Hero High School Student: “I Just Did What I Had To”

Lee Chang-hoon (18) saved the life of a man in his late 50s who was lying on the train rails at Siheung subway station in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul on September 12 at around 6:00 p.m.

“When I saw the man lying on the rail, I just jumped down to him,” Lee said.

Lee, a senior at Sungbo High School in Sillim-dong, Seoul, went to Siheung station on his way home, as usual.

He saw people gathered around the platform, saying, “Someone missed his footing and fell.”

Lee said, “I saw the light of the train coming towards the station and a man lying on the rail. He seemed unconscious and wasn’t moving. I thought he needed help, so I just jumped down.”

Lee tried to move the man to another rail nearby, but the man was too heavy for him. Just before the train honked into the station, a public service worker and a citizen who was watching helped Lee move the man to a safe rail.

Relieved, Lee quietly left the scene.

Later, a citizen who remembered Lee from his school uniform and nametag contacted Lee’s school and his deed became known. The school will give Lee an award.

Lee said, “I thought there was nothing more that I could do, so I just went home. I’m just happy that, for the first time, I put into practice what my mother always says: “always help others in need.”

Jae-Young Kim jaykim@donga.com