Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Tributes pour in for Korean doctor known as 'Schweitzer of Cambodia'
Kim Woo-jung / Courtesy of Asan Social Welfare Foundation
By Jung Min-ho
Tributes are pouring in for Kim Woo-jung, a Christian doctor who spent nearly two decades providing medical care to low-income Cambodians and training local health professionals.
Kim, the founder and director of Hebron Medical Center in Phnom Penh, died Aug. 14 after battling prostate cancer, according to an announcement by the center. He was 73.
Known by many as the “Schweitzer of Cambodia,” Kim left behind a stable career in Korea to serve people who could not afford basic treatment in the Southeast Asian nation, where he founded the center in 2007. Over nearly two decades, he cared for patients while working to strengthen Cambodia’s medical capacity by training local doctors and nurses.
Since the center announced his death, many Cambodians have expressed condolences on its social media page and memorial website.
“Thank you for your love to Cambodia, your legacy remains with us,” one mourner wrote.
“He saved my life 11 [years] ago,” said another.
The encounter that set him on that path came during a short-term medical volunteer trip to Cambodia. Kim met a young girl in a rural village who was suffering from an illness but could not receive basic treatment because of her family’s poverty. He later said he could not let go of the memory of the girl or of many other children he had seen suffering without access to medical care.
Kim eventually closed his own clinic and moved to Cambodia with his wife, choosing to build a life there. What began as a small free clinic developed into a hospital in 2010 and has since expanded its services. It now has about 100 health professionals working in more than 10 departments.
Kim placed particular importance on nurturing Cambodia’s own health staff, believing they were essential to the center’s sustainable operation. Its stated mission is to contribute “to the healthy life and prosperity of Cambodians through high-quality health care, education, and love.”
In a statement, Hebron Medical Center mourned the death of its founder, praising his “life of faith and service” and his lifelong dedication to caring for Cambodians through medicine and the love of Christ.
“Through his ministry, many people have been blessed, come to know God, and grown in their faith,” one mourner wrote on the center’s memorial page. “I am also blessed to be one of them.”