Doctor Jung’s bedside manner

Thanks to the further development of democratization in the early 2000s, citizens’ sovereignty has been greatly enhanced. This phenomenon has encouraged citizens to claim and seek their rights. As an example, the number of medical disputes has risen exponentially.

Since the SARS epidemic in 2002, outbreaks of global infectious diseases have occurred regularly — most recently the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the heightened sensitivities of citizens has caused the government to develop various policies, including expanding the number of doctors and the availability of public medical facilities.

The Moon Jae-in administration in 2020 and the Yoon Suk Yeol government in 2024 tried to establish these systems, but they failed to do so because of the doctors’ union. It cannot be denied that the failure was due to the selfish attitude of doctors.

There is a phrase in the Hippocratic oath that says doctors should put the health and life of the patient first. In other words, the purpose of a doctor’s existence is to take care of patients. In that regard, the union’s attitude is regrettable. However, I will share the example of one physician, Doctor Jung Hae-young, 54, whose treatment is in keeping with the Hippocratic oath.

As he became a doctor at the age of 41, Jung was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He asked himself whether he would be the type of man who would be remembered by someone, but his answer was no. Instead, he realized that if he faithfully served as a doctor, patients would remember him and decided to become one who would give his patients happiness and health.

He opened a medical clinic in a traditional market in Yeonggwang County, South Jeolla Province. His first goal for managing the clinic was to create a comfortable environment where both doctor and patients would feel like a family.

First, the doctor arranged his examination room in an open style. To accommodate the slow actions of elderly patients, he had two treatment tables built on the left and right with the doctor between them. By doing so, he had enough time to listen to patients’ opinions and was able to treat them. As a result, he came to be known as an excellent doctor.

In addition, he furnished the clinic with "ondol" (traditional Korean underfloor heating system) in cold weather and arranged a cool lounge in hot weather. Most of his patients were farmers in their 50s to their 90s. Calling them “papa” or “mom,” Jung treated them while wearing casual clothes instead of a doctor’s jacket. When his patients didn’t come to the clinic, he would visit their homes with gifts and tools to fix the house. When they died, he paid his respects at the funeral.

The patients were touched by the doctor’s heartfelt treatment and benevolence. They voluntarily visited the clinic before the doctor arrived, warmed and cleaned the building and prepared meals with rice and side dishes. Moreover, they often brought bean soup, rice cakes or vegetables that the doctor shared with his neighbors or patients.

Jung’s role as a faithful doctor for his patients gave joy and hope to that village. In a society where personal desire prevails, their communal life tells us what our society is asking for. They present a role model for a community where people donate their talents to live together rather than maintaining a formal doctor-patient relationship.

Kim Jin-heon is a retired English teacher who published a book titled, "Flower Is Flower."