37th Asan Award Honors Director Jeong Chunsil for 25 Years of Medical Service in Africa

Medical Service Award Presented to Kim Woonghan, Professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine

The Asan Social Welfare Foundation announced on September 23 that Jeong Chunsil, director of St. Teresa Clinic in Kenya, has been selected as the winner of the 37th Asan Award. For 25 years, she has dedicated herself to ensuring that approximately 800,000 local residents in clinics and hospitals in Kenya and Malawi receive medical care.

The 37th Asan Award recipient, Jeong Chunsil, director of St. Teresa Clinic (right), is taking a commemorative photo with patients from underserved areas in Kenya. Asan Social Welfare Foundation

Director Jeong, who chose the path of a nun to help those in need, obtained her nursing qualification in the United Kingdom in 1999. The following year, in 2000, she began her life in Africa and has since devoted herself to serving low-income and marginalized residents suffering from illness and poverty in Kenya and Malawi.

In Kenya, she led the establishment and operation of St. Teresa Clinic in impoverished areas lacking any medical facilities. In Malawi, as the head of Mthengo wa Ntenga Hospital, she established medical and administrative systems and provided high-quality medical services. She also carried out medical volunteer work and relief activities for residents in underserved areas, bringing hope to the local communities.

The Medical Service Award was given to Kim Woonghan, a professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine, who has performed free heart surgeries for 844 children with congenital heart disease in 17 countries-including China, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and Ethiopia-over the past 26 years, and has trained over 3,000 local medical professionals.

The Social Service Award was given to the couple Kim Hyunil and Kim Okran, who have worked for 27 years to help marginalized neighbors achieve self-reliance by operating the free meal center “Bahabapjip” for the homeless and the “Blue Whale Recovery Center” for isolated and reclusive youth.

The award ceremony will be held on November 25 at Seoul Asan Medical Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The Grand Prize winner, Director Jeong Chunsil, will receive a prize of 300 million won, while Professor Kim Woonghan, winner of the Medical Service Award, and the couple Kim Hyunil and Kim Okran, winners of the Social Service Award, will each receive 200 million won.

Additionally, 15 winners in the Welfare Practice, Volunteer Service, and Filial Piety & Family categories will each receive 20 million won. In total, 18 recipients (including organizations) across six categories will be awarded a combined 1 billion won.

The Asan Social Welfare Foundation established the Asan Award in 1989 to encourage individuals or organizations who have devoted themselves to helping those in need or practicing filial piety. Committees composed of experts from various fields conduct comprehensive reviews of candidates’ achievements to select the awardees.