Top 10 News Part 8: Legacy Left Behind By Korean Movers and Shakers
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Continuing our series of special reports looking back at the year 2006.
This year, as in other years, we bid farewell to some of the greatest names in Korea, ranging from a visionary artist to a wrestler who did more than just entertain his fans.
Park Soojin reports on their legacies.
Paik Namjune broke with convention every step he took.
For that, he's hailed as the pioneer of video art.
Better known as Nam June Paik, the Korean-born artist expanded the definitions of artistic creation using moving images and electronic technology as a new medium for expression.
RECORDED: "He created the entire field of video art which did not exist in the 1960s and now it is the largest major of any art school in the United States and he has influenced how society views media and how the media is used as an art medium".
Studying music and art in Seoul, Tokyo and Munich, Paik envisioned that TV would become the most influential cultural medium in the 20th century.
The prolific artist left a legacy of more than 900 works including installations and sculptures exhibited around the world.
Mirroring his life's journey, venturing from Asia to Europe and the United States, Paik's works also transcend the conventional boundaries of art.
Former President Choi Kyuha perished into history without settling questions from one of the most turbulent chapters of Korea's modern politics.
Choi was the country's shortest-serving president holding office only eight months after the assassination of President Park Chunghee in 1979.
Originally a diplomat, Choi served as foreign minister and then as prime minister under Park.
As the interim president, however, he was reportedly pressured to resign by General Chun Doowhan who gained power in a military coup.
After stepping down, Choi refrained from political activity and remained silent about the coup and the subsequent military regime.
The 88-year-old former president suffered from heart trouble for years before he was laid to rest with his late wife.
He was named the "vaccine emperor" for his passion and leadership in global public health.
So the death of Dr. Lee Jongwook at age 61 jarred the World Health Organization in the midst of his five-year term as director-general.
Throughout his 23-year career at the WHO, he persistently led the fight against tuberculosis and vaccine-preventable diseases of children.
The first Korean to head a UN agency, he suffered through war himself as a child and took an interest in public health early on working with leprosy patients as a volunteer while studying medicine in Seoul.
As director-general, Dr. Lee also led global efforts to tackle avian influenza, and personally met with many heads of state, urging them to develop national pandemic preparation plans.
Traveling to disaster and disease-stricken regions around the globe, the little Al Schweitzer from Asia dedicated his life to treating those most in need.
Kim Il was a living professional wrestling legend in Korea and Japan.
Going as Kintaro Oki in Korea's island neighbor, the master of the head-butt knockout rose to stardom in the pro wrestling world of the 1960s and '70s.
The young Kim Il left Korea for Japan in 1958 to become a disciple of the Korean-born wrestling hero Kim Shinrak also known as Rikidozan.
Head-butting his way to success, Kim grabbed the 1972 world championship by winning the international heavyweight title.
For many Koreans, watching their fellow countryman knock out opponents in the ring was a most entertaining pastime lifting their spirits in an era of poverty.
The life of director Shin Sang-ok was drama worthy of the silver screen.
After making his debut film in 1952, Shin hit it big in the country's budding film industry.
The versatile director rolled out motion pictures that were popular and artistic, with works ranging from melodrama and action to historical fiction.
RECORDED: "Shin must be credited as a master director who led the golden age of Korean cinema in the 1950s and '60s. And then, by launching the country's first commercial production company in the '70s, he also contributed greatly to the industrialization of the film sector".
His life took an unexpected turn in 1978.
Director Shin and his ex-wife, an actress, were abducted to North Korea.
Here, yet more drama.
After eight years there, Shin escaped.
He found refuge in the United States, where he directed and produced films in Hollywood.
Shin's legacy goes far beyond the sheer number of films he made 250 in all.
A prolific filmmaker during the dawn of Korean cinema, Shin lay a foundation for the country's film industry to develop and flourish in the coming decades.
This year, as in other years, we bid farewell to some of the greatest names in Korea, ranging from a visionary artist to a wrestler who did more than just entertain his fans.
Park Soojin reports on their legacies.
Paik Namjune broke with convention every step he took.
For that, he's hailed as the pioneer of video art.
Better known as Nam June Paik, the Korean-born artist expanded the definitions of artistic creation using moving images and electronic technology as a new medium for expression.
RECORDED: "He created the entire field of video art which did not exist in the 1960s and now it is the largest major of any art school in the United States and he has influenced how society views media and how the media is used as an art medium".
Studying music and art in Seoul, Tokyo and Munich, Paik envisioned that TV would become the most influential cultural medium in the 20th century.
The prolific artist left a legacy of more than 900 works including installations and sculptures exhibited around the world.
Mirroring his life's journey, venturing from Asia to Europe and the United States, Paik's works also transcend the conventional boundaries of art.
Former President Choi Kyuha perished into history without settling questions from one of the most turbulent chapters of Korea's modern politics.
Choi was the country's shortest-serving president holding office only eight months after the assassination of President Park Chunghee in 1979.
Originally a diplomat, Choi served as foreign minister and then as prime minister under Park.
As the interim president, however, he was reportedly pressured to resign by General Chun Doowhan who gained power in a military coup.
After stepping down, Choi refrained from political activity and remained silent about the coup and the subsequent military regime.
The 88-year-old former president suffered from heart trouble for years before he was laid to rest with his late wife.
He was named the "vaccine emperor" for his passion and leadership in global public health.
So the death of Dr. Lee Jongwook at age 61 jarred the World Health Organization in the midst of his five-year term as director-general.
Throughout his 23-year career at the WHO, he persistently led the fight against tuberculosis and vaccine-preventable diseases of children.
The first Korean to head a UN agency, he suffered through war himself as a child and took an interest in public health early on working with leprosy patients as a volunteer while studying medicine in Seoul.
As director-general, Dr. Lee also led global efforts to tackle avian influenza, and personally met with many heads of state, urging them to develop national pandemic preparation plans.
Traveling to disaster and disease-stricken regions around the globe, the little Al Schweitzer from Asia dedicated his life to treating those most in need.
Kim Il was a living professional wrestling legend in Korea and Japan.
Going as Kintaro Oki in Korea's island neighbor, the master of the head-butt knockout rose to stardom in the pro wrestling world of the 1960s and '70s.
The young Kim Il left Korea for Japan in 1958 to become a disciple of the Korean-born wrestling hero Kim Shinrak also known as Rikidozan.
Head-butting his way to success, Kim grabbed the 1972 world championship by winning the international heavyweight title.
For many Koreans, watching their fellow countryman knock out opponents in the ring was a most entertaining pastime lifting their spirits in an era of poverty.
The life of director Shin Sang-ok was drama worthy of the silver screen.
After making his debut film in 1952, Shin hit it big in the country's budding film industry.
The versatile director rolled out motion pictures that were popular and artistic, with works ranging from melodrama and action to historical fiction.
RECORDED: "Shin must be credited as a master director who led the golden age of Korean cinema in the 1950s and '60s. And then, by launching the country's first commercial production company in the '70s, he also contributed greatly to the industrialization of the film sector".
His life took an unexpected turn in 1978.
Director Shin and his ex-wife, an actress, were abducted to North Korea.
Here, yet more drama.
After eight years there, Shin escaped.
He found refuge in the United States, where he directed and produced films in Hollywood.
Shin's legacy goes far beyond the sheer number of films he made 250 in all.
A prolific filmmaker during the dawn of Korean cinema, Shin lay a foundation for the country's film industry to develop and flourish in the coming decades.
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