With the Last Strength... Leaving Behind a 'Single Tear'

Last Handwritten Manuscript of Lee O-ryeong Revealed

Handwritten Manuscript by Former Minister Lee O-ryeong

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] The late handwritten manuscript of former Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lee Oi-ryeong has been revealed. The title is "A Drop of Tear" (Kim Young-sa). As his health deteriorated due to cancer, and he lost the strength to type on a keyboard, he picked up a pen again after 40 years to write this record. From October 2019 until January, a month before his passing, he captured reflections on life in the book. Unusually, it also includes drawings he personally created.

At the publication event held on the 29th at a cafe in Jung-gu, Seoul, the late minister's wife, Kang In-sook, director of the Youngin Literature Museum, said that the handwritten manuscript changed her husband. “While writing by hand, old memories like the merchant’s voice saying ‘buy sticky rice cake’ and the sound of paper doors returned, bringing him peace,” she said. “His character changed, and when he received gifts, unlike before, he always wrote a handwritten reply,” she explained.

The handwritten manuscript serves as a medium for Director Kang to remember her husband. She said, “The advantage of a handwritten manuscript is that you can see the person’s expression. It clearly reflects their health condition,” adding, “Even now, when I look at the writing, I can see everything?how much he was in pain, how happy he was. If the writing is blurry, it means he was very sick; if it’s neat, he must have been okay,” she recalled.

The central theme running through the book is “tears.” Especially, the late minister wrote in the book that “tears shed not for myself but for unknown others.” Among the 110 pieces in the book, twelve focus on the theme of tears, and the rest explain the reasons behind shedding a single drop of tear.

Though he shone as an intellectual of his era, he too shed tears of fear like an ordinary person when faced with illness. Director Kang said, “My husband showed great tears saying, ‘I feel like I won’t be able to walk soon,’” and “He also shed tears over the fear that his mind would deteriorate due to visual disturbances,” she shared.

From the left, bereaved family member Lee Gang-mu, Professor Lee Seung-mu of Korea National University of Arts, Director Kang In-suk of Yeongin Literature Museum, and CEO Ko Se-gyu of Gimmyoungsa. Photo by Gimmyoungsa

The late minister devoted himself to writing until the end of his life. He had planned extensive works on artificial intelligence (AI) and life capitalism but ultimately passed away without completing them. The task of correcting previously written texts also remained unfinished. His eldest son, Professor Lee Seung-mu of the Korea National University of Arts, explained, “My father reviewed many of his previous writings. While doing so, he said, ‘This was written wrong,’ and ‘This needs to be corrected,’ wanting to fix them.”

Though he shared much knowledge in the hall of intellect, his final cry was for the “restoration of humanity.” The proof of this was “tears.” In the book’s preface, he wrote, “Tears shed for myself and others are the most beautiful and powerful thing on earth,” adding, “To understand humans is to understand the tears they shed. Here, I have recorded the traces of those drops of tears.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.