Korea Social Work College, founded in 1961, became Daegu University in 1981. Rhee was president from 1961 to 1982. Daegu University installed the first Braille library in Korea in 1981, and the university continues its tradition of being in the forefront of social welfare and special education in Korea. Work in the Mariana Islands During the 1970s and 1980s, Rhee traveled extensively to the Mariana Islands in the Pacific where many Korean laborers were forced to work under the Japanese military during the Japanese expansion before and during World War II. Reverend Rhee discovered decades-old burial sites of Korean laborers deep in the jungles of Tinian and repatriated the remains to a national cemetery in Korea (National Cemetery for Overseas Koreans 국립망향의 동산 태평양 사이판 티니안 전몰 무명한국인묘). He also founded a group that erected a Korean Peace Memorial in the island of Saipan (Korean Peace Memorial at Malpi Point, Saipan) and in Tinian (Korean Monuments on Tinian), in remembrance of thousands of Korean laborers who died in those islands. In 1977, Rhee was awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation by the South Korean government in recognition for his role in Korean independence. Rhee died of natural causes in Tumon, Guam, in 1981 at age 87. References Autobiography - I Cast Out Fear ('두려움을 물리치고') Autobiography - A True Happiness ('진정한 기쁨') Essays by Young Shik Rhee - Sarang Ui Kil Somang Ui Kil ('사랑의 길 소망의 길' 이영식 목사 수상록) Biography - Ai to hikari to jiyū to : Ri Eishoku no shisō to kōdō Further reading Korean Peace Memorial in Saipan Japanese Emperor and Empress visits Saipan Korean Memorial External links Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Republic of Korea Young Shik Rhee Encyclopedia of Korean Culture 1894 births 1981 deaths South Korean Protestant ministers and clergy South Korean Presbyterians Daegu University Korean independence activists