Seoul Children’s Relief Hospital, 1958

Dr. Wong Ok Ja examines one of the many babies in a ward located in the old section of the hospital. [PUBLISHED CAPTION: Nurses aid puts baby bottle for the noon feeding on a tray in the baby formula preparation room. The Seoul Children’s Relief Hospital has been a project of Western wives in Seoul, South Korea since 1955. Spearheaded by a 14-woman committee – seven Koreans and seven Westerners – the ladies have brought the once shabby poorly equipped hospital to the point where it now is considered superior to most private children’s hospitals in the city. Since 1955, the committee has raised $6,500 for the hospital and lent its influence to persuade Armed Forces Assistance to Korea (AFAK) to build a new wing on the building. The funds raised over the years have been used for everything from diapers and curtains to holiday parties for the children.
