[One Day One Thousand Characters] "Want to Heal Patients' Painful Hearts"... Doctors Who Became Essay Writers

"Doctors have many stories they cannot openly reveal. I tried to express the parts that moved me while seeing patients or the lessons I learned from them in a literary way through writing."

On the afternoon of the 5th at the Boryung headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Park Gwan-seok, director of Sinjeil Hospital, whom we met at the 'Boryung Doctor Essay Literature Award' ceremony, explained the reason he started writing essays like this. Director Park wrote essays about the emotions he felt while seeing patients and the lessons he learned from them. He became the grand prize winner of this year's essay literature award.

Director Park began seeing patients in Boryeong-si, Chungnam, in 2001. For over 20 years, he treated patients there and faced their lives. While treating patients in rural villages, he sometimes felt moved by their lives and gained valuable lessons from their actions. Although it was worth widely sharing through writing, as a doctor, he had to protect patients' privacy. So, he expressed the joys and sorrows he felt while meeting patients in the form of essays. The grand prize-winning work, "On Days When I Suddenly Miss That Scent," also contains memories of a day he saw a patient, using the motif of scent.

Director Park's immersion into the world of essay literature began when he encountered works by other doctors. Ten years ago, a sales representative from Boryung Pharmaceutical left behind a collection of works from the Doctor Essay Literature Award along with a pharmaceutical pamphlet, which caught his eye. As he read the collection without much thought, he gradually began to empathize with the stories told by the doctors in the works. That winter, he wrote and submitted his first essay and won a bronze prize. Since then, he has been captivated by the charm of essays and has been active as both a doctor and essayist. He has written over 50 essays to date.

Writing essays has also changed him. He began to treat patients with his 'heart.' Beyond the superficial relationship of doctor and patient, he became a 'doctor who treats people,' empathizing with their pain and genuinely trying to help. Director Park said, "As a doctor, I diagnose patients' illnesses, but I also look into how they have lived and what has hurt them more, and I comfort them," adding, "I think this is part of becoming a good doctor."

Director Park plans to continue writing essays in the future. His goal is to be a doctor who heals patients' aching hearts while working as both a doctor and essayist. He said, "In the past, I had the desire to cure diseases well and gain prestige from those around me, but now I want to be a doctor who listens to the story of one patient and helps them gain the strength to live," and added, "I want to be a doctor who thinks about how rewarding and valuable it is when a patient's heart is healed."

On the day of the award ceremony, Director Park, the grand prize winner, was presented with a plaque and a gold medal. With this grand prize, he will officially debut as a writer. His work will be published in the essay-specialized magazine 'Essay Literature.'

Meanwhile, the 'Boryung Doctor Essay Literature Award,' now in its 19th year, was first established in 2005 in Boryung to promote the meaning of respect for life and love through essays written directly by doctors. The award has served as a platform for medical professionals to debut as essayists and has produced 160 winners over the past 19 years.

At this award ceremony, in addition to Director Park's grand prize-winning work, the gold prize went to ▲ "Sweat Layer upon Layer" (Jo Seok-hyun, Nuga Gwangmyeong Clinic), the silver prize to ▲ "Dying at Thirty" (Lee Jin-hwan, Central Military Manpower Administration Medical Examination Office) and ▲ "Firecracker Grandma" (Joo Sae-han, Yangsan Hospital), and the bronze prize to ▲ "South Korean" (Jang Seong-man, Kyungpook National University Hospital), ▲ "Evening Glow" (Bae Cheol-seong, Pohang Women's Hospital), ▲ "Beyond the Boundary" (Jo Ji-hyun, National Medical Center), ▲ "Sunny and Suan" (Kim Cheol-hwan, Sae Seoul Clinic), and ▲ "Just Keep Dancing Tango" (Kim Yong-rae, Namyangju Paik Hospital), among others, who received the honor of awards.

Director Park Gwan-seok of Shin Jeil Hospital, the grand prize winner of the 19th Boryeong Medical Essay Literature Award.
[Photo by Boryeong]