Yoon Dong-seop, Director of Yonsei Medical Center, is viewing photos at the Everson Statue Photo Exhibition on the 1st. [Photo by Yonsei Medical Center]
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Yonsei University Medical Center announced on the 1st that it will hold a photo exhibition of the Evison statue under the theme "Still with Us Today" to commemorate the 130th anniversary of Dr. Oliver R. Avison, a pioneer of modern Korean medicine, visiting Korea.
The exhibition will be held until May at the Atrium on the 4th floor of the Severance Hospital General Building. Visitors can view photos that reveal the history of Dr. Avison's statue as well as photos capturing memories of Severance members with the statue.
Dr. Avison was born in June 1860 in Yorkshire, England. At the age of six, he emigrated with his family to Canada and grew up in Ontario. He graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, obtained his medical license in 1890, and worked as a pharmacology instructor while running a private clinic. Moved by a lecture by Underwood, a missionary of the Northern Presbyterian Church in the U.S., who visited the University of Toronto appealing for support for missionary activities in Korea, Dr. Avison was appointed as a medical missionary of the Northern Presbyterian Church in Korea in June 1892 with his family.
In November of the same year, Dr. Avison was appointed the 4th director of Jejungwon and served as a medical advisor to King Gojong. In 1899, he began medical education within Jejungwon, and in 1900, he attended the World Missionary Conference held in New York, USA, appealing for support for medical missions in Korea. At that time, he received a donation of $10,000 from Severance, a wealthy man from Cleveland, and used the funds to relocate Jejungwon to a new building in front of Namdaemun, renaming it Severance Hospital.
Dr. Avison established and operated a medical school within the hospital to develop modern medicine in Korea. In July 1908, he produced the first seven graduates, and in 1913, he led the participation of various Christian denominations in medical education, changing the school's name to Severance Union Medical School and creating a modern medical education environment. In addition, in 1906, he entrusted Dr. Shields with the Severance Nursing Training School to foster excellent nursing personnel, and in 1915, he invited Dr. Shepley, an American dental missionary, to initiate Korea's first modern dental education and treatment.
After the death of Underwood, the founder of Yonhi College, Dr. Avison served as the principal of both Severance Medical School and Yonhi College, contributing to the development of higher education in Korea. Later, the two schools merged to become today's Yonsei University. After retiring from missionary work in 1935, he returned to the United States and served as the secretary general and treasurer of the Christian Friends of Korea, advocating for the recognition of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and supporting the independence movement.
The statue of Dr. Avison was first erected in 1928, funded by donations from the Severance Union Medical School Alumni Association. However, during the Pacific War, Japan melted down the statue in 1942 to use the materials for military supplies. In 1966, Yonsei Medical Center faculty and students re-erected the statue to honor Dr. Avison, who devoted over 40 years to Korea and led the growth of Korean medicine and higher education.
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