Korean Couple Honored for Medical Service in Zimbabwe

Kang Dong-won (강동원), 57, the head of the Africa Future Foundation in Zimbabwe, and Jeon Jin-kyung (전진경), 55, a medical director, first met as seniors and juniors at Yonsei University College of Medicine. They bonded over their involvement in a medical volunteer club. After getting married, they aimed to provide medical assistance in developing countries but had to prepare for their future while working as a pharmacology professor and a clinical assistant professor in pediatrics at different medical schools. In 2012, after 15 years of marriage, the couple left Korea to pursue their medical mission and has been practicing in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, for the past 13 years.

On July 22, JW Pharmaceutical's public foundation, the JW Lee Jong-ho Foundation, announced that the couple has been selected as the recipients of the '2025 JW Seongcheon Award.' This award was established in 2012 by the late Lee Jong-ho, the honorary chairman of JW Pharmaceutical, to honor medical professionals who dedicate themselves quietly to their work in the field.

Since being appointed as unpaid professors at the University of Zimbabwe's College of Health Sciences in 2013, the couple has contributed to training over 4,000 local healthcare workers. Jeon Jin-kyung, a pediatric specialist, has also treated underprivileged children at health centers near Harare. They have worked on improving systems, including providing nutritional support for nursing mothers and facilitating medical exchanges with Korean healthcare professionals.

The couple expressed, "The greatest reward is seeing our patients' health improve. We are also happy to see our students making changes in the local healthcare environment." They noted that currently, eight out of ten national hospitals in Zimbabwe employ their former students as pediatric specialists. Looking ahead, they aspire to train medical missionaries who can serve and teach in other regions of Africa.