South-East Asians win big at ‘Asia’s Nobel’

Great honour: Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation chairperson Jose L. Cuisia Jr presenting the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay awardee Cayabyab during an event in Manila, Philippines. — AP

Manila: A campaigner who tackles youth suicide in South Korea, two journalists, and a human rights activist were named among the winners of Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Kim Jong-ki, whose 16-year-old son took his life after being bullied in school, received the 2019 award yesterday for helping South Korea face one of the developed world’s highest suicide rates.

Kim, 72, was recognised for “his quiet courage in transforming private grief into a mission to protect Korea’s youths from the scourge of bullying and violence”, the Manila-based award foundation said.