Eugene: Final lessons from a veteran

Posted 11:32 PM, August 12, 2006, by esyim

On my last day here in Korea, I met with Dr. John Linton at Severance Hospital of Yonsei University. Dr. Linton is a physician who was raised in South Korea and was the first Caucasian to be licensed as a physician in South Korea. Dr. Linton has made numerous trips into North Korea as a part of humanitarian efforts organized by the Eugene Bell Foundation in the United States. Although the support work of this physician and the organization has covered a broad range hitherto, of note recently have been efforts to address the escalating TB epidemic in North Korea.

As a veteran in the field of North Korean humanitarian aid, I met with him to discuss my hopes and aspirations in the field. The more I discussed with him, the more I realized how I wasn’t clear about my vision for working in this field. When asked the simple question, "What do you want to do?", I had no answer.

I still have no answer.

However, my conversation with Dr. Linton helped me to identify important questions I have to wrestle with as I contemplate further work in this area. Of these, one question I need to ask myself is whether I want to work with North Koreans outside of their country (in China and Korea) or with the North Koreans in their native country. Both populations have needs that need to be addressed, and I wonder which I should try to serve.

I would like to say that our conversation made everything clear, but quite the opposite, I am now more confused than I was before. The same can be said about my time here in South Korea the past few weeks: the more I have learned, the more confused I am about what to do. Despite my confusion, I am more motivated now more than before in wanting to do something. We’ll see what exactly that is when the time comes.

Comments

I truly admire what you are pursuing. My hope is that the Korean community will begin to focus more toward our north korean counterparts because they need our help and attention. My heart goes out to you. Thank you for your selfless endeavors.

Comment by: Joan at September 5, 2006 08:38 PM