In Memoriam... Dr. Bong Hak Hyun, LR05987... November 25, 2007
Dr. Bong Hak Hyun, MD, D.Sc., accomplished physician
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 11/27/07
EDISON -- Dr. Bong Hak Hyun, 85, died Sunday (Nov. 25 2007)
at Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield. Born on June 23, 1922 in Seongjin, Hamkyeong namdo, North
Korea, Dr. Hyun graduated from Yonsei University Medical School and received his D.Sc. from the University of
Pennsylvania Graduate School of Medicine.
He had practiced and taught medicine at Rutger's
University, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Thomas Jefferson Medical School and Ajou University in
ROK.
During the Korean War, Dr. Hyun served as civil affairs
advisor to Gen. Edward M. Almond, commanding general of the X Corps, U.S. Army. He conceived of the civilian
evacuation in Hamhung, North Korea. Together with Col. Edward Forney and Gen. Ned Almond, they planned a rescue
mission, which ultimately saved the lives of 100,000 refugees.
In 1999, the Korean Broadcasting Service produced a
documentary entitled "Korean Shindler, Dr. Hyun and the Hungnam Evacuation." He is also featured in the Military
Channel's program "Going Back, Korea," as well as "Arirang, Part II, The Korean American Dream," by Tom Coffman for
PBS.
Dr. Hyun was an active participant with the Korean American
Medical Association; American Society of Clinical Pathologists; New Jersey Society of Pathologists; International
Society of Hematology; American College of International Physicians; American Board of Pathology; College of
American Pathologists; American Journal of Clinical Pathologists; American Medical Association, Yonsei Medical
Journal, Korean-American Pathologists Association, First International Congress of Korean Physicians in Yanji,
China; First Conference of the Asian Bone Marrow Study Group in Fukuoka, Japan; Korean Society of Clinical
Pathology; United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia; Philip Jaisohn Memorial Foundation and Medical
Center; Harvard-Yenching Institute; KASCON; Committee for Korean SAT II; Korean Sharing Movement and International
Conference on Medical and Public Health Assistance Programs for North Korea.
He has published dozens of articles in Korean language
newspapers and journals; six books, 106 articles and more than 60 abstracts and editorials in the field of
hematology/hematopathology.
Dr. Hyun established the Dong-Ho (Prof. Yun, Il-Sun)
Memorial Pathology Award at Yonsei University Medical School, and has received numerous awards and citations from
organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Pathologists; Yonsei University Medical School; Korean
Medical Association; Seoul Metropolitan Government; Hungnam Women's Association; Michigan-Korean American Community
Services; and others.
In 1988, Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center, an affiliate
of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical Laboratories, named its Pathology Department the Dr. Bong Hak Hyun Clinical
Laboratories.
Dr. Hyun is survived by his wife, Sun Sook, and his four
children, Marian, Esther, Helen and Philip; along with five grandchildren, Josh, Ali, Kyle, Tyler and Sun-hwa.
Viewings will be held from noon to 2 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
today, followed by a 10 a.m. service Wednesday at the South Plainfield James W. Conroy Funeral Home, 2456 Plainfield
Ave., South Plainfield, (908) 756-2800. Memorial services in Philadelphia and New York City may be scheduled at a
later date. For more information, contact Esther Hyun at ehyun@mindspring.com re: Dr. Bong Hak Hyun.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dr. Hyun's
memory to the Muhlenberg Foundation, Park Avenue and Randolph Road, Plainfield, NJ 07061, (908) 668-2025.
(Posted 11/27/07) |