Rest in peace, Dr. Joo

“To me, he was Jesus and the Buddha. He showed what a real doctor should be. Great and excellent cannot fully describe his talent. He was someone who truly cared about the sufferings of patients. He is irreplaceable…” This is some of the memories shared by his colleagues, junior doctors, patients and their families after the sudden death of Joo Seok-joong, a cardiac surgeon at Seoul Asan Medical Center.

Joo died on June 16 near the hospital from a car accident. He was on his way to his home nearby the hospital after an urgent surgery. He had also finished an emergency surgery until dawn on the previous day. Treating patients for 30 years, Joo is unrivalled in fixing issues with the aorta, the largest artery in the body. He saved many lives that other doctors had given up on.

It is not just his skills that earned him his reputation. He lived near the hospital so that he could come immediately for an emergency call. He even practiced using chopsticks with his left hand to better use it at the operation table. Although he had to live with fatigue and tension, he gained strength when patients’ conditions improved. He was a doctor who had skills, passion, and compassion.

In one poignant moment, citizens who had not known him joined the parade of mourning and respect. His funeral room was flooded with visitors. His loss comes amid a dire shortage of doctors causing patients deaths despite the flood of elite students in medical schools.

Cardiology is a field shunned by young doctors. The withdrawal by doctors-in-training is at a peak of 15 percent. Young would-be doctors turn away from the department as it is a life-and-death emergency and requires lengthy and complicate surgeries. It is the most-shunned field along with obstetrics-gynecology and pediatrics in Korea.

At his memorial address, his colleague hoped Joo would rest peacefully in heaven without waking up in the middle of night for an emergency call. It shows how selflessly he led his life. In the hospital’s journal eight year ago, he wrote that all his hardship was washed away after a patient miraculously recovered.

“Even without a personal life, I am thankful for my life. I like to tell my juniors seeking an answer for the uncertain future. Do what you really want.” Doctors, doctors-in-training, and all young people studying to be doctors must remember these words. We are grateful for the greatness he shared in this life and wish him eternal peace across the river.