On October 24th, a female Korean student named Ha-Ram Kim was among those who were fatally injured on their way to orientation for North Seattle College when a Ride the Ducks tour vehicle in Seattle crashed into a school charter bus carrying dozens of international students. She died in the hospital on October 27th from a serious head injury.
While the fatal accident terrified and infuriated many concerned citizens, many others were deeply touched when a letter by Ha-Ram’s father, a pastor who flew over from Korea on the 25th after hearing the tragic news, revealed to his friends and family that her organs will be donated.
Although the organ donation rate in Korea is said to be growing, it is still far behind most developed countries, due to multiple factors such as complicated registration steps and the aversion associated with deconstructing the body in a society still deeply influenced by Confucius beliefs.
“I’m truly grateful that my daughter’s healthy organs will save the lives of people who are in need of help”, Pastor Kim stated in his letter. “We, as Ha-ram’s parents, promised ourselves to live life to the fullest on behalf of our dear daughter when we signed to donate her organs this morning”.
Initially spreading through a messenger app called Kakaotalk that Pastor Kim used to communicate with his loved ones in Korea, the letter has since gone viral online and is touching the hearts of the Korean community in particular.
“We will land in Korea with Ha-ram at 5pm on the 8th of October. As we are fully aware of your love and support, we simply ask that you to give us a warm hug. It’s okay if you don’t say anything to us. We will move forward while keeping all of your love and prayers in our hearts forever.
Thank you.
And thank you again.
We will continue to spread God’s love in our remaining days remembering all of your tears and support.”
It is hard to be unmoved by the 10 prayer titles he listed in appreciation of how this heart-wrenching experience of his daughter’s passing has changed his outlook of the world and motivated him to turn to those who are in need.
Pastor Kim states that although he gone through shock, pain, denial and remorse, he and his wife have found an inner strength following the realization that God has taken Ha-Ram to a better place.