Wednesday, February 8 2006 15:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Seoul: Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's memories reverberated today (Feb 8 2006) in South Korean Parliament where President A P J Abdul Kalam quoted a line from his poem and the Speaker described the writer as a symbol of hope and courage for this country when it reeled under Japanese colonial rule.

"In the Golden Age of Asia, Korea was one of its lamp-bearers. And that lamp is waiting to be lighted once again. For the illumination of the East" were the lines Kalam recalled from a poem Tagore had written in 1929 when he was on a visit to Japan, to drive home the importance of Korea in Asia.

"Today, the world knows that the lamp has been lit by knowledge, hard work and sweat of the people of Korea," added0 Kalam drawing big applause from Korean lawmakers.

Earlier, Parliament Speaker Kim Wan Ki too began his speech reminiscing the poem quoted by Kalam and said Tagore's writing had "brought a ray of hope and courage in our life in difficult times."

Tagore is the most respected Indian poet in South Korea and his poems have been included in school curriculum. Although Tagore had travelled to China and Japan, both neighbours of South Korea, he never came to this country.