The 18th “Hanmi True Medical Personnel Award” ceremony, jointly established by Hanmi Pharm and the Seoul Medical Association, was held at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul on Dec. 2.
About 200 guests attended this year's award ceremony, including officials from the Yonsei Medical Center's Medical Mission Center, the Korea Buddhist Research Association, the Korean Medical Association, the Seoul Medical Association, and Hanmi Pharm.
Since its launch in Mongolia in 1993, the award-winning medical missionary center at Yonsei Medical Center has carried out medical missionary projects such as inviting and treating hard-to-cure patients in underdeveloped countries such as Vietnam, which does not receive medical benefits.
It has also been providing training on international health, such as the Global Health Leadership Program, for Korean students at medical and dental colleges and universities.
It also opened Yonsei Friendship Hospital in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and has been conducting various exchanges for medical development, including the dispatch of medical professors, summer medical service and the Ebison Project, a training program for medical personnel in underdeveloped countries.
"I just did what I had to do, but I'm embarrassed to get a big award," said Park Jin-yong, director of the Center for Medical Missionary Center, who was presented as the winner. "I want to express my gratitude to all the people who gave me encouragement and prayers, including faculty members and supporters."
The award was established in 2002 with the aim of discovering doctors or medical volunteer groups who are doing medical services silently in the background and marked the 18th anniversary this year. This year's award groups received 15 million won in prize money and prizes, respectively.