Esther Park

Esther Park , born Kim Jeom-dong (; March 16, 1876 or 1877 – April 13, 1910), was a Korean physician; she was the first Korean woman to practice Western medicine in the country.

Early life Kim Jeom-dong was born on March 16, 1876 (or, according to other sources - March 16, 1877 or 1879) in the Seoul district of Jeong-dong, she was the third of four daughters. Kim's father worked for American missionary Henry Appenzeller. In 1886, he sent his daughter to study at the Ewha Girls' School founded by Mary F. Scranton. Kim's parents allowed her to study under two conditions: she was forbidden to go to the United States, and to leave school prior to marriage.

Kim was a good student, particularly good at English. When American missionary doctor Rosetta Sherwood Hall visited the school, Kim was asked to work as her interpreter.

Study and career Rosetta Sherwood Hall introduced Kim to Pak Yusan , who worked with her husband, and on May 24, 1893, Kim Jeom-dong married him at the first Western-style wedding ceremony between Koreans in Korea.

Esther Pak graduated from a one-year school in New York where she studied Latin, physics and mathematics. Her husband supported Pak's medical education, but he died from tuberculosis, half a year before her graduation.

In 2006, the Korean Academy of Sciences inducted Esther Park to the Korean Science and Technology Hall of Fame.

In 2008, the Ewha University Alumni Committee established the Esther Park Medal, which recognizes the merit of women who graduated from the university and became doctors.