IGNITE.
For a little girl, with a heart so bold,
Took upon herself a quest untold.
From war's rubble, through despair's narrow gate,
She sought a brighter morrow, with education as her fate.
Friendly fire, forgotten war, robbed her childhood's grace.
Left alone, an orphan in a desolate space.
With palms that bled red in kitchens, seas, and shadows,
a guardian, she fought, through life's narrow gallows.
Her brother's keeper, through sweat, blood, and tears,
dreaming of classrooms so far, so near.
She crossed the pacific, ocean wide,
to promise her kin a future undefiled.
To America’s naive dreams, they leaped,
chasing a made-up vision, polished and cleaned.
Children born, and theirs, from night to morn,
reading in ivy halls where, greatness adorn.
A daughter, a son, standing tall, standing proud,
voices echoing, resonating loud.
Her daughter, with a heart sewn of gold,
and in his mother's footsteps, her son, brave, bold.
Launch the dawn of a mission, bright,
catapult stars, slice the night.
For those in the dark, with dreams out of sight,
he said, "Here's your chance, grasp it tight."
Yes, you. Young one from darkness to light,
his promise, focus on life’s real delight.
"No strings," he said, "but forward in time,
kindle another's yearning, make more bells chime."
Once she stood breathing bullets in war’s gale,
blood gushing by shrapnel’s hail.
Looking beyond the unfriendly glare,
a lineage of leaders, set sail.
This isn't a story, it's a battle cry,
for dreams too scared to fly.
We are the legacy, the dream, the fight,
and you are the star blasting into the deep night.
Because, in the darkest hour, in unfathomable fright,
a little girl, flickered a light.
Pay it forward,
ignite.
Q: WHY ARE YOU GIVING?
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” - Tolstoy.
She was orphaned at twelve by friendly fire during the Korean War in 1950.
She worked tirelessly, as a kitchen hand, as a smuggler, and even as a deep-sea diver, to give her nine-year-old brother an education. When he graduated from university, she immigrated with her husband and two children to America; her brother's family soon followed. She was determined to ensure that her children would get the best education in the world.
Her children and grandchildren went on to graduate from the most prestigious universities in America.
A lifetime of sacrifice from a little girl, focused solely on caretaking her family through education, had granted the family great benefit. Her daughter is an attorney and philanthropist. Her son is a titan of global finance.
Her son is MBK.
In 2009, MBK Scholars of Korea began providing full ride college tuition for a dozen students with dire financial needs, outstanding academic achievement, and extraordinary leadership. MBKS has helped graduate over 200 scholars.
There are no conditions to the scholarship, except a moral commitment to “pay it forward” - to financially support a needy student for his or her education in the future, in the spirit of MBK Scholars.
With our MBKS Global Leaders Initiative, we continue to pay it forward.
MBK Scholars, 2024