‘Yonsei Hawking’ Shin Hyung-jin’s Mother Sends a Thank-You Letter with 50 Million KRW ‘I once thought he would not even be able to attend elementary school. Many people have helped him achieve goals and take steps toward his dream—it has been a dream for me. I have enclosed a small donation as a way to express my thankfulness in hope to help others.’ On March 3rd, a letter was sent to the Dean’s office in the College of Engineering at Yonsei University. The letter thanked the College for accepting and caring for his son, and contained a check for 50 million KRW. ‘We have received a lot of love and consolation from Yonsei University.’ The sender of the letter is Lee Won-ok, mother of Shin Hyung-jin who is known as ‘Yonsei Steven Hawking’. When he was seven-months old, Hyung-jin was diagnosed with spinal muscular dystrophy and has suffered from it ever since. After entering the Department of Computer Science in 2002, he received his Bachelor’s degree last year. Last June, he began working at the Research Institute for Software Application at his alma mater; and this semester he has started graduate studies in the joint Ms.-Ph.D. program in Computer Science. For all these years, Hyung-jin’s mother, Lee Won-ok, has been within a one-minute running distance in case of an emergency. In 2006, Hyung-jin returned to campus after a life-threatening experience of breathing difficulty had struck him in 2004. Mrs. Lee recalls, “Thinking that Hyung-jin would no longer be able to attend the classes which he loved so much made me in utter despair. What helped Hyung-jin live through those two years of pain and distress was faith in his dream to return to campus.” It is not Mrs. Lee’s first donation to Yonsei University. She has already donated a total of 150 million KRW. She says “Yonsei University has been a blessing to us in times of both hope and despair.”