SDF

I used to be a physician, but now work as to support human rights victims, which makes me a human rights activist. In 2001 , I was in the United States doing research on cancer, and I experienced the September 11 attacks from up close. In the days following, I saw the Bush administration justify war in the name of protecting the human rights of Muslim women and North Koreans, and I decided to study international conflict at the graduate level. As part of a field study for my program, I had the opportunity to work with Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, an organization that supports Palestinian torture victims, and this experience got me interested in the relationship between medicine and human rights.

I returned to Korea, and since 2007, I have been teaching medical students on the subject of medicine and human rights. My hope is that by enhancing the sensitivity and awareness of medical service providers on human rights issues, we can promote patients’ right to health, particularly for vulnerable populations. Despite the initial challenge of taking a subject like human rights to the traditionally hierarchical, conservative setting of the medical community, I know my efforts have not been in vain. Currently, I am conducting surveys on sexual harassment and discrimination among medical students.