Min Byoung-chul, founder and chair of the nonprofit Sunfull Movement, presented a book of condolence messages for the people of Newtown, Connecticut, to United States Ambassador to Korea Sung Kim at the U.S. Embassy in Korea on Tuesday.

Dedicated to ending cyberbullying, Sunfull collected the condolence messages from various social media, including the group’s website, Facebook and Twitter pages in multiple languages, including Korean, Chinese, Japanese and English.

Twenty children, most as young as 6 years old, and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14 in America’s most recent school shooting.

“I appreciate Sunfull’s work to gather these messages of condolence for those who lost loved ones on that tragic day, and we will deliver these caring messages to the people of Newtown,” Kim said when Min presented him with the condolence book.

The massacre spawned a renewed debate over gun control and the ease with which Americans can purchase assault weapons, an aspect of American culture difficult to understand for many Koreans and others living outside the U.S.

Sunfull collected about 5,000 comments, then made them into a special condolence book on behalf of the victims of the latest school shooting, their families and the people of Newtown.

Moved by the suicide of Korean celebrity Choi Jin-sil, Min founded the group to end cyberbullying, according to the group’s website.

“The tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School has touched many people around the world, including many young people in Korea who felt moved to post a message of condolence for the people in Newtown, Connecticut,” Min said.

The Sunfull Movement created the special page of condolences to foster positive comments online by people from around the world.

Founded in 2007, more than 6,000 elementary, middle and high schools and organizations in Korea are now participating in the Sunfull Movement. Students from all over the country are encouraged to post positive messages for people who have suffered from malicious comments.

Sunfull has inspired the posting of about 3.7 million positive comments on the Internet as of March 1.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)