Health expert improves Korea-Uzbek ties

By Yi Whan-woo

Choi Jae-wook, right, professor of preventive medicine at Korea University's College of Medicine, is dressed in traditional Uzbek clothing. He received the Salomatlik Order of the First Degree ― the highest Uzbek order of merit for a health professional ― in September for his role advising the Uzbek government on countermeasures against COVID-19. / Courtesy of Choi Jae-wook

Being the 2020 recipient of the highest Uzbek order of merit for a health professional shows Korean doctor Choi Jae-wook's success as an advisor on countermeasures against the COVID-19 pandemic and his commitment to strengthening the friendship between Korea and Uzbekistan.

A professor of preventive medicine at Korea University's College of Medicine, Choi was the first Korean health professional dispatched abroad to share Korea's COVID-19 response and give advice accordingly.

For Uzbekistan, Choi was also the first foreign advisor to offer practical assistance after the first case of coronavirus was confirmed there on March 15. The Central Asian country has 61,642 confirmed cases as of Oct. 14, with 58,613 recoveries and 511 deaths.

His jobs included helping the Uzbek government improve its COVID-19 response guideline manual, carry out contact tracing and quarantine, prioritize patients with severe symptoms, and implement a social distancing campaign, all based on Korea's experience.

He also regularly appeared on the country's state-run news programs to explain major quarantine policies and ask for public cooperation on social distancing measures.

In recognition of his work, he was awarded the Salomatlik Order of the First Degree, Sept. 15, in accordance with the Uzbek presidential decree “on rewarding citizens of foreign states and compatriots living abroad in connection with the 29th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan.”

“As the saying goes, a friend in need is a friend indeed and I think working as Uzbekistan's first international advisor against COVID-19 was a moment to rediscover the special and sincere friendship between the two countries,” Choi told The Korea Times in an e-mail interview this week.

“I spent a lot of time with the minister, vice minister and other health officials of Uzbekistan. We ate together and worked into the night together. The experience made me feel a sense of comradeship,” he said.

The Salomatlik Order of the First Degree awarded by the Uzbek government to Korea University professor Choi Jae-wook / Courtesy of Choi Jae-wook

He expressed hope that his honorary award would be “a turning point” for closer bilateral cooperation on medical care, public health and other sectors to improve people's health.

Choi reckoned the two countries will be able to develop sustainable public health projects that can help them cope with any possible new pandemic crises.

Choi's role as advisor under the Korea Medical Association's COVID-19 Countermeasures Committee lasted for four weeks and ended in May.

After his return to Korea, the Uzbek government then recruited him as an advisor and Choi has been staying in Uzbekistan since Sept. 1.

Asked to what extent Korean-style infection control measures can be applicable abroad, Choi noted “They should be modified and supplemented in consideration of the socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of each country.”

“Korea really did a great job on its COVID-19 response, but it does not mean our quarantine and antivirus policies are a gold standard or a silver bullet,” he said.

Korea University professor Choi Jae-wook, second from left, talks with Uzbek health officials while serving as the Uzbek government's advisor on COVID-19 countermeasures early this year. / Courtesy of Choi Jae-wook

Choi Jae-wook, professor of preventive medicine at Korea University's College of Medicine, talks about Uzbekistan's COVID-19 countermeasures on a state-run TV news program. He was the first foreign national to serve as the Uzbek government's advisor on combatting the coronavirus. / Courtesy of Choi Jae-wook

Choi believes that Korea's rapid transition from a developing to a developed nation gives the country “an edge over other developed nations” in better understanding socioeconomic situations in less-developed countries and allows Korean to share the knowledge gained from this rapid progress.

Choi formerly worked for Korea's official development assistance project in cooperation with Tashkent Medical Academy in Uzbekistan.

At Korea University, he also serves as the director of the Institute of Environmental Health.