Lee Bang Weon
Ewha Womans University, College of Medicine.
Uisahak. 2007 Dec;16(2):193-213.
Esther K. Pak (1876-1910) is believed as the first medical doctor in Korea. Esther's life can be largely reviewed in three parts: school-hood at EwhaHaktang (currently Ewha Womans University), Education in the United States, and medical missionary work after coming back to Korea from the United States. The foreign Methodist missionaries was able to enter Korea after opening of its ports and establishing its diplomatic relationship with the United States. Esther met modern sciences and Christianity at EwhaHaktang, which was founded by those missionaries. She could dream of being an American-style medical doctor in the future, while she assisted medical missionaries at PoKuNyoKwan in EwhaHaktang. She could get substantial academic help from those missionaries. With the support of Dr. Rosetta Sherwood Hall, who first introduced the world of medial science to Esther in a real sense, Esther went to the United States to study the field in 1894. While learning it, she suffered from academic frustration, economic difficulty, her husband's death and so on, but she eventually got over those adversities and completed the four years of academic courses to become a medical doctor. Her religious faith and will to help Koreans as a doctor encouraged her to finish what she had originally planned. Esther came back to Korea in 1900 and began to work earnestly as a medical missionary delegated from Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. At PoKuNyoKwan in Seoul and Woman's Hospital in Pyongyang, She performed medical work and enlightenment campaign against the superstitious healing conduct. Esther also took part in the circuit missionary performances. She devoted herself for evangelical work at Bible Institute as well. Esther's activity made people understand the effectiveness of education. She helped people to recognize education for woman, occidental medical treatment and Christianity in a positive way. On April 28, 1909, based on these excellent performances for the social development, she was invited, honored and granted a testimonial at the first welcoming ceremony, which was held by the united body of civilians and officials, for students studying abroad. But on April 13, 1910, about one year after the ceremony, she died of illness. She was 34. Although she was born at the turbulent last period of Korea Empire and lived for only 34 years, Esther's medical missionary work was evaluated as the opening of woman's participation in medical science in Korea. Not only in the 'woman's' but also in 'whole' field of medical science, her performance left significant marks in woman's and Christian history in Korea as well.
埃丝特·K·帕克（1876 - 1910）被认为是韩国首位女医生。埃丝特的一生大致可分为三个阶段：在梨花学堂（现为梨花女子大学）的求学时光、在美国的学习经历，以及从美国回到韩国后的医疗传教工作。随着韩国港口开放并与美国建立外交关系，外国卫理公会传教士得以进入韩国。埃丝特在由这些传教士创办的梨花学堂接触到了现代科学和基督教。她在协助梨花学堂宝光院的医疗传教士时，梦想着未来成为一名美式医生。她从这些传教士那里获得了大量学术帮助。在罗塞塔·舍伍德·霍尔博士的支持下，埃丝特于1894年前往美国学习医学领域知识。罗塞塔·舍伍德·霍尔博士真正意义上首次向埃丝特介绍了医学世界。在学习过程中，她遭遇了学业挫折、经济困难、丈夫离世等诸多困境，但她最终克服了这些逆境，完成了四年的学业课程，成为了一名医生。她的宗教信仰以及作为医生帮助韩国人的意愿鼓励她完成了最初的计划。1900年，埃丝特回到韩国，开始作为妇女海外传教协会委派的医疗传教士认真工作。在首尔的宝光院和平壤的女子医院，她开展医疗工作，并针对迷信疗法进行启蒙运动。埃丝特还参加巡回传教活动。她也在圣经学院致力于福音传教工作。埃丝特的活动让人们认识到教育的有效性。她帮助人们以积极的方式认识到女子教育、西医治疗和基督教。1909年4月28日，基于她为社会发展所做出的这些杰出贡献，她在由平民和官员联合举办的首届欢迎留学生归国仪式上受到邀请、获得荣誉并被授予嘉奖。但在仪式举行约一年后的1910年4月13日，她因病去世，年仅34岁。尽管她出生在大韩帝国动荡的末期，仅活了34年，但埃丝特的医疗传教工作被视为韩国女性参与医学领域的开端。不仅在“女性”医学领域，而且在整个医学领域，她的表现都在韩国女性史和基督教史上留下了重要印记。
