Sahmyook University Graduate Lee Kyung-song Donates $30,000 to Alma Mater on 90th Birthday

Sahmyook University announced on the 25th that alumnus Lee Kyung-song, who turned 90 this year, donated a development fund of $30,000 (approximately 41.1 million KRW) along with a collection of commemorative currency and coins to Sahmyook University.

From the right, Sangmyung University alumnus Lee Kyung-song, President Je Hae-jong.
Photo by Sangmyung University

The development fund presentation ceremony was held on the 20th at Koinonia Hall in the university president’s residence, coinciding with a celebration of Mr. Lee’s 90th birthday. Participants included Je Hae-jong, president of Sahmyook University, former presidents Nam Dae-geuk, Seo Kwang-soo, Kim Il-mok, and former vice president Choi Jun-hwan.

Born in 1934, Mr. Lee currently resides in La Mirada, California, USA. He is the eldest son of Lee Myung-jun, a missionary who died after steadfastly refusing to participate in shrine worship during the Japanese colonial period in 1944. Graduating in 1956 from Sahmyook Theological Institute, the predecessor of Sahmyook University, he moved to the United States in 1966 and has since collected classical music records, documentary videos, and rare currencies and coins from around the world for over 60 years.

Starting in 2002, when he sent 20 boxes of records to his alma mater, he has continuously donated his collection to the university. To date, the materials he has sent to his alma mater total over 13,000 items. The cumulative amount of his development fund donations has also exceeded 60 million KRW.

In 2019, Sahmyook University established the ‘Lee Kyung-song Music Archive’ on the first floor of the Academic Information Center to house and preserve the donated items. The materials in the archive are freely accessible for students to enjoy.

At the development fund presentation ceremony, Mr. Lee said, “Every time I visit my alma mater, I am deeply moved by the unwavering love and friendship from all of you, just as it was in the past,” and added, “I am infinitely grateful to Sahmyook-dong, which has shown the warm charm of humanity (人間味) as the word ‘humanity’ implies.”