Inha University, Controversy Over Installation of Former President Lee's Statue
"Syngman Rhee Played a Leading Role in University Founding"
"Idolizing a Specific Person... Are They the Kim Il-sung Three Generations?"
Inha University is heatedly debating the installation of a photo sculpture of former President Syngman Rhee. President Rhee played a leading role in the establishment of Inha University.
Rendering of the sculpture planned to be installed at Inha University. [Photo by Inha University Alumni Association website]
On the 22nd, the Inha University Alumni Association plans to install a photo sculpture of the former president in the 'Hawaii-Inha Park,' which will be created on the south side of the university's Jeongseok Academic Information Center (library). The sculpture will feature a round-shaped photo, 3 meters in diameter, showing President Rhee handing over the school flag to the first dean of Inha Institute of Technology (the predecessor of Inha University). This is intended to re-examine the founding history on the occasion of the university's 70th anniversary.
In addition to the photo of the former president, five other sculptures, each 1.5 meters wide and tall, will be installed featuring images of the Hawaiian Korean community who supported the founding funds of Inha University.
The conflict arose over the emphasis on installing the photo of the former president more prominently than that of the Hawaiian Korean community. Concerns were raised that it could lead to idolization of a specific individual and cause unnecessary controversy.
Seo Jun-seok, president of the Inha University Student Council Alumni Association, said, "Rather than highlighting and idolizing a specific person, we should emphasize the camaraderie of the Hawaiian immigrants who loved the nation and the people." He added, "Idolizing a specific person is no different from the Kim Il-sung family in North Korea." He emphasized that "there is a more important value in the donations from compatriots who established the school, but if Syngman Rhee is highlighted, it will inevitably overshadow that." He also pointed out that "if the sculpture of the former president, which is controversial and divisive, is later vandalized by juniors, it could become a stain on the school."
On the other hand, a representative of the Inha University Alumni Association stated, "It is a clear fact that the former president played a significant role in the founding of Inha University," adding, "There was also an opinion to restore the statue on the 70th anniversary, but due to controversy, we decided to proceed with a weakened form of sculpture installation."
During the Korean War in December 1952, President Rhee instructed then Minister of Education Kim Beom-rin in the refuge city of Busan to establish an engineering college in Incheon. He supported the university's establishment by raising donations and adding government subsidies. In 1954, when the scars of war still remained, the university opened with the will of 'industrial nation-building' to rebuild the country through industry. It was judged that Incheon was the optimal location for establishing an engineering college due to the presence of the Gyeongin industrial area.
The Hawaiian Korean community contributed to the founding funds of Inha University while enduring hard labor in sugarcane fields, and the university's name, Inha, was derived from the first letters of Incheon and Hawaii to honor their dedication.
Statue of former President Syngman Rhee on Inha University campus [Photo by Inha University Alumni Association]
The statue was originally erected in 1979 in a garden near In-gyeong Lake on campus, standing 6.3 meters tall (including a 3-meter pedestal), but suffered the humiliation of being dismantled by students in 1984, just five years after its establishment. At that time, Inha University students, protesting against dictatorship and pro-Japanese activities, tied the statue with ropes and pulled it down during a democratization demonstration. Last year, when the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs promoted the construction of a Syngman Rhee Presidential Memorial Hall, a heated debate arose over restoring the statue after 40 years on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the university's founding. In 2010, the Inha University Alumni Association and former President Lee Bon-su of Inha University also led efforts to rebuild the statue, but strong opposition caused the plan to fail.
As the controversy over the installation of the sculpture intensified, Inha University canceled the groundbreaking ceremony originally scheduled for the 21st.
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