Mountaineer returns to build school
Mountaineer Um Hong-gil, center in a blue jacket, children and Korean sponsors at the groundbreaking for a new school in a village called Panboche in Nepal on May 5. Provided by the Um Hong-gil Human Foundation
Panboche, located 3,950 meters (12,959 feet) above sea level on 8,848-meter Mount Everest, is a gateway to get to the summit.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held on May 5.
Um promised himself 23 years ago that he would provide the village a good school in memory of a Nepali who died on a joint climb.
Here’s the story.
Um was accompanied by two Nepalis, a porter and a guide, during his second Mount Everest climb in 1986. He had failed to reach the peak a year before due to bad weather.
Upon reaching 7,600 meters, Um received an emergency message from one of the two who were behind, carrying their food. The message was chilling: the other Nepali had been killed in a fall. Um turned back to look for the fallen climber.
“I still cannot forget the bloodstains in the snow,” he said. “I returned weeping. It was the first time I’d lost a fellow climber during an ascent.”
He never found the body.
Panboche was a small village where the dead climber lived. At the time of his death, the fallen Nepali was a newlywed, making ends meet by guiding climbers.
Um saw bereaved family members sobbing when he made his way back to the village. He felt an arrow pierce his heart.
“I tried to forget about climbing the Himalayas because I was so shocked,” Um recalled.
Recently, he stood again with the family.
“While climbing, the late Nepali lamented that there were no decent schools to educate children living in the village. There was a school building that was about to collapse when I went to the village to meet the family,” said Um. “It was a government-funded school, but all the teachers had left the school since they were not getting paid. I promised to myself someday I would provide them with a good school.”
Um resumed climbing the Himalayas and succeeded in reaching the summit of Mount Everest in 1988. That was a first for a Korean. Construction of the elementary school is scheduled to be completed early next year with four classrooms, a library, restrooms, a clinic and an auditorium. More than 50 children can study and play at the facility.
“The weather was bad on the day before the ceremony. Fortunately, it cleared up the next day and all went well,” Um said.
By Rhee Esther, Lee Min-yong [smartpower@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)