Gifted criminal law scholar lived life as dissident-in-exile in US

Criminal law professor Ryu Ki-chyon, right, and his wife Helen Silving in this undated photo / Korea Times file

Professor emeritus uncovers legacy of mentor who lived ahead of his time

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Choi Chong-ko, a professor emeritus of law at Seoul National University, has found life after college inseparable from his mentor and advisor, the late Ryu Ki-chyon (1915-1998), better known by his English name, Paul K. Ryu, to people living outside of Korea.

He met his mentor in the late 1960s when Choi took Ryu's criminal law course. Their bond deepened as they continued to exchange thoughts about their areas of academic focus and issues of mutual interest as a professor and a student.

When Ryu passed away in 1998 in San Diego, California, Choi teamed up with several like-minded classmates to initiate a campaign to establish a foundation to commemorate his mentor, his legacy and academic accomplishments.

Their years of coordinated work bore fruit in 2004 with the launch of the Paul K. Ryu Foundation in Seoul.

Having served as president of the foundation since, Choi released Ryu's biography titled, "Ryu Ki-chyon, An Intellectual of Justice and Freedom," in 2009.

He will present a paper about Ryu's academic legacy at a seminar on Friday at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Ryu's nephew, Chicago-based neurologist Jeong-ho Ryu, and several experts who were either his students or familiar with his academic accomplishments will be joining the event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the foundation.

"Dr. Ryu was a towering figure in criminal law," Choi said during a Korea Times interview in Seoul on Aug. 18, a week before the seminar in Honolulu.

"His sharp insight into criminal law and thorough knowledge of other related fields, such as psychology, arts and humanities as well as social sciences, were admirable."

Choi said Ryu laid the groundwork for Korea's criminal law system through his over two decades of teaching and research activities as a professor at Seoul National University, which includes a 14-month stint as president of the university.

Choi said his mentor was able to leave a lasting impact in Korea's criminal law, perhaps because of his academic partnership with his wife, the late Helen Silving (1906-1993).

"Mrs. Ryu is more famous than her husband. In the United States, some people called her 'queen of criminal law.' Their marriage symbolized a life-long partnership of two intellectuals who left profound impacts on criminal law," he said.

Ryu met Silving at a dinner hosted by then dean of Harvard University. He was then a visiting scholar and was invited to the dinner.

Choi Chong-ko, a professor emeritus of law at Seoul National University / Korea Times file

Choi said it was love at first sight, adding Ryu instantly fell in love with her.

"Dr. Ryu was one of the greatest scholars of all time in the fields of arts, humanities and social sciences," Choi said.

"As a scholar, he was thorough and strict. But sometimes he was eccentric. He was upset when he heard that his mentor and independence fighter Cho Man-sik married again two months after the passing of his first wife and tore down the picture of him that he treasured."

Choi said he and other students of Seoul National University's College of Law were able to receive a top-notch education in law during the 1960s and 1970s, despite the poor academic environment at the time, because Ryu kept trying to inform his students of the latest academic trends he learned while pursuing a juris doctoral degree at Yale University and tried hard to open his students' eyes to the complex but intriguing world of criminal law.

Albeit sharp and multi-talented as a scholar, Choi said his mentor was an unfortunate intellectual who lived ahead of his time.

Ryu faced calls to resign from his students when he assumed the presidency of the university in 1965 as they believed he was a pro-government scholar.

Choi denied the allegation. He said Ryu was a libertarian and prioritized freedom above all other values.

Ryu Ki-chyon

He constantly yearned for a free society at a time when the nation was in turmoil, he added.

Ryu's relationship with two authoritarian leaders_ namely former Presidents Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan_ turned sour after he became a vocal critic of dictatorship, which forced him to leave his homeland for the United States to live as a dissident-in-exile.

Fearing persecution from Korea's spy agency for his critical comments about Park in his class, Ryu chose to leave Korea for the U.S. in 1972, and spent most of his life with his wife in San Diego, California until his death.

After Park was assassinated in October of 1979, Ryu returned to Seoul and resumed his teaching job at Seoul National University. But his teaching career there was cut short after Chun ascended to power through a military coup.

Fearing the fallout of the political change on his life, Ryu headed back to California and spent the rest of his life there.

He was able to return to his homeland forever only after his death. His body was moved to Korea and he and his wife now rest in peace in their family cemetery in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province.