1 of 3 | Participants hold a memorial cultural festival marking the 25th anniversary of the Shin-Okubo Station track fall accident in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on Monday. Photo by Asia Today
Jan. 26 (Asia Today) — A memorial service and cultural festival were held Monday in Tokyo’s Shin-Okubo area to mark 25 years since Korean exchange student Lee Soo-hyun died while trying to rescue a man who fell onto the tracks at JR Shin-Okubo Station.
Participants laid flowers and observed a moment of silence at the station, then attended a memorial program and performances at the Okubo Community Center in Shinjuku Ward, organizers said.
South Korean Ambassador Lee Hyuk joined Lee’s mother, Shin Yun-chan, and representatives from civic and student groups for the wreath-laying ceremony. Organizers said the tribute at the station was limited in size due to safety management inside the facility.
The cultural event was hosted by the Shinjuku Korean Merchants Association and organized by the LSH Asia Scholarship Foundation, a Japanese language school affiliated with Arai Gakuen and the Association of Korean Students in Japan. The South Korean Embassy in Japan, the Tokyo branch of the Korean Residents Union in Japan and JR East’s Shin-Okubo Station cooperated in the event.
In a message read during the program, Shin said she hoped South Korea and Japan would “move forward as true neighbors” who help each other.
In his eulogy, Lee said the sacrifice of Lee Soo-hyun and a Japanese citizen who also died in the rescue attempt showed the meaning of friendship and solidarity. He noted this year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan.
Shinjuku Ward officials said Lee’s actions remain part of the ward’s commitment to multicultural coexistence. Yoshinori Katori, chairman of the scholarship foundation established to honor Lee, said the group has supported 1,294 scholarship recipients since its founding in 2002.
Performances during the program included Korean traditional dance and Japanese music, followed by a public floral tribute, a group photo and a tea gathering with bereaved families, organizers said.
Lee and a Japanese man identified as Sekine died after being struck by a train while attempting to help a Japanese man who fell onto the tracks at Shin-Okubo Station on Jan. 26, 2001. Their deaths drew wide attention in both countries and later inspired scholarship and exchange programs.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260126010012266
