By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
An American halmonie (grandmother), who has saved the lives of 3,017 Korean children over the past 30 years, celebrated her 90th birthday in a very special way in Korea.
Hundreds of people waited for Harriet H. Hodges, whom they call halmonie, at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul Monday.
When she walked in, they surrounded her as she made her way through them giving out hugs.
Hodges visited Korea in 1964 for the first time with her husband and returned in 1972. She met the daughter of a Korean cook who was in urgent need of heart surgery, and Hodges arranged for the girl to have the operation in the United States.
She began receiving torrents of letters and personal visits from Korean mothers who had heard the news and had children with similar problems. ``That's how it got started,'' Hodges said.
There was so much preparation involved in organizing such operations _ from finding hospitals that would be willing to carry out the surgery free of charge, transportation, accommodation to visas and other documents.
Thanks to Hodges, In Soo-ho received heart surgery in 1975 when he was 20 years old at the Metropolitan Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Later, the children under Hodges' care established the ``Metropolitan Club,'' which was named after the center.
``I would not be here today, had you not arranged the heart surgery for me. Now, I am 52 years old and have two children,'' In said in a dedication letter to the generous woman, ``we now have become the hope of the world and it was you who gave that hope to us.''
Lee Hoon-hee, now the father of a toddler, was seven years old when he had heart surgery. He expressed his deep gratitude to her for saving his life. He attended the party with his wife and baby.
Lee Gil-woo, 29, who also had an operation, flew here from the U.S. to attend her party and to meet his birth parents, whom he met in the evening.
Lee went to America on Air Force One when former U.S. President Ronald Reagan returned to Washington from Korea in 1983. After the operation, he was adopted by American parents.
Hundreds of mothers and their children clad in hanbok bowed to her in appreciation in the traditional Korean way. They sang her a Korean song ``You Are Born to Be Loved,'' gave her a collage of photos and read letters of gratitude to her.
Hodges said to the crowd, ``You are all my grandchildren, and half of my heart will always be in Korea.'' She lived almost 26 years in Korea before leaving in 1995 to move to Florida.
Her dedication in saving the lives of 3,017 young children has been inscribed in their minds, and will be an inspiration to readers of her biography, ``Mother at the Door: Thousands of Lives Saved by Harriet H. Hodges.''
The biography was written by her friends and supporters to show appreciation for her work and devotion. The publication of the book was also celebrated in the evening. Copies of the book are now available in bookstores.