Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
NK defector qualifies as surgeon
By Jhoo Dong-chan
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Ko Yoon-song
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Ko Yoon-song, 41, has become the first North Korean defector to become a surgeon in Korea.
After four years of resident training at Korea University Anam Hospital, Ko passed the exam for surgical specialists last week.
There have been many instances of North Korean defectors obtaining medical doctor’s licenses before Ko, but he is the first to obtain a surgical specialist’s license.
“Studying medicine in English was difficult. North Korea uses Latin in hospitals,” Ko said.
Ko became a physician in 1998 after graduating from Pyongyang Medical School in South Pyongan Province, North Korea. The Workers Party there assigned him to treat tuberculosis patients at a local hospital.
After working a couple of years as a physician, Ko wondered about life in the outside world.
His first attempt to flee the country in 2001 failed as Ko was captured by Chinese police and sent to a labor camp in North Korea.
He managed to escape the camp and cross the Tumen River in 2003.
“I did all kinds of manual labor jobs in China for four years,” Ko recalls.
He stowed himself on a cargo ship bound for South Korea to start a new life as a doctor in 2007.
“I studied day and night in the library to be a doctor in the South,” Ko said. Korea University also helped him take clinical training with other medical students.
He finally became a doctor in 2010 and chose to be a resident training to be a surgeon.
“Surgery is the best job in hospitals in North Korea, but nobody wants to be a surgeon in the South,” he said.
He talked about his desire to help North Korean people in the future.
“Many North Koreans do not even get simple operations to cure hernias or hemorrhoids. I hope I can help North Korean people with my medical techniques one day.”