The family of a Korean victim of 9/11 has decided to set up a scholarship for Korean students in the United States. Mr. Kyo-joong Choo, who lost his daughter Ji-yon in the World Trade Center attacks, announced his decision on January 19th. “I will try to help Korean students with this 9/11 scholarship, so that they can live out their dream in their own lifetimes. My daughter could not. She was only 31 years old when she died.”

Mr. Choo promised an annual donation of $50,000 to the Korean-American Scholarship Foundation, headed by Sung-soo Kang. The amount of this year’s prize to a single student is $2,500. Next year the prize will be awarded to two students, and will increase by one student annually thereafter. The Northeast Branch of the Korean-American Scholarship Foundation will invest the bulk of the donation, and issue prizes from the annually accrued interest on the investments.

“My daughter, Jee-yon also received scholarships while she was in school. I want to return to society as much as I can of what she received,” Mr. Choo said. His daughter, an energetic worker with a strong desire for success, outpaced her colleagues at Cantor Fitzgerald to become the first Asian vice president in the company. Mr. Choo added, “It’s only been three years and four months; time passes so quickly. I couldn’t hold a funeral ceremony for her. She is still alive in my mind.”

Mr. Choo, who proposed that the families of the victims purchase a common public site, opted instead to help Korean-American students who are in economic difficulty. Pyeng-kym Kim, chairman of the 9/11 Korean-American Victims, Association said, “Because of Mr. Choo, other families are thinking of participating in this scholarship fund. I think we will see a rapidly increasing participation.”