Health and Welfare Ministry Deputy Minister's Pronunciation Mistake Used to Satirize Government
Doctors have started to call themselves 'Uisae' by posting images on social media (SNS) that combine doctors and birds or by changing their profile pictures to such images.
The controversy began when Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, mispronounced 'doctor' as 'Uisae' during a briefing. On the 19th of last month, Park said in a briefing, "While Germany, France, and Japan are increasing medical school quotas, doctors have never engaged in collective action in opposition," but the word 'doctor' was heard as 'Uisae,' a derogatory term for doctors, according to the medical community. The Korean Medical Association (KMA) criticized this in a statement, and one medical professional even filed a police complaint against the vice minister.
Doctors responded by embracing the 'Uisae' label to satirize the government. The images vary widely. Some show sparrows, seagulls, and owls wearing doctor’s coats performing consultations and surgeries, while others depict birds in doctor’s coats handcuffed in front of emergency rooms.
One such image was accompanied by the comment, "Essential medical Uisae chose essential medicine to save lives, but even without negligence, they face criminal punishment if outcomes are poor, ultimately ending up in prison." Another person posted an image filled with numerous birds in a hospital room, writing, "I’ll try writing one word too. After decades of hard work and still studying... probably a lifelong study until death... the vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare calls us 'Uisae.'"
Not only individuals but also organizations joined the satire. The Young Doctors Association posted a 'Uisae' image on their Instagram story on the 22nd of last month, describing the period of mass resident doctor departures as a 'break time.' When asked, "What will you do during your break?" responses included "diet" and "go to the military doctor friend’s workplace to make them quit."
Criticism has also arisen that amid a medical crisis where patients’ lives are at risk, doctors are fixated on exaggerating and mocking a simple mispronunciation. Terms like 'Uijubin,' likening doctors to criminals from the Nth Room case, and 'Uimas,' comparing them to Hamas, which massacred civilians in Israel, have even appeared.
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