Blocking educational access to stigmatized children in 1969... and today

This week the Joongang Daily and Korea Expose reported on a September 5 meeting where residents in Gangseo-gu clashed over the conversion of a closed school into a school for the disabled, with some residents opposing it because they claimed having such a school nearby would bring down housing prices. The Joongang Daily also posted this video:



I couldn't help but note the location, since it is near where I lived for years. The closed school is Gongjin Elementary School, which appears on the map below as 'B,' where it stands beside the Home Plus near Exit 1 of Gayang Station on Line 9. A new iteration of the school has recently been built in the Magok-dong development (marked as 'A' on the map).

Beyond my dismay at such views being voiced just down the road from my old neighbourhood, this brings to light the way in which certain groups are discriminated against and the stigma that is to be found at the heart of this. While, as reported here, a few were blunt about their bigotry, such as the resident who shouted "The disabled should all be boxed into one place," I get the feeling that some might feel that it is acceptable to blame housing prices, because then they can claim the source of their concern is not discrimination, but a desire for economic well-being, something which exists an intermediary between their bigotry and their actions. They can claim property prices are the reason to reject the presence of the stigmatized group, but a fall in housing prices due to the presence of a certain group is little more than discrimination crystalized into an economic manifestation.

Discrimination in the past in Korea was more likely to be based on status distinctions, particularly focused on the baekjeong, but it also revolved around disease and hereditary conditions that could be passed on to the next generation. Hansen's disease, or leprosy, was one such disease, while mental handicaps (more so than physical ones) might be seen as something that could be transmitted to children (Theodore Jun Yoo's book It's Madness: The Politics of Mental Health in Colonial Korea explores this topic). More modern manifestations of disease or hereditary conditions which are tightly bound with stigma include HIV/AIDS and the radiation-related illnesses of the tens of thousands of Koreans who survived the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as their descendants, who found it difficult to marry unless they hid their past. (As well, taking racist logic to its limits, mixed race children can be seen as carrying tainted genes which will be passed down.)

I was pleased to see this response from Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education:

“When it comes to educational administration, it’s necessary to consider the different, realistic positions of interested parties.” He continued, “That’s democracy, the administrative obligation of a public institute.”

He added, “In that sense, I understand the realistic points of view of several residents who oppose the establishment of a school for people with disabilities.

“Nevertheless, this isn’t a matter of concession. This isn’t something like a nuclear power plant or Thaad [Terminal High Altitude Area Defense]. A school for people with physical disabilities is a right to live.”

This isn't the first time the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has faced a situation like this however. In the spring of 1969, a similar situation arose in Seoul as the government faced off with parents of students at Daewang Elementary School, which stands three kilometers south of Suseo Station in southeastern Seoul (and was opened in 1932, according to its website). The Seoul Board of Education had initially pushed for the enrollment of five “children of the patients of dormant leprosy” from a nearby lepers’ rehabilitation center in Naegok-dong but parents of other students began boycotting classes from April 18, 1969. The rehabilitation center, ‘Ettinger Village,’ was “established by the American-Korean Foundation in 1966 through 1968 where 63 families of cured lepers settled,” as the Times reported May 10.

This is not the first time discrimination against such children had happened. The Korea Times reported in March 1964 that boycotts were taking place at schools in Ulsan and near Mungyeong. In the case of the school in Ulsan, 80% of 546 pupils refused to attend classes with 11 children "whose parents were suffering from Hansen’s disease." Though the following is based on the Korea Times' (extensive) coverage, the term for leprosy used in the Korean-language media was 나병 / nabyeong (미감아, or 'child not infected,' was also often used).

On May 6, 1969, after two-and-a-half weeks of the boycott, the Seoul Board of Education backtracked and instead said it would establish an elementary school exclusively for children of dormant leprosy near the rehabilitation center. This announcement led to criticism, even from the national government:

The Korea Times reported on May 10 that the Ministry of Education intervened and ordered the city to integrate the children, but when the city tried with the help of Yonsei University leprosy specialist Prof. Yu Chun to convince parents that the children were healthy and posed no threat, the parents shouted “We need no doctors,” “Dismiss the principal,” “Let’s go to the education ministry to protest.”

(From the Kyunghyang Sinmun)

On May 11 the Times published a lengthy look at the children’s plight:

(One wonders if the Harry Ettinger after whom Ettinger village was named was this pilot who was shot down and made a POW during the Korean War.)

On May 12, 300 parents chartered buses to hold a protest in front of the education ministry but were stopped by police near the Han River. When they refused to disperse they were taken to Dongbu Police Station and there they continued to protest until Pak Won-ik, a Board of Education officer, told parents the five children would be hospitalized for a week for a medical examination and they would not be at school during that time, after which the parents dispersed. The Ministry of Health reiterated later that day, however, that it was set on integrating the students, and the Seoul Board of Education publicly concurred with this.

On May 14 the Times reported that 6 students had come to school the previous day, but “five of them were taken out of the classrooms by some 10 parents who were on the school ground.” 300 parents had agreed to return their students to classes if “the five children of cured lepers” were “examined thoroughly at the National Medical Center,” but most parents did not agree to this.

On May 16, the Times reported that 18 students (out of 853) had returned to school the day before (likely for teachers’ day).

Two days later it reported that on May 17, 365 students had returned to school after 27 days, among them the daughter of Education Minister Hong Jong-chull, who had transferred to the school.

(From an August 3 Korea Times article.)

The reason for this was further elaborated on May 28, when it was reported that the five children had been released from the National Medical Center “to stay together with the families of four high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.”

The four health ministry officials have volunteered to take care of them to prove that the children of negative lepers are neither potential lepers nor infectious.

The officials are Chung Hi-sup, health minister, Hong Chong-gwan, director of the National Medical Center, Cha Yun-gun, chief of the Medical Bureau, and Kim Taik-il, chief of the Bureau of Public Health.

To make the parents understand, Hong Jong-chul, minister of education, has transferred his daughter from Kyunghee Primary School to the Taewang School May 17.

Despite such efforts, the parents are still strongly against the government move, threatening that they will keep their children out of the school if the five children attend again.

Despite such an admirable stand by the government, however, the next day it was reported that the government had “bowed down to the determined pressure of the parents…by deciding to set up a new primary school for the five children of negative leper patients.” The school was to be attached to the Korea Theological Seminary. Not everyone in the government was happy with this, but the education minister assured that this arrangement was only to be a temporary one. Residents of Ettinger village criticised this decision and tried to persuade parents to allow the children to attend the school, but failed and the children began studying at the seminary on June 23.

On July 30 it was reported that 35 Christian youth from around the world had come to Korea to do volunteer work at Ettinger village. It is not clear if this was in response to the controversy that year or not.

On August 3, the Times reported that locals in the community where Ettinger Village was located had signed a petition asking that the children be allowed to go to school nearby, since they had to live in a dorm at the Korean Theological Seminary [and returned home on the weekend]. It makes clear that when the village was first established, locals responded in a hostile manner, then refused to communicate with them, but after farm hands were needed at harvest time, they eventually grew to realize that the former Hansen’s patients were of no threat to them and saw them as neighbours.

This was the last report in the Korea Times on them, and the Naver News Archive makes no mention of them after this either. At a guess, they likely never attended Daewang Elementary School, and the Seoul Board of Education lost its battle with the parents.

Thinking back to the comment by Yonsei dean Song Nae-un, who bemoaned the existence of such discrimination "in this age of science," one wonders what his reaction might have been had he seen the recent clash over the school for disabled students. In May of 1969 the father of one of the five children said that setting up a separate school for the patients' children was "a measure that will eventually separate them from society." Now it seems a school separating stigmatized children from society is not enough. From the behavior of those parents in Gangseo-gu last week, it seems that today even the school must be cast out.

All of which makes me wonder just how fragile some Koreans must feel their prospects for future wellbeing to be if screaming at the parents of disabled children has become acceptable behaviour. 

Fringe Christian anti-gay group opposes ending HIV tests for E-2s

In the wake of the Ministry of Justice announcing that it would no longer require HIV tests for foreign instructors, (reported in the Korean language media as being due to "controversy over discrimination"), a Christian group known as Anti-Homosexuality Christian Citizens' Solidarity has released a statement condemning the Ministry for endangering the nation and reverse discrimination. As the Korea Times put it, 

The Christian group condemns homosexuality and believes that Christians must unite against homosexuality. It supports Christian anti-homosexual movement organizations, recruits and trains "young patriotic" vanguard troops and seeks strategic countermeasures to stop homosexuality, according to its website.

That website is http://www.antihomo.net, in case you were wondering. That such an anti-gay group would be concerned with AIDS is not surprising considering the link made between homosexuality and AIDS in the literature of the Christian groups who have picketed Pride celebrations for the past few years. One might get the idea from the Times coverage that this group speaks for a large group of people, but that would be mistaken. The message from its representative Pastor Ju Yo-sep - the same Pastor Ju Yo-sep who left a ranting comment on the Yonhap piece - appears only in the Gidok Ilbo [Christian Daily], and has not been referred to in any other articles (other than the Korea Times), as far as I can tell. Here is the article he wrote for the Gidok Ilbo on July 10:

[AHCCS Statement] The Ministry of Justice must immediately retract its halting of mandatory AIDS tests for foreign conversation instructors.

Pastor Ju Yo-sep of Anti-Homosexuality Christian Citizens' Solidarity.

At present, the Justice Department has a disordered atmosphere with the appointed minister candidate having voluntarily resigned and the confirmation hearing for the new minister candidate yet to take place. In such a [state], the Ministry of Justice announced on July 8 a dangerous policy that runs counter to the protection of citizens’ health and the national interests of the Republic of Korea, that it had abolished the AIDS tests which had been mandatory up until now for native-speaking conversation instructors, in accordance with the demands of the UN Committee on the Eradication of Racial Discrimination and the recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission. The majority of citizens who hear this news are astonished. How can this crucial issue be decided by some public officials without public consent?

This is clearly a socialist idea, a serious issue that infringes upon people's right to health and right to know, and should be withdrawn and [the AIDS test should be] reverted back to because it is an erroneous decision arising from a distorted sense of discrimination that causes reverse discrimination. It is shocking and unbelievable that the Ministry of Justice, a central administrative agency that oversees prosecutors, the penal [system], human rights protection, immigration control, and other judicial affairs, has made such an anti-human rights and anti-citizen decision that infringes on the human rights of the majority in order to protect the human rights of a small minority. Why should the majority of citizens suffer from reverse discrimination at the hands of the state?

AIDS is a legally[defined] infectious disease caused by infection with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), and is classified with the third group of infectious diseases in article 2 (1) of the “Prevention and Management of Infectious Diseases Act” which includes malaria, tuberculosis, Vibrio Vulnificus Septicemia, influenza, and syphilis. However, it is doubtful whether a dangerous infected person with something like AIDS can be kept secret on that basis. This cannot but be questioned as a decision made through an obviously wrong political judgment.

As well, the anxiety and suspicion of many parents and students regarding foreign conversation teachers can be amplified. This will not only affect parents and students, but will even have an adverse effect on the majority of foreign conversation instructors who have nothing to do with AIDS. Up until now, parents and students believed the government, and when it said foreign conversation instructors had passed the AIDS test, they trusted this, but from now on, because [this] method of verifying foreign instructors is gone, it can lead to group distrust and disadvantage [among] parents and students. A democratic government should not give up the obligation it ought to fulfill, causing the distrust of the majority of the people and strained relations with foreign conversation instructors, as well as wasting energy on unnecessary suspicion.

As a result of problems with foreign conversation instructors such as drugs appearing many times in the media, public opinion worsened and so immigration enforcement measures made it so medical certificates (for syphilis*, drugs, AIDS) were to be included for the E-2 visa, but I cannot understand why the AIDS provision alone was excluded. On the same basis, if a syphilis carrier or drug addict raises an objection that they are discriminated against and request that [the test] be removed, how should that be dealt with? AIDS, like syphilis and drugs, spreads in secret easily, and is a dangerous disease that can directly affect the people, so it is necessary to explain in detail why AIDS alone is treated as a special case, and if it is unreasonable, it should naturally be withdrawn.

In some media [reports], the health rights of the Korean people were threatened, and even though there was great concern about the spread of AIDS, embarrassment was felt about the mandatory AIDS test for foreign conversation instructors, and they forecast problems with labor survival and from the purebloodism and violation of reciprocity which go against globalization, and articles agreeing with this were published, but what nation’s media is so deplorable and shocking? I would like to ask again what kind of benefits would come to the Republic of Korea if we really abolish the mandatory AIDS test for foreign instructors. It is just dumbfounding how much it was decided to ruin and corrupt Korea. At present, I don’t know if a lot of the national budget is paid to cover the cost of treatment for AIDS patients, or if it cannot be interpreted as a complaint of an idealist who deliberately looks away.

Which country officials are the officials of the Justice Department? Now, with the position of the Minister of Justice vacant and a candidate yet to go through a confirmation hearing, we should ask why the Ministry of Justice decided on such an important policy in a hurry and sternly find out who is responsible. At this time the nation’s citizens have realized just how indifferent the Ministry of Justice, along with the National Human Rights Commission, is to the protection of the health of its own citizens and how it has neglected and encouraged AIDS infection. The Ministry of Justice should see this as an opportunity to become aware of this and make the utmost effort [to rectify it].

As the treatment costs for AIDS patients are covered in full by the government, it is paid out from the astronomical national budget, but who will be responsible for the cost of medical care and nursing care if a Korean is infected through sexual contact with a foreign AIDS conversation instructor?** Why is the Ministry of Justice abandoning its duty and irresponsibly making an exemption of the mandatory test? In this way, how can the Ministry of Justice fortify and protect the citizens’ human rights, protect citizens’ right to health, and protect the safety of many students and hagwon attendees?

We hope the Ministry of Justice will come to its senses and immediately retract its abandoning of the mandatory AIDS test for foreign conversation instructors and bear in mind that this path is the only way to recover damaged public trust.

There's so much wrong here it's hard to know where to start. Suffice it to say that the idea that HIV spreads easily is wrong, and the idea that parents should be suspicious of foreign teachers because their children might catch it from the teachers helps to contribute to fear and ignorance surrounding HIV/AIDS in Korea (not to mention contributing to suspicion of foreigners; as always such articles have a prescriptive quality to them). What confuses me is that Christians who seem to take offense at North Koreans being abused by their government (ie human rights abuses) also take offense at the concept of rights being applied to their own country (rights, I should add, that Christians, among others, fought for during the democracy movement). This obviously reeks of "rights for me (or my pet causes) but not for thee," and probably has more to do with the feeling of it being imposed from without (again, see some of their writing here). Of course, such ideas have not been imposed from outside - they need only read something like "When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt." (Leviticus 19:33-34)***

In the end, I'm less concerned about this odd postscript to the doing away of the E-2 HIV testing regime in the form of the rantings of homophobic Christians as it applies to foreign teachers than I am about how such intolerance contributes to the hardship faced by Koreans living with HIV/AIDS and the Korean LGBT community.

* It's odd how syphilis got included in all of this. It was not included in the original health checks that began in 2007, but was mandated in the 2011 MoJ notice on E-2 health checks and appeared on future checks (at least the ones I took). Reading Yonhap's article or the ranting above makes it sound like it was part of the original testing regime, but it wasn't, and was added with little fanfare in 2011.

** I decided to render "foreign AIDS conversation instructor" as it was written: 외국인 에이즈회화강사. He's either not the best of writers or is deliberately writing in a smear-y way that makes the Anti-English Spectrum folks look measured in comparison (and the fact that nothing about the doing away with of the HIV tests has appeared on AES's site shows just how dead that site is).

***The Biblical quote is from Gil-Soo Han's Nouveau-riche Nationalism and Multiculturalism in Korea (New York: Routledge, 2016).

Yonhap: Controversy over discrimination prompts Korea to stop E-2 HIV tests

[Update, July 12]

Here's an article about the end of HIV testing which borrows from the article Benjamin Wagner and I wrote, though it comes up with the opposite conclusion.

The Korea Times also published the English version of the Yonhap article below.

[Original post]

The Korean language press has also reported on the end of HIV/AIDS tests for E-2 visa holders (as can be seen here). Most articles are based on the following article Yonhap published on July 8:

'Discrimination Controversy' - Foreign instructor AIDS test abolished… UN recommendation accepted

Tests for drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana to remain the same as before

The mandatory AIDS testing system for foreign language conversation instructors working in Korea has been abolished.

Foreign conversation instructors urged the abolition of the mandatory AIDS test which they said was a discriminatory system that is not internationally recognized as universal and, after controversy, the government has accepted this demand.

The Ministry of Justice disclosed on July 8 that that from now on foreign instructors who have been issued a conversation instruction (E-2) visa can work without receiving an AIDS test.

Previously, in order to work in private institutes and elementary, middle and high schools, foreign conversation instructors were required to be issued an E-2 visa and to submit the results of AIDS and drug tests issued by a medical institution in Korea.

According to a new Ministry of Justice Notice which took effect on July 3, foreign instructors are now required to take a test for drugs including methamphetamine and cocaine and for the sexually transmitted disease syphilis, but not an AIDS test.

A New Zealander who had worked as an English instructor at a Korean elementary school in Korea petitioned the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination [CERD] in 2012 and with that the mandatory AIDS test for foreign conversation instructors became a full-fledged controversy.

In May 2015 the CERD said that demanding an AIDS test as a condition of employment for English instructors violated human rights and urged the Korean government to compensate the woman for mental and material damages.

Last September the National Human Rights Commission also recommended to the government to stop the practice of carrying out mandatory AIDS testing for native speaking conversation instructors on E-2 visas.

Yonhap also published this video:



And no, the test for employment purposes was not a little pinprick on the finger.

It's nice that Yonhap was so quick to assure readers that the drug tests will remain so that they won't worry too much. As we can see, there was nothing wrong with the tests, it's just that foreign teachers made made it into a controversy at the UN and the government responded to their demands. One can't help but smile at the assertion that the "full-fledged controversy" over the tests started in 2012 considering the fact that no Korean media outlets reported on CERD accepting the case that year (despite the fact that a PR company issued a press release). And nothing was said of the Human Rights Commission rejected the first petition, or the Commercial Arbitration Board rejecting her petition, or the fact that the ROK took the better part of a year to respond to the petition (a bit over the 90 days required). Nor does it mention the teacher in question never received any compensation. None of this is surprising, of course.

Judging by his comment on the Yonhap article, it would seem Yonhap reader "패스터주pastor JosephJoo" was not very happy with the decision:

How much do they intend to try to spoil and corrupt this country?

Although the seat of the Minister of Justice is currently vacant, how can the Ministry of Justice officials have such little consideration for the protection of the nation’s life and health and exempt foreign instructors from AIDS tests?

Just what country’s officials are the Ministry of Justice’s employees, and was this something they decided on while in their right minds?

Considering the reputation of pastors when it comes to committing sex crimes in Korea, that comment is a bit rich. Other comments also call for fingerprinting foreigners and the necessity of the HIV tests. It would seem Anti English Spectrum were quite successful and pushing the "foreign English teacher as AIDS threat" narrative, but considering its association with US soldiers, and Americans in general dating back to the 1980s, they didn't have to try that hard.

Justice Ministry announces it has ended HIV tests for English teachers

The Korea Herald reported yesterday that South Korea has done away with mandatory HIV tests for English teachers:

A controversial requirement for HIV testing of foreign language teachers has been scrapped, government officials confirmed to The Korea Herald on Thursday, almost 10 years after it was introduced.

Testing for HIV and drugs began in 2007 in response to pressure from citizens groups angered partly by a website on which teachers bragged about debauchery and the news that pedophile Christopher Paul Neil had taught in Korea.

For more (much more!) on the website and the netizen and media response it engendered, see here; for more on how the "citizens' group" Anti English Spectrum pushed to get the HIV tests in particular made into policy, see here. [I have a more thorough update to that post that I'll start posting soon.]

The Justice Ministry confirmed that a revision to visa regulations on July 3 removes the requirement for HIV testing when renewing or issuing E-2 visas. [...]

Choi Won-seok, director of human rights affairs at the Foreign Ministry, said that the change involved a number of related government bodies, including the Education Ministry, so that HIV testing would also not be required as a part of contracts with state education authorities.

He said the change was made in response to concerns raised from various sectors, including the UN and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.

He is referring to how in May of 2015 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ruled that Korea should drop its HIV testing requirements for foreign English teachers, and in September 2016 the National Human Rights Commission of Korea "recommended the government stop its mandatory HIV testing of foreign English teachers." It took some time for the government to respond to either of these, but it appears it finally has.

If we remember, in December 2010 the Korean government officially did away with all HIV testing restrictions on foreigners - except for E-2 visa holders. About a month later the Ministry of Justice posted an Immigration Control Law enforcement regulation titled "Notice of the Requirements of Medical Institutions Administering Drug Tests and Other Tests to be Submitted for Alien Registration," which can be found here. The Ministry of Justice released an amended version of this notice on July 3 which was exactly the same as the old one but which removed "HIV" from things to be tested for (the same drug testing system remains in place). It also announced that the old notice has been abolished as of July 3. (The new notice can be found by going here and searching for "법무부고시제2017-116호"; then go to page 69 of the resulting pdf.)

Perhaps one reason for finally abolishing the HIV restrictions is that the new Foreign Minister, Kang Kyung-hwa, was formerly UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights. As noted in this article, she once said, "While travel restrictions are a question of State sovereignty, it must be pointed out that States also have obligations under international law within which sovereign rights may be exercised[. ...] In particular, under basic norms of non-discrimination, States must provide compelling reasons for any differentiation in treatment, including in restricting travel for people living with HIV. We know that there are no such compelling reasons."

Another reason might be that a South Korean representative, Professor Chung Chin-sung, has just been elected to serve as the Korean expert on the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD); having to admit your own country was ignoring a CERD decision could make for awkward moments at the water cooler.

Of course, when it comes to the 2015 CERD decision, the ROK is still ignoring at least one of the Committee's recommendations:

The Committee recommends that the State party grant the petitioner adequate compensation for the moral and material damages caused by the above-mentioned violations of the Convention, including compensation for the lost wages during the one year she was prevented from working.

This certainly has not happened.

It should also be kept in mind that though the ROK had promised to remove HIV testing regulations in 2010, it kept the E-2 tests in place and lied to UNAIDS, which resulted in Korea being portrayed as an HIV-test-free nation in UNAIDS literature. And there have been hints that though HIV testing for migrant workers (E-9 visa-holders) had been officially lifted in 2010, these tests were still continuing. The 2017 EPIK contract for public school English teachers states that HIV tests are necessary. Granted, it has only been a few days, and the Korea Herald article stated that "the change involved a number of related government bodies, including the Education Ministry," but it would be worth keeping an eye out to make sure the contracts change. The contracts can be found here (where you can enjoy the "cleavagey white female stock model" who was photoshopped into the banner image).

Needless to say, as someone who made some contributions to the effort to get the HIV tests repealed, I'm pleased to see this finally, after almost a decade, come to pass. But it might be a good idea to make sure that they have actually been repealed in practice, and not just in a pro forma manner, before celebrating too much.

[Thanks to Ben Wagner for many of the above links - and, obviously, for putting in the effort to get us to this point.]

American Public Health Association urges UNAIDS to revoke ROK’s status as a country with no HIV-related travel restrictions

In May of 2015 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ruled that Korea should drop its HIV testing requirements for foreign English teachers, and in September 2016 the National Human Rights Commission of Korea "recommended the government stop its mandatory HIV testing of foreign English teachers." The government was to decide whether to accept this recommendation within 90 days, or by December 7, but there are no news reports stating whether this occurred or not. (Though, considering the political turmoil, perhaps that is not so surprising.)

Throughout this time, the ROK has been portrayed in UNAIDS literature as a country with no HIV restrictions. For example, this pamphlet shows "How travel restrictions have changed since 2008," revealing that the number of countries with HIV restrictions dropped from 59 in 2008 to 35 in 2015. While, as even UN's CERD has noted, South Korea should be included on the list of "countries, territories and areas [which] impose some form of restriction on the entry, stay and residence of people living with HIV based on their HIV status," it instead includes South Korea among the "countries, territories and areas that have no HIV-specific restriction on entry, stay or residence."

For whatever reason UNAIDS has not corrected this. In response, the American Public Health Association drafted a policy statement titled "Opposition to Immigration Policies Requiring HIV Tests as a Condition of Employment for Foreign Nationals" and "sent a letter to UNAIDS urging it to revoke its recognition of South Korea’s status as a country without any HIV restrictions – until it actually produces and enforces policies that actually reflect that status." As well, the World Federation of Public Health Associations is to adopt a corresponding policy at their assembly which is currently in progress. Here is an excerpt of the American Public Health Association's letter:

One such example of misrepresentation of HIV-related immigration policy can be found with the Republic of Korea (ROK), which subjects foreign nationals applying for visas to work or study under several visa categories to mandatory HIV testing. Recent decisions by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea both confirm the ongoing existence and enforcement of mandatory testing for E-2 visa applicants and recommend that they be struck down. Unfortunately, despite this discriminatory requirement, ROK representatives declared at the 2012 International AIDS Conference that their government had removed all HIV-related travel restrictions and, as a result, the country was granted “green” (restriction-free) status by UNAIDS, while other states with HIV-related restrictions similar to those enforced by ROK are still classified as “yellow” on this map. This inconsistency in the application of UNAIDS’ assessment criteria could threaten the progress made on reducing HIV-related travel restrictions. We strongly urge UNAIDS to revoke ROK’s status as a country with no HIV-related travel restrictions until it eliminates all mandatory HIV testing policies.

It's nice to see such a stand being taken, and hopefully such pressure will move the ROK government to finally respond to the CERD and NHRCK decisions. The full letter can be read here.

Korea Herald on HIV tests for English teachers

The Korea Herald published an article the other day titled "Controversy persists over HIV test for English teachers." The most important part of the article is this section:

This policy, introduced in 2007 after complaints from locals over “dangerous law-breaking foreigners,” including English teachers, may come to an end soon, as the government is considering a recent recommendation by the country’s human rights panel to do away with it.

“The Justice Ministry is collecting opinions from relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to decide whether to accept the recommendation,” it said in response to an inquiry by The Korea Herald.

A recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea is not legally binding, but the government must decide whether to accept it within 90 days. In this case, the deadline is Dec. 7.

Hmmm. While it's good to know when the deadline is, December 7 [or the 8th, in Asia] isn't a day in history which featured Westerners being particularly well-treated in Asia.

 Monument to Asia Rising...

...December 8, 1941.

(This is what replaced Horace Underwood's statue at Yonsei University; it now stands in the garden of Yonsei's museum. Hat tip to JiHoon for showing me this.

But back to the article:

"We made health checks mandatory for some foreigners through a revision of the AIDS Prevention Act in 2007 after some crimes by foreign language instructors and illegal drug use led to social problems," an official from the Justice Ministry said.

And I was just voted president of the United States. Seriously? How about: "We made health checks for HIV and drugs mandatory for some foreigners through a policy memo which, when challenged, we said was perfectly legal but meanwhile were quietly changing to an enforcement ordinance / regulation which was passed on April 3, 2009, almost a year and a half after we began testing teachers" (first result here; check cache for non-hwp version). The E-2 tests were not enforced by a revision of the AIDS Prevention Act.

"Even if we scrap the mandatory HIV testing, many are still subject to the testing according to the AIDS Prevention Act by the health ministry or Private Institute Management Act by the Education Ministry," the official said. "And we don’t send back foreigners or don’t refuse to issue alien cards when they are proven HIV-positive."

Again, there's nothing connecting E-2 visa-holders to the Aids Prevention Act, As for the Private Institute Management Act, have a look here. You won't see anything about HIV tests. Drug tests are mandated, yes, but not HIV tests. But hey, that's just two things completely wrong. I'm sure we can take the "And we don’t send back foreigners or don’t refuse to issue alien cards when they are proven HIV-positive" at face value.

In 2009, Lisa Griffin from New Zealand, who was then an English teacher at an Ulsan-based elementary school, filed a petition to the NHRCK as well as to the UN International Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination after her school refused to renew her contract over her refusal to submit an HIV test result.

The UN committee ruled last year that HIV testing of teachers on E-2 visas is racial discrimination, saying the policy is not “justified on public health or any other grounds.” The committee urged the Korean government to compensate her for moral and material damages.

In September, the NHRCK also backed the UN decision, calling it "stigmatizing" and "discriminatory."

This muddles the chronology. Yes, a petition was filed to the NHRCK - which rejected it. A petition was also filed to the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board - which rejected it. The only reason it could be taken to CERD was because these "Local [or domestic] Remedies" failed to provide redress. The NHRCK only took up the case after CERD ruled in Griffin's favor.

Shall we pass by the assertion that "Without the HIV testing, there is no way to screen teachers from abroad and keep our children safe"? Like shooting fish in a barrel, so let's. Moving on:

But Lee Kyung-ja, who heads the parents’ rights group Student First, said that foreign teachers and Korean teachers alike should go through the HIV testing. "It is worrisome that more and more young people contract HIV-AIDS these days and we don’t know where they get it from," Lee said. "To ensure children’s health, all teachers -- whether they are foreign or local -- should prove that they are HIV-free."

To her question about where they get it from: having sex with someone who has HIV or sharing needles. Mind you, the drug arrest reports for foreign teachers tend to reveal busts for marijuana or perhaps ecstasy - not the kind of thing you inject intravenously. The article includes these statistics:

According to government data, the cumulative number of HIV and AIDS patients was 10,502 through last year, since the first case surfaced in 1985, with 92.7 percent of the patients being male. There were 1,152 newly registered cases last year, with 33.3 percent of them being in their 20s. Among them, 1,018 were Korean.

There are more statistics here (since 1985).

[T]he compulsory HIV testing of certain groups will only reinforce long-held stigmas and fear surrounding HIV and AIDS in the country, alienating and excluding people living with the disease, another expert said.

Patients living with HIV and AIDS are often subject to discrimination and have trouble accessing health care facilities, traveling and seeking employment.

"The government’s health polices for preventing HIV-AIDS come from ignorance," said Son Moon-soo, who heads an association of HIV and AIDS patients called KNP+. "The outdated measures create the wrong perception that HIV-AIDS is a foreign disease which foreigners brought into the country." [...]

"Rather than implementing discriminatory policies against foreigners, there should be more education on safe sex and how HIV-AIDS is transmitted and prevented to fight the disease," Son said.

As has been noted before, the stigma in Korea against HIV-AIDS is pervasive and has stark consequences for those who have been infected. In fact, the stigma is deadlier than the disease.

NHRCK recommends Korean government stop mandatory HIV testing of foreign English teachers

As the Korea Herald reported, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea "has recommended the government stop its mandatory HIV testing of foreign English teachers."

The NHRCK decision refers to the compulsory medical testing of teachers on E-2 visas, which includes drug and HIV testing. A petition was originally brought to the NHRCK in July 2009 by an assistant teacher at an elementary school. The school had refused to renew her contract after she did not submit to the test.

The commission initially dismissed the case, citing it as an individual complaint, even though thousands of teachers took the test each year and 50 teachers had already filed a similar report.

But in dismissing the complaint, the commission allowed the case to be taken to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which told Korea last year to apologize to the teacher and pay compensation, as well as remove visa requirements for HIV testing.

Now, the NHRCK has backed the CERD decision, telling the Ministry of Justice to amend or rescind its rules on medical testing. [...]

The decision is dated Sept. 8, but Ben Wagner, who represented the petitioner in both the CERD and NHRCK cases, said he was only notified Thursday. There is no notification of the decision on the commission’s website.

Wagner welcomed the decision, which he said had exceeded his expectations.
"This decision has been too long coming, the NHRCK delayed for nearly 8 years and that has to change. But I can say without hesitation that the decision is a very good one indeed,” he said.

"The NHRCK has taken a very strong position on protecting the rights of foreigners. But even further than that, the NHRCK has been very direct in insisting that the government ‘walks the talk’ when it comes to the international law standards that it professes to uphold and abide by but doesn’t always live up to. "

The NHRCK added that "it expected the Ministry of Justice to respond within 90 days of the report," while the Herald noted that the Ministry of Justice had as of yet made no comment.

The CERD decision was announced in May of last year; I posted about it here and here. As is noted in the decision below, the NHRCK, 7 years after the original petition in 2009, decided to act following government inaction after the CERD decision:

The Korean government (through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is a competent ministry for CERD) responded that it would include contents regarding CERD opinions in the combined 17th, 18th, and 19th State Report. However, the report did not contain appropriate measures to address mandatory medical checkup required from E-2 visa holders, which was the subject matter of an individual communication. Against this backdrop, the NHRCK has come to review the policy of mandatory medical testing for foreign E-2 visa holders and the measures to facilitate effective implementation of the individual communications system.

It also mentions the E-2 Visa was first introduced in April 1993; I didn't have an exact date before.

Here is the full decision:

National Human Rights Commission of Korea

Standing Committee

Decision

Title

Recommendation for revising the medical examination requirement for foreign E-2 visa holders and preparing domestic procedures for individual communications under U.N. human rights treaties

Recommendation

In an effort to resolve racial discrimination issues regarding the mandatory medical check for foreign E-2 teaching visa holders and facilitate effective domestic implementation of the opinions regarding individual communications under U.N. human rights treaties, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (“NHRCK”) hereby makes recommendations as below:

1. The Prime Minister should take legislative and administrative measures to effectively carry out recommendations adopted by U.N. treaty bodies in response to individual communications.

2. The Minister of Foreign Affairs should produce measures to address the opinion adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (“CERD”) at its eighty-sixth session, including adequate remedy for the petitioner in Communication No.51/2012.

3. The Minister of Justice should amend the Ministry of Justice’s Announcement No. 2011-23 to address its racial discriminatory nature or rescind it for the purpose of improving the medical test requirement for foreign E-2 teaching visa holders.

4. The Minister of Education should revise relevant regulations and practices that require foreign E-2 teaching visa holders to submit a health medical report including HIV test results and supervise Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education so as to discontinue requiring them to repeat such medical tests only to have their contract renewed, in particular, after having registered as alien residents and worked as native-speaker foreign language instructors.

Reasons

Ⅰ. Background of Recommendations

An Office of Education has refused to renew a contract with a petitioner, foreign E-2 teaching visa holder (“E-2 holder”) who had worked as an assistant native-speaker teacher in a local elementary school, for not filing a health and medical report which includes an HIV test. The complainant launched a complaint with the NHRCK in July 2009, and also requested the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board to initiate mediation, followed by the submission of an individual communication to the CERD against the Republic of Korea (“Korea”) in December 2012.

 In May 2015, the CERD at its eighty-sixth session responded to the individual communication by concluding that a mandatory testing policy limited to foreign language teachers who are not ethnic Koreans does not appear to be justified on public health grounds or any other ground, and is a breach of the right to work without distinction as to race, color, or national or ethnic origin, in violation of the State party’s obligation to guarantee equality in respect of the right to work as enshrined in Article 5 (e) (i) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Committee, thus, recommended that the Korean government take the appropriate measures to review regulations and policies enacted at the State or local level relating to the employment of foreigners, and that it abolish, both in law and in practice, any piece of legislation, regulation, policy or measure that has the effect of creating or perpetuating racial discrimination.

The Korean government (through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is a competent ministry for CERD) responded that it would include contents regarding CERD opinions in the combined 17th, 18th, and 19th State Report. However, the report did not contain appropriate measures to address mandatory medical checkup required from E-2 visa holders, which was the subject matter of an individual communication. Against this backdrop, the NHRCK has come to review the policy of mandatory medical testing for foreign E-2 visa holders and the measures to facilitate effective implementation of the individual communications system.

Ⅱ. References for Consideration

The NHRCK refers to Articles 6 and 11 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, Article 2 (3) of the National Human Rights Commission Act, Attachment 5-2 related to Article 76 (2) of the Enforcement Rules of the Immigration Control Act, Articles 8-2 and 27 of the Prevention of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Act, Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ("Covenant"), Articles 2, 5, 6, and 14 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination ("Convention").

General Comment No. 30, the opinion made at the 86th session of the CERD in accordance with Article 14 of the Convention, and Articles 26 and 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties ("Vienna Convention") have also been taken into consideration.

Ⅲ. Issues and Improvement Regarding Medical Tests for Foreign E-2 Visa Holders

1. Grounds for submission and current status of medical health records for foreign E-2 visa holders

Over the last five years, more than 30,000 non-citizens have entered Korea with E-2 teaching visas, and are required to register as alien residents within 90 days after their arrival. E-2 visa holders are entitled to work as assistant foreign language instructors along with Korean teachers for the programs like EPIK, English Program In Korea, in primary and secondary schools or other institutes and organizations such as academic institutes and research centers, and are not allowed to engage in other activities for profit.

 The E-2 teaching visa was first introduced in April 1993. In December 2007, however, the Korean government decided to require E-2 holders to submit criminal background and medical check documents upon their registration as alien residents, because unqualified teachers and the usage of illegal drugs by E-2 visa holders had set off social problems. In April 2009, the Ministry of Justice amended Article 76 (2) Attachment 5-2 of the Enforcement Rules of the Immigration Control Act to set forth that E-2 visa holders shall submit physical examination records, including TBPE test (narcotic drugs test) issued by a national/public hospital, public health center, or general hospital, except for those who are recruited and hired by the Ministry of Education and Science Technology or local Offices of Education as foreign language instructors in primary and secondary schools. In January 2011, the Ministry of Justice instituted its Announcement No. 2011-23, adding that the medical record shall be issued by hospitals designated by the Minister of Justice and include an HIV test. Attachment 5-2 related to Article 76 (2) of the Enforcement Rules of the Immigration Control Act was revised accordingly in March 2011 so that medical record shall be issued by hospitals designated by the Minister of Justice. According to the ‘2016 EPIK Manual for Native-speaker English Assistant Teachers’ (guidelines for the employment of native-speaker foreign language instructors of Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education) released by the National Institute for International Education in March 2016, the medical examination shall be issued by medical facilities designated by the Minister of Justice, and there is an exemption for native-speaker English teachers hired by Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education. However, the ‘Manual for Hiring Native Speaking English Assistant Teachers’ issued by some Offices of Education in August 2016 reads that native-speaker assistant English teachers shall undergo a medical examination at a designated hospital upon contract renewal and submit the result to the Office in person, which might lead to the cancellation of a contract renewal, if health issues are detected. This effectively leaves E-2 visa holders no choice but to submit the report. The termination clause of a standard contract sampled by some relevant manuals explicitly stipulates that employees shall undergo a medical examination including illegal drug and HIV/AIDS tests in Korea in order to work in public education facilities.

Looking at such practices in relation to the employment of native-speaker foreign language instructors of Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education, the Announcement does not mention the proviso for those who are recruited and hired by the Ministry of Education or local Offices of Education prescribed by Attachment 5-2, Article 76 (2) of the Enforcement Rules; however, it seems to have applied to them as well. Nor does "Visa & Sojourn Guide Manuals for Foreign Nationals" released by the Ministry of Justice in August 2016 consider the proviso, leaving the collection and evaluation of the medical examination report at the competent Office of Education's discretion.

 Foreign instructors hired by private academic institutes or research centers other than Offices of Education are obliged to submit a medical examination record which tests for HIV and the list of narcotic drugs laid out in Announcement No. 2011-23 of the Ministry of Justice under Article 13-2 of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Private Teaching Institutes and Extracurricular Lessons and Article 10-2 of its Enforcement Decree.

All the combined rules and regulations effectively force foreign E-2 visa holders to submit the medical checkup result including HIV and illegal drug testing to public offices or employers unless they want to lose the job opportunity for which their entry was granted.

2. Contentious racial discrimination issue with the medical examination for foreign E-2 visa holders

Under the current system, those who are eligible for English assistant teachers are not only foreign E-2 visa holders but also ethnic Koreans holding F-4 visa who have obtained the nationality of an English speaking country. However, ethnic Koreans with F-4 visas are subject to neither alien registration nor medical examination including HIV test when filing for residence under the Act on the Immigration and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans.

Based on the documents submitted by the petitioner, the eighty-sixth session of the CERD observed that foreign teachers of English who are ethnically Korean, and Korean teachers, are exempted from such testing, and that the testing is therefore not decided on the basis of a distinction between citizens and non-citizens but rather on the basis of ethnic origin. The Committee also observed that mandatory HIV/AIDS testing for employment purposes, as well as for entry, stay and residence purposes, is considered to be in contradiction of international standards, as such measures appear to be ineffective for public health purposes, discriminatory, and harmful to the enjoyment of fundamental rights.

In addition, it notes that during the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board’s arbitration proceedings which the petitioner requested, some officials from Office of Education confirmed that tests for HIV/AIDS and illegal drugs use were viewed as a means of checking the values and morality of foreign teachers of English. In this context, the Committee recalled its General Comment No. 30, in which it recommends that States parties take resolute action to address the situation.

 In response, the Ministry of Justice takes a stand that an independent state is bestowed with wide discretion in its immigration control and, in particular, such tests are indispensable as the instructors are supposed to protect young students and facilitate a safe environment and public health.

However, as noted by the CERD, even the vast discretion embedded in immigration control hardly renders it reasonable that while Korean teachers and ethnically Korean foreign language instructors are exempted from the testing, only foreign E-2 visa holders are under an obligation to test for HIV. Likewise, the concerns about a safe public health environment offer little ground for different treatment between ethnically Korean teachers and foreign instructors with E-2 visas. The practice, thus, is considered to constitute racial discrimination in violation of Article 11 [Equality] of the Constitution and Article 26 of the Covenant under which all persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law.

3. Appropriateness of mandatory HIV test requirement for the employment of foreign E-2 visa holders

The early spread of HIV/AIDS led countries to adopt controlling public health policies such as real-name based management and compulsory testing. These measures, however, were criticized for invading the privacy of the infected and stigmatizing and negatively stereotyping them, which, in turn, discouraged people from getting a test or counselling and pushed them out of public health system. The ‘1988 ILO/WHO Joint Declaration on HIV/AIDS in the Workplace’ says that an employee does not have an obligation to voluntarily inform an employer about her HIV/AIDS status and the affected do not usually pose any infection risk to their colleagues. Article 8-2 of the Prevention of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Act mandates that no employer is allowed to request a worker to submit a written report generated from a medical examination for HIV/AIDS while Article 27 states that an employer who urges an employee to notify the results of a medical examination or request the submission of a written report of a medical examination shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year or by a fine not exceeding three million won.

Despite all the international standards and regulations, foreign E-2 visa holders are still required to submit their medical examination record including HIV testing upon employment. However, as noted by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, HIV is unlikely to be transmitted in a daily life. Considering its transmission route is mostly via sexual contact, the submission of HIV testing results can lead to stigmatizing a group of people with a certain medical condition. Such stigmatization imputes the cause of infection to the group and misleads the general public to think that they are safe from the disease as long as it is limited to a small group of people. This kind of misperception hardly finds its place in any desired public health policies.

Thus, foreign E-2 visa holders’ mandatory submission of medical examination including HIV testing upon employment is not appropriate in the light of the intent of the Prevention of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Act and may constitute a “discriminatory act violating equal rights” regarding employment on the ground of medical history, and therefore should be changed so as to improve current practice.

4. Summary

As described above, the mandatory HIV testing policy limited to foreign E-2 visa holders upon their registration as alien residents may constitute racial discrimination. Thus, Ministry of Justice’s Announcement No. 2011-23 which stipulates the said policy shall be rescinded or amended to address its racial discriminatory nature.

In addition, it is necessary that the Ministry of Education revise relevant regulations and practice regarding the employment of foreign E-2 teaching visa holders and supervise Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education so as to rectify such practices, because requiring mandatory submission of medical report from those who have registered as alien residents and worked as native-speaker foreign language instructors at schools, academic institutes, and research centers is more excessive control than the said Ministry of Justice’s Announcement and other relevant regulations.

Ⅳ. Effective Domestic Implementation of Recommendations regarding Individual Communications under U.N. Human Rights Treaties

1. Obligation under U.N. human rights treaties

Article 6 (1) of the Constitution states, “Treaties duly concluded and promulgated under the Constitution and the generally recognized rules of international law shall have the same effect as the domestic laws of the Republic of Korea,” indicating that the country has a legally binding obligation to facilitate the rights prescribed by the treaty to which it agrees by means of accession, ratification or succession. Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties stipulates, “Every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith,” while Article 27 states, “A party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty.”

Therefore, Korea, as a State party to the duly signed and ratified U.N. human rights treaties, has a responsibility to submit a periodic State report to each committee and to carry out its recommendations in accordance with conclusion regarding individual communications if the country accepts an individual communications procedure or signs an optional protocol that allows for individual communications. In addition, the final views of the United Nations Human Rights Committee regarding the fourth periodic report of the Republic of Korea in November 2015 also offer the recommendation to establish a mechanism and procedure to provide effective remedies for any violation of the Covenant.

2. Implementation of recommendations regarding individual communications

Recommendations by each committee regarding individual communications under U.N. human rights treaties are considered international standard. Progress of status on the recommendations made by each State party is continuously monitored by each committee as the ultimate goal is to ensure that the state party accepts them and provides victims with remedies.

Overseas examples about how to implement the recommendations regarding individual communications include the case Alyne da Silva Pimentel v. Brazil of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (“CEDAW”) in its Communication No. 17/2008. In response to this case, the country has reportedly delivered effective judicial remedies, a comprehensive plan for women’s health considering gender and racial perspectives, and policies to reduce preventable maternal deaths.

On the other hand, if a state party refuses to follow recommendations, it has been urged to do so with the individual communications reviewed alongside its periodic report by a committee. In Communication No. 4/2004, A.S. v. Hungary, the CEDAW recommended that Hungary improve its health care system and compensate a member of the Roma community, for a forced sterilization procedure conducted without her knowledge. To ensure the recommendation’s implementation, the Committee has made efforts to communicate with Hungary, and monitored a periodic report submitted by the country for years. As a result, the women received compensation.

3. Recommendation of the 86th CERD session and its effective implementation

Concluding Communication No. 51/2012, L.G. v. Korea, the eighty-sixth session of CERD decided that Korea is in violation of Article 5 (e) (i) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and recommended that the Korean government grant the petitioner adequate compensation for moral and material damages, including compensation for lost wages.

Being a State party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Korea should compensate the petitioner for the moral and material damages caused by the discriminatory practice, following the recommendation by the CERD in accordance with the Constitution and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. However, the lack of domestic procedures to secure the implementation of individual communications makes it harder for victims to effectively seek proper remedies even though human rights violations or discriminatory practices are uncovered through individual communications based on U.N. human rights treaties.

Hence, it is necessary for the Korean government to take legislative and administrative measures so as to ensure the effective implementation of recommendations resulting from individual communications under U.N. human rights treaties. In particular, as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is reviewing the measures to ensure the development of consistent standards for protection, consistency of jurisprudence among treaty bodies, reinforcement of the justiciability of all human rights, and acceleration of the implementation of decisions and views of treaty bodies by State parties, the Korean government can no longer delay the preparation of procedures to implement the recommendations.

4. Summary

As a State party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Republic of Korea should actively implement CERD recommendations stemming from the individual communication system.

In particular, appropriate compensation for damages suffered by the petitioner should also be considered regardless of any preceding improvements in policies related to rights violations, as the individual communications system allows persons to individually challenge infringement of their rights. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, therefore, as competent ministry, must establish measures to implement the recommendations by the eighty-sixth session of the CERD to offer the petitioner proper remedies for her mental and material damages.

 Currently, Korea is a State party to the individual communications system under four U.N. human rights treaties, namely the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. As different ministries are in charge of domestic implementation of each of these treaties, cooperation among the relevant ministries is critical. Hence, it would be appropriate for the Prime Minister to take steps to establish a domestic institution to ensure the implementation of recommendations adopted by U.N. treaty bodies in response to individual communications.

Ⅴ. Conclusion

For such reasons, the NHRCK decides to offer its recommendation in accordance with Article 25 (1) of the National Human Rights Commission Act.

September 8, 2016

Chairperson Sung-ho Lee

Commissioner Young-hye Kim

Commissioner Kyoung-sook Lee

Commissioner Sang-hwan Jeong

Dr. Haysmer and the apple thief: The "barbaric American incident" of 1926

Dr. Haysmer and the apple thief: The "barbaric American incident" of 1926 

Part 1: Clyde Haysmer, Kim Myeong-seop, and the response in Korea

It's unfortunate that Robert Neff's article in the Korea Times last week has a title that does little to reflect the importance of the story it tells. When it comes to bitter memories of Westerners in Korea, the tale of Dr. Haysmer (erroneously spelled 'Haysmeir' in contemporary news articles) and how, as a missionary, he punished a twelve-year-old boy from stealing apples from the mission orchard stands above the rest. It's best remembered in North Korea, where it became the basis of one its most xenophobic, anti-American, and influential novellas. I first heard of the case by reading Donald Clark's Living Dangerously in Korea: The Western Experience, 1900-1950. I turned up photos related to the story years ago and thought I'd write a quick post including them, but some crowd sourcing of information on Facebook led me to dig further, and I found that the event is far more fascinating than I realized, both for how it was used by different groups for their own agendas at the time, and for how pertinent the story is today.

What follows is based on English-language sources (like the New York Times, Japan Times, Japan Chronicle, North China Herald, Seventh Day Adventist materials and genealogical information from Ancestry.com) and a quick reading of some of the Korean sources (from the Donga Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo, and Maeil Sinbo). A more sustained look at the numerous Korean sources would turn up much more information, as would access to the Seoul Press, which I sadly lack (except for quotations from it in the Chronicle). A number of sources here were provided by Jacco Zwetsloot; they are marked with a ***.

Clyde Albert Haysmer was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on December 6, 1897 to Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) missionaries Albert James Haysmer and Dora Wellman Haysmer, who were originally from Michigan. Dora's father, Elam Van Densen was also an elder in the same church and a missionary. Albert and Dora had started their missionary work in Jamaica in 1893, accompanied by their son, Elam Dolphus, who was seven years older than Clyde. The family would, by 1904, be assigned to Barbados. Both Clyde and his brother would eventually be trained as doctors. An SDA newsletter in 1913 notes under the title "Southern Training School" that "Clyde Haysmer writes from Lowell, Michigan that he is doing work this summer with the Fireside Correspondence School at Washington, D. C." By 1917 his father had become an elder and president of the West Indian Union Conference. In late 1918 his elder brother, Elam, died during the influenza pandemic. Clyde is later found crossing into B.C. in July 1920, two weeks ahead of that year's Alberta Conference Association of Seventh-day Adventists in Calgary, which was announced by his father in the previous month's Advent Review and Sabbath Herald magazine. It was likely here that he met his wife. The July 27, 1979 issue of the Atlantic Union Gleaner described her early life:

Ida Louise Hanson was born to Charles and Helen Hanson at Selbey, South Dakota, on March 4, 1892. The family moved to Alberta and Ida attended school at Lacombe and later at Walla Walla, Washington. She graduated from the nurses course at the Portland, Oregon, Sanitarium in 1920. A year was spent nursing in the Alberta Sanitarium and as school nurse at the Hutchinson Theological Seminary in Minnesota. In 1922 she returned to Alberta and was united in marriage to Dr. C.A. Haysmer. 

It adds that they spent a year at the Portland Sanitarium. A later issue of Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, from July 9, 1925, announced that on March 20 "Dr. and Mrs. C. A. Haysmer went forward for medical missionary work in Korea. Dr. Haysmer is a graduate of our medical college, and had spent a short time practising at the Portland (Oreg.) Sanitarium, and now takes charge of the Soonan Dispensary in Korea." This was also commented on in the March 31, 1925 issue of Western Canadian Tidings:

It was a pleasure to welcome Dr. and Mrs. C. A. Haysmer in the office for a few minutes Thursday, the 19th. They left for Rest Haven prior to joining the "Empress of Australia" at Victoria on Friday, the 20th. Dr. and Mrs. Haysmer were connected for a number of years with our sanitarium in Alberta and lately with the Portland Sanitarium. They accepted a call to Korea recently and will take charge of the medical dispensary at Seoul. Our prayers go with these faithful workers and others as they leave the shores of the homeland from month to month.

They sailed for Korea March 20, 1925, and the May 1925 issue of the SDA publication Far Eastern Division Outlook*** reported that "Dr. and Mrs. C. A. Haysmer are now in attendance at the Language School in Seoul, preparatory to service in the Soonan Hospital Dispensary." As the same magazine*** reported two months later:

Dr. and Mrs. C.A. Haysmer are now in attendance at their second term of language school study in Seoul, Chosen. It is their plan to open the hospital-dispensary at Soonan soon after the beginning of the new year.

During the recent session of the Chosen Union plans were laid for developing as rapidly as possible a strong training center at Soonan for medical missionary evangelists. To this end a nurse's training class will be formed and operated in collaboration with the Chosen Union Training School.

It would appear that they arrived in Sunan, just north of Pyongyang (and the location of its current airport) earlier than the beginning of the new year, for Korean newspapers would report that his deed which would live in infamy took place that summer. As Robert writes:

On July 15, while walking through the orchard, he encountered 12-year-old Kim Myoung-sup, a Korean boy living in the neighborhood. Haysmeir later claimed the boy was stealing apples but Korean newspapers reported the boy was merely in the orchard without permission and ran because he was afraid of the American missionary.

What followed next was a horrendous act that marred not only the image of missionaries in Korea but also the face of the young boy.

According to Ransford S. Miller, the American Consul-General in Seoul, after Haysmeir caught the boy, he summoned the boy's mother, Yoon, to the orchard. She begged Haysmeir not to summon the Japanese authorities, and he agreed not to but was insistent that the boy had to be taught a lesson. He had one of the nurses bring him some caustic soda (acid) and then used it to write 'dojeok' (thief) on the boy's cheeks. He then proceeded to lecture the boy for over an hour and cautioned the crying boy to never steal again.

In his article, Robert lays out some of the differing accounts of what happened. Many accounts say he used silver nitrate on the boy's face(one I found said it was 'silver acetic acid'); this is dealt with in more detail below. What seems clear is that the word 'thief' was still visible on his skin a year later and that he later was forced to leave school. The issue lay dormant for almost a year until the Chosun Ilbo reported on it - extensively - on June 28, 1926; the Donga Ilbo followed two days later, and the incident quickly became a cause célèbre. On July 1 both the Chosun Ilbo and Donga Ilbo referred to the event as the "barbaric American incident." On July 4 the Donga Ilbo published this photo of Kim Myeong-seop; it's hard to make out the scarring:

As Robert notes,

According to DongA Ilbo, just after midnight on July 1, 1926, Haysmeir went to the boy's house and tried to negotiate a settlement with his mother. She suggested that she would consider the matter closed for a sum of 10,000 yen ($5,000) but Haysmeir refused and countered with an offer of 420 yen as compensation and 200 yen for treatment for a total of 620 yen ($310). Eventually Haysmeir did pay the 620 yen and offered an apology in the newspapers[.]

Of course, the newspapers were having a field day. As a Reuters report put it, "A wave of indignation is sweeping Korea." Referring to the Seoul Student Federation, this Donga Ilbo article's headlines give a sense of the outrage being cultivated in Korea by the press:

Student organizations stirred to action...in regard to barbaric American incident
Prepare to send a written appeal to worldwide Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Facts of the insult to the minjok come out: Haysmer threatened the victim's mother, "Pay me 5 won or I'll write 'thief'"
The story told by Kim Myeong-seop [the victim] who arrived in Seoul

There were calls for monetary support to treat Kim, who had arrived in Seoul for treatment on July 5. Two days later the Donga Ilbo reported that the Gaesong Youth Federation had met July 5 and that one of its resolutions that day was to send a warning to the “barbaric American, Haysmer.” Within days reports were coming in from around Korea of such actions in places like Mokpo or Masan ("Masan youths roused, excessively aggrieved over the Haysmer incident"). As is described in Donald Clark's Living Dangerously in Korea, "Civic groups joined in. The Bar Association passed a resolution demanding the doctor's deportation. 'We don't like to be experimented on like animals,' wrote a Korean in a letter to the editor of the Seoul Press."

Many called for expulsion or legal punishment, and the Japanese authorities soon obliged on the latter request. A handful of articles, originating from Chinese newpapers, suggested that the incident was dug up by the Japanese to encourage anti-American and anti-missionary feeling. For example, the China Weekly Review of August 14 argued that "the Japanese press and police dug up the affair and a great sensation was made of the action of the American missionary in 'lynching' the Korean boy." However, the chronology of newspaper reports suggests otherwise. The first reports in the Korean papers were in late June; the first articles in the Government General-controlled Maeil Sinbo didn't appear until July 4.

Korean groups displayed a great deal of anger, conveyed by the Korean press. One reason that they could express this may be that the "barbaric enemy" in this case was an American rather than a Japanese. In fact, the abstract for a paper (in Korean) titled "Korean National Cooperative Front and Anti-Christian Movements in 1920s - Focused on Haysmer's Event," by Kang, Myung Sook, says of the post-Samil nationalist movement:

To establish a strong movement the Seoul Group made the issue [of] Haysmer's Event in 1926 which happened in 1925. Koreans considered Japanese' brutalities as Haysmer's brutalities. Through the criticizing of Haysmer's Event, Koreans [criticized] Japanese' exploitation and suppression.

The idea of this bitter criticism of an American missionary being a surrogate for criticism of Japan has merit, I think. While the Maeil Sinbo would, once it joined in, certainly encourage the Koreans in criticizing American "barbarity," it became apparent that this could also be used against the Japanese. On July 11, the Chosun Ilbo reported that a "second Haysmer incident" had occurred in Masan, where a Japanese person beat a Korean child. On August 27 the Japan Times would report another "second Haysmer case" which took place in Pusan, when a Mrs. Iihara was arrested for pouring coal tar over a Korean girl who stole melons from her orchard. It goes to show how the Korean-owned newspapers would make use of openings given to them by the Japanese authorities.

On July 22, the Japan Chronicle published a statement made to the Japan Advertiser by Baron Atsushi Akaike, a member of the Peers and former Chief of the Metropolitan Police Board, which provided more details on the case:

Unfortunately the report about the branding of the Korean boy 12 years old by a certain Dr. Haysmeir is true. I had hoped with vain hope that it was the usual sort of Japanese newspaper talk, gaining weight in travelling. Plain facts are now before us, so I think it is better to inform the public of the bare truths and let justice have its way than to attempt concealing it and thereby deepening suspicion.

"The facts are simple. Kim En Sop, the young boy, stole a few apples and was caught by Dr. Haysmeir, chief of the local hospital and missionary. Dr. Haysmeir sent for his mother. When she arrived he demanded a damage of Y5 a sum impossibly large for her means. When it was manifest that she could not pay it, he instructed the nurse to bring shosangin [초산은 ] (translated in Japanese-English Dictionary as nitrate of silver, caustic silver or lunar caustic) and wrote the inscription on the boy's face. Accused, thereupon, wrote the syllables in to eunman on the left cheek of the boy with nitrate of silver and the latter chyok on the right cheek, and baked the syllables in the sun for about half an hour before the boy was allowed to go home. The doctor also told the boy to come and weed the grass in his garden for a week in lieu of payment of damage, but the boy never returned.

The drug used for the inscription has since corroded part of the outer layer of Kim's cheek, and though he was cured of the injury in four or five days, pigmentary deposit of blood due to inflammatory hyperemia still remains on the outer layer of the skin. It is expected that proper medical treatment of some six months' duration will be required to remove the traces. As to the reason why the affair, which took place last September, had not come to the notice of the local police until recently, Mr. Akai, Chief Public Procurator in Heijo Local Court, is represented as stating in a press interview that Kim, from remorse at his own misdeed, had kept it secret, and that the discovery was due to his having been brought to a hospital for treatment by Min (mentioned in the writ of indictment) who met Kim at the market on the 11th of the Fifth Moon and saw the disgraceful marks on his cheeks.

A statement regarding the investigation's findings by SDA Mission superintendent Edward J. Urhquart appeared days later in (most likely) the Japan Advertiser, which was then quoted in part by the Japan Times on July 23:

The mother was told that this time something must be done by way of teaching the boy the seriousness of his offence. Whereupon the doctor made the mother two propositions: (A) That the mother pay two yen and have written on the boy's face with silver nitrate two Korean characters meaning 'thief,' or (B) That this boy be taken to the police station. (It was explained to the mother that the marks from the silver nitrate would be carried for about two weeks.)

The mother, hearing this proposition, of her own volition chose the mark of thief on the boy's face rather than a visit to the police station. The doctor, therefore, wrote the two characters upon the boy's face and he was liberated. (Now I wish to make it plain that there was no attempt at torture, nor was the boy driven to tears at any time during the proceedings. The act was done at the request of the mother, in preference, of course, to a visit to the police.)

The Seventh Day Adventists' General Conference Committee Minutes for 1926 reveal in more detail how the General Conference Committee responded to these events on July 14, 1926:

Special meeting was called to give consideration to an Associated Press report, stating that one of our doctors in Korea had branded the word "thief" on the face of a Korean boy caught stealing apples from the mission yard.

Not having any information other than that contained in the newspapers, it was decided to request J L Shaw to call at the State Department in Washington, to ascertain whether the matter had been reported to them.

A few hours later, they got a response:

KOREAN INCIDENT:
J L Shaw reported the result of his visit to the State Department. The Department had not received a report on the branding of the Korean boy, but on request of Elder Shaw at once cabled for information.

After some study as to what should be done, it was decided to ask I H Evans to cable Korea, to ascertain facts relative to the charges against Dr Haysmer referred to in the newspapers.

Further, that the chairman be asked to issue a statement to the Associated Press to the effect that we utterly repudiate any mistreatment of any race by a missionary, and that we only await confirmation by the State Department of the reports, and our own official channels, before taking action in the matter.
Adjourned.
W A SPICER, Chairman.
B E BEDDOE, Secretary.

Regarding the suggested public statement, on July 16 the Japan Times reported that the Foreign Mission Board of the Seventh Day Adventists was investigating the case, and that the board's chairman stated that the Board "disapproves and dissociates itself utterly from any mistreatment of any person by any missionary." Two days later, on July 16, the matter was brought up again by the General Conference Committee:

KOREAN INCIDENT:
Report was received from the Department of State relative to the situation in Korea, as follows:

"Reply received from the American Embassy, Tokyo, to request through the Department of State of the General Conference, Seventh-day Adventists, Takoma Park, concerning the alleged branding of a Korean boy by Dr Haysmer, missionary at Chosen:

"'According to a statement which was issued by the Governor General at Chosen, Korea, which has been substantially confirmed by the president of the Mission Board as received on July 15, from Miller, Dr. Haysmer last September branded the word "thief" with chloric acid which was said to have been silver nitrate according to the mission superintendent. The markings failed to disappear, as was expected. There followed agitation, started by Koreans and Japanese, after a solatium was given to the family of the boy. Proceedings against Dr Haysmer were instituted on July 12, according to the American Embassy."

Also the following cable was received from E J Urquhart, the superintendent of the Chosen Mission:

"July 15,1926 Heinanjunan.
“Adventist, Evans.
" Newspaper reports exaggerated. Public opinion adverse. Trial soon. Following Shanghai advice, Haysmer dismissed. Outcome uncertain."

In view of this word received by cable, stating that the missionary in Korea who had marked the word "thief" on the face of a Korean boy has, on the advice of the Far Eastern Division, been dismissed, it was--
VOTED, That we approve of the prompt action taken by our board in the Far East in dismissing the missionary.
Adjourned.
W A SPICER, Chairman.
B E BEDDOE, Secretary.

On July 18 it was reported that Haysmer had been "dismissed from the denomination." He was not kicked out of the SDA; rather, he had been stripped of his position as a missionary. The July 29, 1926 issue of the SDA's Advent Review and Sabbath Herald contains this report about the incident by General Conference Committee chairman W.A. Spicer; you can see how some of the information was edited for public consumption:

SAD NEWS FROM KOREA
WHEN newspaper dispatches reported the marking of a Korean schoolboy's face by one of our missionaries as a punishment for stealing, many wrote us for information. Our people, naturally, hoped for denial of the report. Such have doubtless seen in the press our statements, first of disapproval and repudiation of any mistreatment of any one by a missionary, and later the announcement that our Far Eastern Division committee had taken action.

On seeing the press reports, we felt assurance that the division office in Shanghai would take steps to ascertain the facts and act in the matter. As given out by us a week ago to the press, the following Cable was received in Washington from Elder E. J. Urquhart, of the Korean Union:

"Following Shanghai advice, Haysmer dismissed. Trial soon. Outcome uncertain." On receipt of the cable, our board in Washington took action, voting, "That we approve of the prompt action taken by our board in the Far East in dismissing the missionary."

Meantime the State Department in Washington had been making inquiry at our request, their information confirming the fact that the doctor had marked the boy's face with a solution, "said by the mission superintendent to have been silver nitrate." We learn also that when, "contrary to expectations, markings did not disappear," the doctor paid a monetary consideration to the boy's family. We know from the press dispatches that he also advertised his apologies in the Korean press. But the act of a thoughtless moment could not be recalled. Though the missionary would gladly have spent his life in ministry to the sick and needy in that hospital dispensary, some other must do this service. We hope a man may quickly be found to fill the gap in this emergency. The Far East committee is no doubt already making call to this end.

We may well be thankful that in every great mission division we have these division conference committees, made up of responsible and experienced men, ready on the ground to give counsel and to act in every emergency.
W. A. SPICER,
President General Conference.

The August 4, 1926 issue of the  Atlantic Union Gleaner offered this commentary on Haysmer and his dismissal:

ENCOURAGING EDITORIAL

The members in our field will take courage from the following editorial copied from the Spokane "Chronicle".

Cruelty is not Religion 

"The Seventh-day Adventist church should have commendation of every denomination maintaining missions abroad for its dismissal of the missionary charged with branding the cheeks of a Korean boy for stealing apples.

"Missionaries in the foreign fields are supposed to typify American ideals of religion. A single act such as that charged against the discharged missionary misrepresents America in foreign countries and discounts the sincere efforts of all missionaries.

News Item Copied from same Paper 
"Branding Cost Him Job" 

"Washington, July 17 (A. P.)— Dr. C. A. Haysmer, the Seventhday Adventist missionary charged with branding the cheeks of the Korean boy for stealing apples, has been dismissed by the Far Eastern organization of the denomination, Adventist headquarters here announced today. The mission board here approved the dismissal."

While every Seventh-day Adventist blushes with shame when he thinks of the foolish mistake of Dr. C. A. Haysmer, yet we must not let this episode deter us from courageously meeting the public and asking them to support our foreign missions program.

No reasonable man will cast reflections on the integrity and honesty of the denomination because one of its 9000 workers committed an unpardonable crime. We can yet turn this dark experience into a mighty victory for our Harvest Ingathering work by assuring our friends that the high standards of our denomination do not countenance cruelty or oppression of any kind, and the prompt dismissal of Dr. C. A. Haysmer testifies to that fact.
F. D. Wells.

For Haysmer, being dismissed was likely the least of his problems. The New York Times reported that on July 13 that he had been "formally charged with inflicting bodily injury by the Heijo [Pyongyang] Procurator General." His trial was to take place at the end of that month in Pyongyang, though luckily for the doctor, as Baron Akaike, revealed, "It is telephoned from Heijo that Dr. Haysmeir will not be held in custody pending trial of the case."

The trial began July 29 and much was made of his court appearance in Pyongyang. The Donga Ilbo published this photo of Haysmer:

The Maeil Sinbo published this photo of him in court:

A slightly clearer version is here***:

The Japan Chronicle reported on the trial:

PROCEEDINGS IN PUBLIC COURT.
The Seoul Press produces a long account of the proceedings at Heijo Local Court on the 29th ult. when Dr. C. A. Haysmeir appeared to answer a charge of inflicting bodily injury on a Korean boy. Mr. Justice Aramaki presided and Mr. Mitsui, for the defence. Long before the court was opened at 9 a.m. large numbers of Koreans, despite the wet weather, assembled at the gate, all eager to get admission tickets, which were restricted to 100 owing to the limited accommodation. Dr. Haysmeir appeared in lounge suit.

After all usual preliminaries were gone through, Public Procurator Shimmnaru explained why action was brought against the doctor, and examination of him by the Court followed with English interpretation by Mr. N. Kondo. The accused admitted the facts set forth in the speech of the Public Procurator, and expressed his regret that the inscription on Kim's cheeks had not yet vanished now that nearly one year had elapsed since he wrote the syllables meaning thief with nitrate of silver with the intention of chastising the youthful delinquent, and thinking that the inscription would disappear in a fortnight or so. In answer to a question by the Court the accused also stated that were apples stolen so frequently as was done by the Korean boy he would have punished an American boy in the same way.

The Public Procurator then delivered another speech in the course of which he said that as the accused admitted the charge his offence was quite evident. A question in doubt, however, was that the accused wrote the syllables to chyok on the Korean boy's cheeks really believing that they would vanish in a fortnight. At any rate, the act of the accused was cruel and repulsive, especially when the fact was taken into consideration that he was a medical missionary of the religion propagating the text of universal love. It would be no very great exaggeration to say that by making such an ignominious inscription on the cheeks of the Korean boy, the accused morally killed him, and for his act deserved severe punishment. At the same time the Public Procurator acknowledged that the bodily injury caused by the act was not serious and brought home the fact that the accused was now penitent, having paid damages to the victim. The majesty of law, however, must be upheld, and the Procurator asked the Court to sentence the accused to three months' penal servitude by virtue of Art. 204 of the Penal Code.

Mr. Mitsui, counsel for the defence, pointed out that the crime of bodily injury presupposed an unlawful attack, but in the present case the accused acted after obtaining the consent of the mother of the boy, so that the act of his client did not constitute the crime of bodily injury. Could his act be well termed violence, then it required a suit by the party concerned for the Court to take it up - a thing omitted by the party interested. Mr. Mitsui insisted on the acquittal of his client as not guilty. The Court reserved judgment till August 5th.

A Japan Chronicle report describes the outcome of the trial:

Judgement was delivered on Dr. Haysmeir, in the Pyongyang District Court, Korea, on the morning of the 5th instant, when he was sentenced to three months imprisonment with postponement of execution of sentence for two years. Dr. Haysmeir is reported in a Japanese dispatch to have shown relief at this sentence.

On August 7, the Maeil Sinbo reported that the prosecution considered the fact that the sentence was suspended to be unfair and filed an appeal, meaning that Dr. Haysmer's ordeal was not yet over. On August 26, the Chronicle reported that "The Procurator's appeal in the Haysmeir case is to be heard by the Heijo [Pyongyang] Court of Cassation on the 26th" of August. The Maeil Sinbo later reported that on September 2 the Pyongyang Court of Cassation gave him the same result as the first trial – "two months in prison [sic] suspended for two years." This was declared by the prosecution to be unfair and immediately appealed yet again, meaning the next trial would be in Seoul. The Maeil Sinbo was nice enough to include a photo with this report - said to be of the apple tree in question, with Haysmer's house behind:

Meanwhile, the summary of the SDA's General Conference Committee meeting of October 14, 1925 makes clearer why the General Conference Committee dismissed him:

DR C A HAYSMER:
A petition had been received from a number of brethren in Korea, requesting that Dr. C A Haysmer be allowed to remain in the Korean field. The situation was carefully reviewed, and it was—
VOTED, That answer be sent to the dispensary workers at Soonan expressing our appreciation of their sentiments so kindly expressed, but replying that in view of the unfortunate incident and the world-wide publicity given to it, and the possibility that agitators at any time might easily make use of the case to promote their own ends and to oppose the cause of missions, we feel that the best interests of our brother and the best interests of the cause in general will be served by retirement now from the field.

Meanwhile, the Maeil Sinbo reported that the appeal, held at the high court in Seoul, began on November 5, and was dismissed on November 18. As the Chronicle reported,

HAYSMEIR CASE. PROCURATOR'S APPEAL DISMISSED.
In the Seoul High Court of Justice Judgement was delivered on Mr. Hays- Their, the American missionary doctor, of Junan, Heian- nando, Korea, yesterday morning at 11 o'clock. The procuratorial appeal was dismissed, and Dr. Haysmeir was sentenced to three months Penal servitude with postponement of the sentence for two years, the same as in Courts of First and Second Instance. This judgement is final.

On November 26 the Donga Ilbo reported that Haysmer would leave Korea within a week. He and his wife appear on the passenger list for the Protesilaus, which had sailed from Yokohama and arrived in Vancouver December 22, 1926. It notes that he had $150 with him and that his passage was paid by "Korea Union Mission, SDA." A later SDA publication shows that "Prof. and Mrs. A. R. Tucker, of Washington, [went] to Korea" in August of 1927 - perhaps they replaced him.

Ida Haysmer's obituary in the July 27, 1979 issue of the Atlantic Union Gleaner described her life after her marriage to Clyde Haysmer:

Later, after spending a year at the Portland Sanitarium and a short term in the mission field, they connected with the New England Sanitarium and Hospital in Stoneham, Massachusetts, in 1927. Except for three interludes during which Dr. Haysmer took further surgical training, they were connected with that institution until 1964. During much of this time Mrs. Haysmer served in various nursing capacities.

After a year of travel, Yucca Valley, California, was chosen as the best location, both for climate and to carry on surgical practice. Owing to their increasing years, it was thought best to be near relatives; so in 1977 a move was made to Alhambra, California, to be near their niece and nephew.

Mrs. Haysmer's health deteriorated and she died in the White Memorial Hospital at 7:00 a.m. October 28, 1978. A memorial service was held in Yucca Valley and interment was in the family plot in Stoneham, Massachusetts.

If this narrative seemed to gloss over their time in Korea, describing it as only "a short term in the mission field," it may be because the obituary was written by Clyde Haysmer himself. This omission may give a hint as to his feelings about the incident half a century later. His appearances on passenger lists traveling to and from England in the late 1920s and late 1930s may point to the "interludes" when he undertook "further surgical training." Four years after writing this obituary, he died in Alabama in November 1983.

While this would appear to be the end of the story, it went well beyond Korea, and in the summer and fall of 1926, as legal action was taken against Dr. Haysmer, Japanese-controlled newspapers and foreign-run newspapers would battle over interpretations of the incident, as we will see in part two.