, third from right, and former President Kim Dae-jung’s wife Lee Hee-ho, second from right, participating in a protest calling for open trial for her husband in 1976. 　　

Born in Suan County in Hwanghae Province, Park graduated from a theological school in Yokohama, Japan. She married Rev. Moon in 1944 and became involved in the pro-democracy movement following Moon’s imprisonment in 1976. Park‘s self-designated nickname was “Spring Road,” in connection with Moon’s nickname, “Late Spring.”

Park is survived by a daughter, Moon Yeong-geum, and two sons ― actor Moon Seong-geun and Moon Eui-geun, vice president of JPMorgan’s Chicago branch. A wake is being held at Seoul National University Hospital, and a funeral service will take place Sept. 28. She will be buried at Moran Park Cemetery in Maseok, Gyeonggi Province. For details, call (02) 2072-2010.

(Photo by Park Jong-shik, Story by Yu Sun-hui)