hankyoreh

blocking the passage

250 dollar grandfather

By Yoo, a fifth grade student at Yeonhui elementary school in Seoul

** This poem was written by a boy who lives in the same neighborhood as Chun Doo-hwan, former dictator and president. It is common for Korean children to address elderly men as ‘grandfather’, even if they aren’t related.

By Lee Kyung-mi, staff reporter

On June 12 the poem ‘250-dollar [290,000 won] grandpa’ spread throughout the Korean internet. It was written by Yoo, a fifth grade student at an elementary school in Seoul’s Yeonhui area, where former president Chun Doo-hwan lives. In 2003, former president Chun Doo-hwan paid a fine of 290,000 won (about US$250), after which he claimed to have only 291,000 won left.

Yoo received the top prize in a literary competition organized by the May 18 Memorial Foundation. The event honors the Gwangju Democratization Movement and its ideals of citizenship and community spirit.

Yoo‘s poem has been a hit online, garnering praise from users of Twitter. One Tweeter commented, “The citizens are awake. Even elementary school kids know the cruel things Chun and his accomplices did.”

Another user asked, “I wonder what Chun would say after reading the poem.” Another used wondered. “I’m worried if the child will suffer retribution because his poem received a prize and favorable comments from people.”

The secretary general of the May 18 Memorial Foundation said, “The boy is telling us a story from his daily life. It seems like it was easier for him to do that because he lives in that neighborhood. The untainted story, seen through the child’s eyes, shows us that we should reconsider the issue, and reflect on ourselves who keep silent despite the atrocities we all experienced during and after the movement."

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