I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
'Ebola mission hard, but rewarding'
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Members of a Korean medical team, who returned home recently after completing their mission of treating patients infected with the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone, said the work was challenging but they felt rewarded.
“The working conditions facing our medical staff there were very challenging because we had to deal with scorching temperatures during daytime, while mosquitoes troubled us at night,” Lee Seok-jae, a military medical officer, said during a meeting with President Park Geun-hye in Cheong Wa Dae, May 15.
Lee was part of the last medical team sent to the West African nation from February to March.
President Park invited them to the presidential office to decorate them with medals in recognition of their sacrifice in saving lives in the face of a life-threatening environment.
“I was impressed when I watched a junior nurse, who was part of our team, praying for a dying baby by tightly holding the young patient’s hands. She gave a baby doll to the baby but she died anyway,” the doctor said. “The scene was so touching and wrenched my heart.”
Despite the demanding environment, Lee said, he felt rewarded when he saw a group of Sierra Leone people who gave him the thumbs up sign shouting “Korea” as they recognized that he was Korean.
While treating patients, the doctor said, he made lots of friends because people had a really good impression for the team’s diligence and work ethic.
From last year, the Korean government sent a total of 24 medical staff to Sierra Leone in response to international calls to fight the epidemic as it went out of control killing many people in Africa.
The first medical team was sent to Sierra Leone in December. It was the first time that Korea has sent medical teams to fight pandemic diseases overseas.
The Korean government’s joining the global effort to contain the Ebola virus met a serious challenge in January when Doctor Choi Young-mi was taken to a hospital in Germany after he was injured by a hypodermic needle.
The results of a series of blood tests, however, confirmed that he had not contracted the virus.
“I felt frustration at the moment I was injured by the needle because I thought I would have to leave Sierra Leon if I had the virus,” said Choi, who also attended the meeting with President Park.
In retrospect, he said the Korean government made the right decision to join the global effort to fight the epidemic in West Africa because it saved lots of lives there.
President Park said that it was difficult for the Korean government to send the medical teams overseas because many people were concerned about their safety.
“I was touched to know that competition to join the medical teams was heavy because many committed people applied for the opportunities which could cost them their lives in the worst-case scenario,” she said.