Choi Young-wook

Life

Choi Young-wook was born in 1891 in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province. Sources write his name in Chinese characters as either 崔泳旭 or 崔永旭. His half-brother was the Rev. Choi Heung-jong, an early Christian leader in the Gwangju area. He is said to have studied medicine at Severance, and one record states that he graduated from an American medical school.

On June 20, 1918, Choi married the educator Kim Pil-rye. At the time he was working as a physician at the Gwangju Jejungwon (now Gwangju Christian Hospital). After their marriage, the couple went to a Korean settlement in Qiqihar, China, to do medical work. According to accounts, they soon returned when his mother fell ill and then settled in Gwangju. He later ran Seoseok Hospital in Gwangju.

Korea was liberated in 1945, and U.S. forces then arrived in South Jeolla Province. Under the U.S. Army Military Government, Choi was appointed the province's first deputy governor, a position that assisted the governor. In 1946, when the military government began appointing Koreans as provincial governors, he became governor of South Jeolla Province. After leaving the governorship, he returned to running his hospital. In 1947 he became president of the Honam Sinmun newspaper.

In 1950, during the Korean War, he was captured by the Korean People's Army and imprisoned in Gwangju Prison, where he was killed. Sources differ on the date of his death. One record states that he was shot on August 30, while a missionary's letter states that he died on September 25.

Ministry and Achievements

• Medical mission work: He worked as a physician at the Gwangju Jejungwon, a hospital founded by the mission of the Southern Presbyterian Church in the United States. He later went into private practice.
• Gwangju YMCA: While practicing medicine, he served as president of the Gwangju YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association). Through this role he took part in the local Christian youth movement.
• Support for Hansen's disease facilities: Early in the military government period, the province took over the management of Sorokdo and Aeyangwon from the South Jeolla Police Association, which had been operating them. He is said to have actively supported entrusting their operation to Dr. Wilson, a missionary physician in Gwangju.

Influence on the Korean Church

The Choi family stood at the center of the Christian community in Gwangju before and after liberation. Its leading figures were Choi, his half-brother the Rev. Choi Heung-jong, and his wife Kim Pil-rye. According to accounts, Choi became governor after Kim Cheon-bae, a leader in Gwangju society, yielded the position to him and recommended him. This is cited as an example of Christian intellectuals entering public office in the Honam region during the liberation period.

Kim Pil-rye was elected president of the national federation of the Presbyterian Women's Missionary Society in 1950. At the time of her husband's death, she was in the United States as Korea's representative to a women's missionary society convention of the Northern Presbyterian Church. She returned in 1951.

Assessment

A letter written on October 22, 1950, by the missionary Florence Root survives. According to the letter, three Christians who had been imprisoned with Choi told his mother that "he repented and died a true Christian."

Accounts of his life survive mainly in biographies of Kim Pil-rye and in local historical sources. Few studies have focused on him specifically. Details such as his education and the date of his death also vary among sources and require further verification. This review found no scholarly assessment or critique that deals specifically with his public service during the military government period.