Editorial Yonsei Med J 2019 Oct;60(10):887-889 https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2019.60.10.887 pISSN: 0513-5796 · eISSN: 1976-2437

Dr. Sa Young Ahn (1890–1968), A Compassionate Devotion to Humanity

Kyu-Sang Park1, Young Soo Park2, Jongwon Yoon3, Sang Baek Koh4, and Sung Ku Ahn5 1Department of Physiology, Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju; 2Hana Internal Medicine, ; 3Purchasing and Property Management Team, Departments of 4Preventive Medicine and 5Dermatology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.

PROLOGUE By the time Dr. Ahn graduated from Severance Union Medi- cal College in 1917, he had decided to move to Jilin province, In faith, Dr. Sa Young Ahn dedicated his life to his nation and Manchuria and to join Hanjoghoe, an organization support- his people who were at risk and in pain. Looking back over his ing the Korean independence movement. While this decision life provides an opportunity to consider what humanity truly is. was influenced by his friends in Yeongmyeong and Severance, his passion for the Korean independence movement guided this and many of his decisions. In 1919, he took on the role of a YOUNG AND COURAGEOUS medical supervisor at Sin Heung military school, which was a front for training young Korean men to fight against the Japa- Sa Young Ahn was born in 1890 in Changcheon-ri, Yeonhui- nese. He was also head of Sin Je Hospital at Sin Heung School. myun, -gun Gyeonggi-do. He was the first son among However, the Sin Heung military school was shut down by the nine children to his family. His father was a teacher and mis- Japanese in November 1919, and Dr. Ahn was arrested for his sionary at the Yeongmyeong School in , Chungcheon- involvement in the independence movement and imprisoned gnam-do, where he finished elementary and middle school. in Pyongyang, where he was sentenced to detention for 2 Founded by the Canadian missionary couple, Mr. and Mrs. years.1,2 Sharp, Yeongmyeong School played a central role in the Kore- Confronted by failure in the independence movement, Dr. an independence movement against Imperial Japanese rule Ahn sought support and comfort from Dr. Van Buskirk, who by fostering many talented youths, including Gwansun Ryu. suggested Dr. Ahn work with him at Severance Union Medical Prior to entering Severance Hospital Medical College in 1912, College. Accepting his offer, Dr. Ahn joined Severance in 1923 Sa Young was introduced to Dr. James D. Van Buskirk (1881– as a teaching assistant in the department of physiology, where 1969), who had been a medical missionary in Gongju (1908– he worked for 2 years (Fig. 1). While he dedicated himself to 1912) and who was a tremendous influence in Dr. Ahn’s life. the study and practice of medicine, Dr. Ahn could not ignore Dr. Ahn continued to interact with Dr. Van Buskirk when he the dire situation in Korea and eventually moved to the Swed- later joined Severance as a professor in the departments of ish Methodist Hospital in Wonju, Gangwon-do.1,3 physiology and biochemistry in 1913. The Swedish Methodist Hospital was founded by the Meth- Received: July 15, 2019 odist Episcopal Church Mission and was the first modern Corresponding author: Sung Ku Ahn, MD, PhD, Department of Dermatology, Yon- hospital in southern Gangwon. The Swedish Methodist Hos- sei University Wonju College of Medicine, 20 Ilsan-ro, Wonju 26426, Korea. pital played an essential role in public health in the region af- Tel: 82-33-741-0621, Fax: 82-33-748-5062, E-mail: [email protected] ter the arrival of missionary Albin G. Anderson (1882–1971) in •The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose. 1912. However, the hospital was temporarily closed in 1922 as © Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2019 Dr. Anderson moved to Hall Memorial Hospital in Pyongyang. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Com- The Swedish Methodist Hospital reopened in February 1925 mons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and repro- under the direction of Dr. Samuel E. McManis (1891–1952). It duction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. was at this time that Dr. Ahn joined the hospital. It is quite pos- www.eymj.org 887 A Compassionate Devotion to Humanity

Fig. 1. Sa Young Ahn (Right) and James D. Van Buskirk (Left). Dr. Van Buskirk is giving a physiology lecture, and the person sitting at the front right is presumed to be Dr. Ahn. Provided by Dong-Eun medical museum. sible that he was influenced to do so by Dr. Van Buskirk and 28, 1927, he became an executive committee member for this other medical missionaries from the Methodist Episcopal organization.1 Church, North.2 Dr. Ahn actively worked as a staff member for Singanhoe’s Wonju branch; however, the Wonju branch was dismissed in May 1931 following Japanese persecution during 1928–1929. WORKING AT WONJU FOR HIS MISSION As a result, Sa Young closed Hospital and moved to AND PASSION Manchuria, where he re-opened the clinic in Jilin province in September 1933. His activities from then on until Korean in- Dr. Ahn was an outstanding doctor at the Swedish Methodist dependence was regained from the Japanese occupation peri- Hospital. His colleague Dr. McManis, who was interested in od are largely unknown. After Korea’s liberation, Dr. Ahn re- preventive medicine, encouraged Dr. Ahn to continue to take turned to Korea and worked as a prison doctor at care of local patients and practice medicine as a missionary. Correctional Institution helping independence activists who In addition to his excellent service as a medical doctor, he also were imprisoned as political offenders because of different ide- gained a reputation through his participation in social activi- ologies. Sa Young Ahn passed away in 1968 and is buried in , ties. The Swedish Methodist Hospital grew during this time next to his hometown Goyang, Gyeonggi-do.2 and was able to care for more patients every year.2 Suddenly, however, Dr. Ahn retired from the Swedish Meth- odist Hospital and opened Andong Hospital in Wonju. There CONSISTENT DEVOTION TO is no known reason as to why he left the Swedish Methodist THE COUNTRY AND COUNTRYMEN Hospital at this time, although it is believed that it was because of his passion for society at large. At the same time, the Singan- Dr. Ahn’s life carries a message of faithfulness and devotion. hoe (New Trunk Association) was founded by an alliance be- Despite his legacy being hidden for many years, his life has tween communists and Korean nationalists against the exter- left a mark on history. First, Dr. Ahn contributed to the early mination of Korean culture by Japan. The first Singanhoe period of basic medical science in Korea. As a Dr. Van Bus- branch of Gangwon province was founded in Wonju in Octo- kirk’s teaching assistant, starting in 1923, Dr. Ahn was the first ber 1927. During the inaugural meeting of this branch, Dr. domestic trainee in the field of physiology.3 At that time, there Ahn was elected as a staff member for Singanhoe. He was also were no Korean faculty members or trainees in the physiology elected as a preparatory committee member for an organiza- course at Gyeongseong Medical College and Severance Union tion seeking to help Korean descendants in Manchuria and Medical College, thus education in physiology was conducted Chinese descendants in Chosun, together with 16 other organi- solely by foreign teachers. Although Dr. Ahn did not continue zations in Wonju. In the inaugural meeting held on December his academic career as a professor, he participated in the early

888 https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2019.60.10.887 Kyu-Sang Park, et al. pioneering period of Korean medical education and paved a icated himself to society as a doctor and an aid to the incredi- new career path for the next generation of medical scientists. ble suffering around him. Although many parts of his life are Second, Dr. Ahn’s medical practice and participation in so- not recorded, what is known about his life echoes to the heart cial activities were impactful. A missionary from the Method- of humanity. ist Episcopal Church, North, W. A. Noble (1866–1945), who also worked in Wonju, commented as follows: “Dr. Sa Young AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS Ahn is more than a doctor with a job in the hospital. He is a splendid force in the Church life of the community.” Others Conceptualization: All authors. Data curation: All authors. Formal noted that, “Dr. Ahn, the new Korean doctor, combining the analysis: All authors. Funding acquisition: Kyu-Sang Park and Sung characteristics of physician, teacher, and preacher to a re- Ku Ahn. Investigation: Kyu-Sang Park, Young Soo Park, Jongwon Yoon, and Sung Ku Ahn. Methodology: Kyu-Sang Park, Young Soo Park, markable degree, fills a distinct and helpful place in the com- Jongwon Yoon, and Sung Ku Ahn. Project administration: Kyu-Sang munity. In the absence of Dr. McManis at Language school, the Park and Sung Ku Ahn. Resources: Kyu-Sang Park, Young Soo Park, heavy responsibility is being ably carried by Dr. Ahn, a graduate Jongwon Yoon, and Sung Ku Ahn. Software: Kyu-Sang Park. Supervi- of Severance Union Medical College.”3 Dr. McManis specifi- sion: Sung Ku Ahn. Validation: Sung Ku Ahn. Visualization: Kyu-Sang cally mentioned Ahn’s contribution to Korean society stating, Park and Sung Ku Ahn. Writing—original draft: Kyu-Sang Park and Sung Ku Ahn. Writing—review & editing: Kyu-Sang Park, Young Soo “A Chosun doctor, Sa Young Ahn, influenced local people not Park, and Sung Ku Ahn. only as a doctor but also as an active social activist.” Dr. Mc- Manis further added, “Due to Ahn’s active participation for society more patients visited us. Patients remarked, ‘We wait ORCID iDs for the missionary doctor as a child waits for the return of its Kyu-Sang Park https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0322-9807 parent.’” Based on his sincerity and credibility, his service as an Young Soo Park https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1941-5890 activist also expanded the social impact of his medical prac- Jongwon Yoon https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9528-3186 tice.4,5 Sang Baek Koh https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5609-6521 Third, Dr. Ahn chose to share in his nation’s struggles. Sa Sung Ku Ahn https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0978-9426 Young’s work with Hanjoghoe, the Sin Heung military school, and Singanhoe shows that he did not cower under Japanese REFERENCES oppression but chose to risk his freedom to help his nation 1. Department of Medical History, Yonsei University College of and his people. He continued to serve his nation until he fin- Medicine. History of Severance independence movement. 1st ed. ished his career as a supervising doctor at Daejeon Correctional : Yeoksagonggan; 2019. Institution. 2. Ahn SK. 100 years of Wonju medical work. 1st ed. Seoul: Jinsol Pub; 2013. 3. Compilation Committee for 120 years of Yonsei Medical Center history. Hundred twenty years of humanity, service, frontier and COMPASSION FOR HUMANITY challenge. 1st ed. Seoul: Yonsei Medical Center; 2015. 4. Noble WA. Seoul, Wonju and Kangneung district Methodist Epis- At the core of Sa Young’s life, there was a passion for humanity. copal church. 1925:6:127. It is through his desire to serve his nation and his people that 5. Noble WA. Wonju medical work. Annual report of foreign mission his faithfulness and integrity are revealed. His compassion is board of the Methodist Episcopal church. 1925:1:131. seen in his warm heart for people. Dr. Sa Young Ahn fully ded-

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