[Other] Ewha Alumna with Noble Ideals Who Leads Life for the Socially Disadvantaged
- Date2020.06.17
- 4916
The 18th Pride of Ewha Awards were presented to Choi Young-ae (Department of Christian Studies, graduating class of 1974) and Choi Young-ah (Department of Medicine, graduating class of 1995). Choi Young-ae is the 8th chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea and has worked hard for women’s rights, being involved in a feminist movement. Choi Young-ah who is the director of Mother House and works for Seoul City Seobuk Hospital as an internist has been devoting her whole life to poor and marginalized homeless people, treating them as much as to be called as “Schweitzer of Seoul Station.” Both alumnae are truly “proud Ewhaians” who have put their fame and prestige behind and led their life for the socially underprivileged. They are giving out light in the low and vulnerable places of our society where help and improvement are most needed in accordance with academic knowledge they learned at Ewha and its spirt of sharing.
“We often think that being socially disadvantaged is someone else’s problem, but that’s not true. One day I can be socially underprivileged as the disabled or the elderly, and so can my family or someone I like. Being considerate to the socially disadvantaged is not being beneficent to strangers but a wise way of life that allows us all to lead a happy life.” - Choi Young-ae, the 8th chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea
The sexist culture and expressions and hostility against feminism that have been going viral online over the past couple of years have become social phenomenon. Many of the younger generation, in their 10s and 20s in particular, believe that sexual discrimination is a problem of older generations and has been resolved greatly in comparison to the past. But discrimination issues including sexism cannot be regarded in the level of individual experiences, but should be viewed in a perspective of social structure. The issue of gender discrimination is still ongoing, which includes; a wage gap between men and women, the proportion of female promotion or high public office positions, feminization of poverty, severe dating abuse, which even coined an expression “safe breakup”, gendered violence including sexual assaults, patriarchal marriage system, career break due to pregnancy and childbirth, and the way women’s body and image is consumed in mass culture.
Choi Young-ae, a female activist who has toiled for expanding female rights with awareness of a problem regarding female human rights, established Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center and made a lifetime effort for the women’s rights movement, starting from helping sexual violence victims. She is leading the way in setting up a system to promote human rights of the socially disadvantaged as the 8th chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.
Awareness of human rights and inequality issues sprouts at Ewha
Choi Young-ae pondered upon the existence of human beings standing in front of God while studying Christian studies as an undergraduate, and realized that all humans are respectful beings resembling the image of God and that “love of Jesus” towards social minorities and the disadvantaged is the core message of Christianity. To put her thoughts into action while still in college, she participated in the movements for democracy and developed the sensitivity and responsibility for scenes where human rights were infringed. Her interests in women’s issues first arose when studying in the U.S. Women’ rights as well as anti-racism and black human right movements recorded in American history drew her attention, in particular. In the turbulent period of 80s when Minjung theology, which was inspired by the one in South America, and the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Movement arose, women’s studies took long strides in the U.S., and Choi naturally grew interests in studying women’s studies. She then heard the news that the Department of Women’s Studies was established at Ewha, came back to Korea in 1985, and began studying women’s studies in September of that year after giving birth to her third child. “That was the turning point of my life when I recall it now,” she recalled.
While studying women’s studies, she learned the new paradigm to look at the world in “the eyes of women”, and felt something stuck in her mind unclogged. While dealing with a subject of sexuality for the first time in the study, she learned how oppressively it works on women, and that became her primary interest. Women’s rights are rights that guarantee women to have an equivalent opportunity for being educated and getting a job and to be evenly respected as a human being. The theme of her master’s thesis was “discriminative status of female ecclesiastics in the Church,” which was a subject reflecting both perspectives of theology and women’s studies. While writing her thesis, she became determined to work in the practical field for equal rights for women after graduation.
Commitment in the front line of the extension of women’s rights
Choi Young-ae established Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center in 1991 and has been playing a substantial role in promoting women’s rights in Korean society, starting a campaign against sexual violence. A variety of sexual violence-related laws such as Sexual Violence Prevention and Victims Protection Act in early 2000s and the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace have been legislated, which led to abolition of an offense subject to complaint after the year of 2010, and abolishment of the statute of limitations against sexual violence towards child victims under the age of thirteen. Certain level of social infrastructure was built such as the government running 24-hour service “1366 helpline for women” and 168 sexual violence relief centers nationwide.
She has successfully filled various posts including a director of Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, a chairperson of Special Committee on Sexual Violence, a representative of Women’s Human Rights Defenders, a director of Seoul Foundation of Women and Family, and a co-president of Korea Peace Forum. Alumna Choi, who has walked a path for women’s human rights, assumed the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in 2018 and carries forward policies such as resolving hatred and discrimination, dealing with polarization and social safety net issues, strengthening human rights advocacy partnerships, and communication and cooperation with human rights and civic groups. “I find it rewarding that I was able to cultivate a critical mind on inequality issues and grow sensitivity about human rights while studying at Ewha and involving in social activities. I will continue to exert myself to protect basic rights of women and eliminate discrimination,” she added.
“What I realized while treating socially vulnerable patients is that you cannot resolve the issue of illness unless the necessities of life is taken care of. Some say ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ In order to help one homeless person, refugee, or disabled person to lead a decent life and be rehabilitated, it takes a village and loads of time. It is difficult to look after everyone who needs help, but I want to lend my support even for only one or two of them to turn over a new leaf.” - Choi Young-ah, the director of Mother House and works for Seoul City Seobuk Hospital as an internist
An internist who has committed herself to give free treatment to those who are too poor to be benefitted from health insurance and the homeless who are put into a social blind spot of social welfare safety net and to settle fundamental issues for their existence. Ewha alumna Choi Young-ah is often named as Schweitzer of Seoul Station. When she was a middle school student, she saw the homeless while walking on the underpass of Seoul Station on her way to church, whose houses were demolished or redeveloped. Then she took a deep interest in life and illness of the underprivileged while serving free food to homeless people in Cheongnyangri when she was in the second year of pre-med. Choi began to carry out free medical treatment for socially disadvantaged patients together with late Dr. Sunwoo Kyungshik at Joseph Clinic in Yeongdeungpo right after acquiring an internist license in 2001. From Dail Angel’s Hospital to Joseph Hospital, Dasiseogi Hospital, Doti Hospital, and the Seoul City Seobuk Hospital, every hospital she has worked for is always a place to practice love at the lowest place, treating and helping the socially disadvantaged such as the homeless, refugees, and foreign workers with disabilities.
Poverty creates insecurity of food, clothing, and shelter
The insecurity of food, clothing, and shelter caused by poverty is the biggest problem in treating socially disadvantaged people. Such insecurity of necessities of life and the issue of unstable family cause many problems repeatedly to the homeless, refugees, orphans, and so on. Most of them are reluctant to receive medical treatment because they do not want to live on or are afraid of dying, which makes it difficult for them to get continuous treatment. Poverty, lack of life’s necessity, and absence of family are fundamental reasons for mental and physical problems. Add to this, repeated bad habits caused by anxiety and discouragement become the causes of many diseases. Anyone, not necessarily homeless, who has no family, keeps irregular hours, and repeats unhealthy habits is susceptible to chronic illness. After all, many diseases are repeated and become chronic due to insecure life's necessities, mental problems, and repetitive habits.
In the past, many people died on the road untreated, but now many lives can be saved if they are taken to a hospital. The death rate has dropped significantly, but the problem is that unbreakable addiction causes repeated hospitalization, which leads to disorder and organ failure. Compared to the time when alumna Choi first started medical service 20 years ago, the current Korean medical system has changed a lot. In particular, the medical system for the vulnerable has been greatly improved. Since 2004, homeless people can be diagnosed, hospitalized, and medicated free of charge at many municipal hospitals in Seoul if they go to homeless counseling centers located at Seoul Station and Yeongdeungpo Station to have consultation session, proving themselves as the homeless. Foreign workers can take up workplace medical insurance thanks to the revised policy, and refugees can also get local medical insurance as soon as they enter Korea, all of which showcase improvement of Korea’s medical system. Furthermore, people strive to raise funds through the donation of private organizations and pull budget from municipal hospitals and social welfare departments at university hospitals for the medical expense of the socially disadvantaged.
Alumna Choi, Mother and Doctor of the Underprivileged
Choi has been running the Mother House since 2012 to provide patients from the vulnerable class with a ground of rehabilitation as learning from her years of medical service that their lives cannot be saved simply by treating their illness. Mother House is a place that provides support for the vulnerable so that they can live a life of independence, and manages free treatment for homeless people in public hospitals. Furthermore, in 2016, she also created RSNET (Restoration Sharing Network), a non-profit corporation, to provide the socially underprivileged with a congregate housing.
Choi has a belief that a doctor should treat people with many illnesses, and treating patients dying of pain becomes a calling and driving force of her life. Pointing out that it was schoolmates at Ewha who helped her and worked together, Choi sent warm words of advice to Ewha students, saying “I think making friends who share dreams and visions together is more important than studying and obtaining certificates during school years.”