Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, expressed his condolences over the passing of Japanese national Nomura Motoyuki, who dedicated himself to relief efforts for the urban poor in Cheonggyecheon, Seoul in the 1970s, and pledged not to lose his original resolve.
On July 29, Governor Kim wrote on his social networking service (SNS) account, "Nomura Motoyuki, the Japanese man who devoted himself to relief efforts for the poor in Cheonggyecheon, has passed away," and introduced him as "someone who witnessed the dire conditions in the Cheonggyecheon slums in the early 1970s and even sold his home in Tokyo to help the poor."
He continued, "I myself come from an unauthorized shantytown in Cheonggyecheon. After my father passed away at the age of thirty-three, our family fled to Cheonggyecheon," and added, "A few years later, even that unauthorized shantytown was demolished, and we were forcibly relocated to Gwangju County in Gyeonggi Province, where we lived in a tent on a barren field."
He went on to say, "It feels like just yesterday that I declared my candidacy for Governor of Gyeonggi Province in front of the site of that tent house, which is now Dandae-dong in Seongnam City, three years ago," and promised, "I will not lose the resolve I had at that time."
Nomura Motoyuki, a Japanese pastor and social activist, devoted himself to relief activities for the poor in Cheonggyecheon, Korea, and to reconciliation between Korea and Japan. He passed away on July 26 at the age of 94.
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