In Yo-han, a professor at Yonsei University School of Medicine, is being interviewed by this newspaper at Severance Hospital in Seoul on the 19th. Professor In said, “Korean politics has not developed much compared to the national level,” and added, “Aren’t they just doing stupid things using Jeolla-do language?” /Reporter Lee Deok-hoon
In Yo-han (64, John Linton), a professor at Yonsei University School of Medicine, was born in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do and has been working as the director of the International Medical Center at Severance Hospital for 32 years since 1991. Professor In’s family has been engaged in missionary, medical, and educational activities in Korea for four generations since the end of the Joseon Dynasty, and for this contribution, he became ‘Korea’s first special naturalized person’ in 2012. Regarding Korean politics, Professor In said, “Aren’t they just doing nonsense using Jeolla-do language?” He also emphasized that the ruling party must come down to the level of the public and the opposition party must abandon their illusions about North Korea. Regarding the rumor of recruiting the People Power Party, Professor In said, “If I were to go into politics, I would like to make the People Power Party the president of Jeolla Province.”
-Last August, at the People Power Party lecture, you became a hot topic by kneeling down and shaking hands with Rep. Lee Jong-seong, who was in a wheelchair.
“During the lecture, I swore a lot at the lawmakers. ‘The country comes first. He said, ‘Don’t fight politically.’ The younger generation is tired of political strife. After the lecture, a member of the People Power Party came to the parking lot and said, ‘You said all the things we couldn’t say.’ You know it yourself. In the eyes of the public, politics only does the wrong things. Aren’t Jeolla-do just doing stupid things with their words? Kneeling became a hot topic? That day, I asked the congressman to change the ambulance-related law. “
Politics that cannot be resolved even by revising the ambulance law
-What kind of request is this?
“Currently, CPR cannot be performed in Korean ambulances. The car is too short and the design is a mess. I need to intubate someone from the back of the head, but there is no space to put the device in. This is an issue that requires a change in the law, so I asked several members of the Democratic Party and the People Power Party, but nothing has changed. I heard you were moved by me kneeling. What do you mean? “If you want to talk about something, isn’t it natural to be at the other person’s level?”
-Politics only brings disappointment to the people.
“Politics has not developed compared to the national level. Aren’t we just fighting like a war of attrition? I talked about ambulances earlier, but it is serious that even these people’s livelihood problems cannot be solved. Maybe it’s because the Korean word “compromise” has a connotation of losing to the other person, but I’m not good at compromise. It’s okay for lawmakers to fight. “But isn’t what the people want is to fight and come out with a compromise?”
-There are many national challenges, such as low birth rate.
“Korea is a great country. We’re underestimating that we’re the only ones sleeping. I have been to North Korea 29 times with humanitarian aid, and when I land in Incheon or Gimpo, tears suddenly start flowing and I feel like kissing the ground. I think, ‘Our ancestors protected this land and freedom and lived together with Koreans.’ There was something that impressed foreign missionaries during the enlightenment period. The common people love their country so much. Koreans’ patriotism and compassion are the best in the world. “They are so smart, but they keep each other in check and fight.”
Because it’s a small country, regionalism needs to stop now.
-I heard that you are from Suncheon and that you respect former President Kim Dae-jung.
“oh! Suncheon, the center of the universe. i love you. I was a so-called ‘radical progressive’ who served as an interpreter for the militia in Gwangju in the 1980s. I wasn’t a leftist, but I thought, ‘I wish democracy could be established in this land.’ Then, during the Chun Doo-hwan era, the police followed me around for two years and I suffered a lot. One time, I had a private meeting with President Kim Dae-jung, and I said, ‘We need to catch all of Chun Doo-hwan,’ and the President said, ‘Director In, revenge is a terrible thing.’ That day, I received a 30-minute lecture from Mandela (former South African President). “I was once again surprised when I saw that President Kim had Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo sit at the inauguration ceremony.”
-How was the Democratic Party government after that?
“My perception of the Democratic Party, which I loved, has changed since President Roh Moo-hyun. I once gave a 15-minute lecture to President Roh. President Roh said, ‘If we do well, won’t North Korea give up its nuclear weapons?’ So I said, ‘President, I have been to every province in North Korea. I am extremely poor. You have nothing to deal with us. Even if I were in their shoes, I would create a nuclear weapon.’ With his face red, he puts a cigarette in his mouth and turns his back. I thought I would be kicked out of Korea during the Gwangju Uprising, and I was worried about being kicked out even then. This is the illusion of the Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations. This romantic idea of the South over the North is the problem.”
-What about the government and ruling party?
“I think the ruling party needs to be a little more diverse. Now I’m staying near the Nakdong River. I would like to ask them to come down further to the public’s level. I think the direction of government policy is correct. However, I understand that there are many opinions that the methodology and delivery method need improvement. Also, I hope that we can get a lot from the United States by making strong demands, whether it be car batteries or semiconductors. “So that we don’t hear people say that being close to the U.S. is not practical.”
-How should inter-Korean relations be resolved?
“In my personal opinion, I think there is a need to sit down and talk one-on-one with the Korean people. But now the situation has gone too far. I think people are tired of the Moon Jae-in administration’s failure in North Korea relations. “One thing I want to emphasize is that even if you hate the regime, you should not hate the North Korean people.”
-National integration is also slowing down.
“Oh my, I still cry when I go down to Gwangju. North Korea intervened in the Gwangju Democratization Movement, and there are still some who think that it is a communist, and I interpreted the speech of the representative of the citizen army at that time. The first words of the speech were, ‘I’m going crazy because they’re calling us commies. “We sing our national anthem and shout anti-communist slogans every day.”
-What do you think of Gwangju Jeongyulseong Park?
“The ideology of those who participated in the independence movement before the founding of the Republic of Korea must be broadly recognized. However, those who participated in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and harassed us must be excluded from the list, no matter how great they are. Honoring the person who created the North Korean military song in Gwangju would make the people of Gwangju misunderstood. “I think the mayor of Gwangju (who promoted the park) made a mistake.”
We shouldn’t hate North Koreans either.
-There is a story about recruitment from the People Power Party.
“Nothing has been decided yet. I have received offers to run twice in the past. However, if I were to go into politics, the Democratic Party produced two presidents of Gyeongsang Province, so I would like to make the People Power Party the president of Jeolla Province. Why are there regional feelings in this small country? It really has to stop now. So many people have sacrificed to create our country. There are people like General Baek Sun-yup, the anti-Japanese struggle, and even the Gwangju Uprising.”
-Jeolla Province President, did you have yourself in mind?
“no. “I have already received so many benefits from Korea.”
☞In Yohan
Born in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do in 1959. He is a descendant of the Linton family, which has been providing missionary, educational, and medical services since the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Eugene Bell, an American Presbyterian missionary, visited Joseon in 1895 and conducted missionary and educational work, and William Linton (Indon), who married his daughter, is Professor In’s grandfather. His father, Hugh Linton (Inhu), participated in the Korean War, and Professor In’s maternal uncle also participated in the Battle of Jangjin Reservoir. He graduated from Yonsei University and passed the Korean Medical Examination National Examination in 1987. Since 1991 he has been Director of the International Medical Center at Severance Hospital. He received Korean nationality in 2012 as the first person to receive special naturalization. He visited North Korea 29 times to provide medical support.
2023-10-20 18:12:32
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