Memorial for In Soo Chun and ritual suicide

My three years of studying and working at the University of Washington has given me countless memories that I will probably never forget. One of these was during an event on October 30th of 2008 while I was working at my barista position on campus. Around the early afternoon while working at cashier, some guy walked up to us and stated that some guy had lit himself on fire in red square. Later on I would know the name of that In Soo Chun as many people would brush this action aside as a crazy mentally ill man. A year has since passed and numerous students and workers have decided to challenge that viewpoint and remember In Soo Chun.

Evaluating the meaning of In Soo Chun's actions is not exactly an easy thing to do. As the UW Daily pointed out, ritual suicide is a fairly common practice in Korean labor and was also a big part of the democracy movements during the 70s and 80s. The act of self immolation publicly also has a political history about it, rooting with Chun Tae-Il's self immolation back in 1970. Chun Tae-il quickly became a martyr for both the labor and democracy movements and many activists chose similar routes during their lifetimes.

The question remains is exactly HOW this act became so rampant throughout the movement. Unlike Japan, there isn't any sort of tradition ritual suicide in Korean history. To make things even more complicated many people who committed political suicide were also devoted Christians (Chun Tae-il was as devout as you can get) which condemns suicide as murder and a one-way ticket to hell. By Christian logic, Chun Tae-il paid the ultimate price with his soul for his sacrifice. Prof. Nam at the University of Washington told her class that there seems to be no known source for Chun's actions. None of his writings warn about this and he did not seem well aware of the Buddhists in Vietnam who performed self immolation to protest the Diem government.

Is the action just a symbolic "FU" as one commenter posted? Is it just an example of how the human mind and soul can only be pushed too far? Or is there something we are all missing? Its stuff like these that make mankind a creature of great mystery no matter how hard we try to "rationalize" things.

However, probably my biggest beef with the media and numerous commentators on the issue is the handeling of In Soo Chun's mental "instability." Now, there is definitely a good possibility that In Soo Chun infact did had mental and emotional issues; many people do and many of those people do not commit similar actions. However, I find this being used as kinda of an "excuse" or a way to paint In Soo Chun as a deranged lunatic disgusting and offensive. I know several custodians at UW who have medical conditions that effect their emotional and mental well being and have medical history to support this. UW for the most part has done nothing to follow through on doctor's recommendations creating major distress for these people.

UW is not the only organization that has this problem; this is a wide spread problem on many levels for anyone who has a medical disability. My mother (who is bipolar) always keeps her medical history silent as she knows that few places will keep a worker around that has recorded "mental problems." The disabled are easily among the most discriminated people in society world wide, and this is just another classic example of this. I have no clue about In Soo Chun's medical history, but if he did had some issues it should not be used as a put down nor as an excuse for his actions.

With that in mind, I shall end this with a post the best way I know how when dealing with death; a prayer straight from the Book of Common Prayer:

In the midst of life we are in death;
of whom may we seek for succor,
but of thee, O Lord,
who for our sins art justly displeased?

Yet, O Lord God most holy, O Lord most mighty,
O holy and most merciful Savior,
deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death.

Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts;
shut not thy merciful ears to our prayer;
but spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty,
O holy and merciful Savior,
thou most worthy Judge eternal.
Suffer us not, at our last hour,
through any pains of death, to fall from thee.