South Korea needs to depoliticize the issue of medical support to the North and find a mechanism to work with people in the communist regime to save people from deadly diseases, a U.S. humanitarian expert said.

“This is a golden moment. If Koreans, both North and South, can figure out a mechanism to address this issue now, whether it is through China or a third party, before ‘tongil’ (unification), life will be much better for Koreans in the future and (it will) save a lot of lives and money,” said Stephen Linton, founder and chairman of Eugene Bell, a charity organization based in Anyang, near Seoul, in an interview with The Korea Herald.

Linton has been leading humanitarian aid to North Korea since 1997 and started providing medical programs for patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, or MDR TB, in 2007, on the request of North Korean authorities. About 600 patients are currently under treatment thanks to donations from South Korean communities. In cooperation with North Korean health authorities, he opened eight TB centers north and south of Pyongyang. He is looking to expand his mission to treat more patients suffering from the disease.

The Eugene Bell Foundation tries to promote continuous exchanges between South and North.

“It is a way of circumventing the obstacles that divide the North and the South and it requires cooperation with the North Korean and South Korean sides.” 

More support from the private sector is needed, as well as from the South Korean government or from the U.S., to carry out missions without any state interference, he said.

Born in 1950 in the U.S., Linton was raised in Sooncheon, South Jeolla Province, as the son of Hugh and Betty Linton, who established Christian churches and schools in the region. His parents also launched the Sooncheon Christian Tuberculosis Rehabilitation Center in the ’60s’, when many South Koreans were infected with TB right after the Korean War.

Linton, whose Korean name is In Se-ban, has spent most of his life in South Korea and studied philosophy at Yonsei University in Seoul. He later attended Columbia University for an M.D. and Ph.D. in theology.

The 62-year-old humanitarian established the Eugene Bell Foundation in 1995, on the centennial of the beginning of his great-grandfather’s missionary work to Korea and with the aim of helping North Koreans in poverty.

Linton, who speaks fluent Korean with a bit of a Jeolla accent, is an expert both on North and South Korean issues. He has visited North Korea more than 50 times since 1979 and met the former leader Kim Il-sung, twice, as a translator to Rev. Billy Graham.

John Linton, director of the International Healthcare Center of Yonsei University, is his brother.

Following are excerpts from the interview.

Herald: How did you start providing medical aid to MDR TB patients in North Korea?

Linton: North Korean authorities asked for TB (treatment) in 2007. I don’t know exactly why but they figured out (that Eugene Bell) is a good mechanism, since my family has done TB work in South Korea, and (has been) a good mechanism for receiving assistance for a long time. You can’t do it on a year-by-year basis, especially with people with MDR TB, which takes two and two and a half years, sometimes three or four (years).

Herald: What is Eugene Bell foundation’s role?

Linton: I really see Eugene Bell as a mechanism for continuous contact of a certain nature between North and South, actually designed by Koreans but implemented by a foreigner. It is a way of circumventing the obstacles that divide the North and the South and it requires cooperation with the North Korean and South Korean sides.

Herald: Your first visit to North Korea was in 1979. How was it?

Linton: I wanted to see North Korea. Well I grew up in South Korea and studied in a Korean university. I think, in those days, you couldn’t grow up in Korea without absorbing lot of curiosity about what goes on the other side of Korea. I just wanted to see it. I spent most of my life in (South) Korea and yet, here was another Korea, one that I had never imagined.

Herald: Were there any difficulties with the mission after the sinking of the Cheonan warship?

Linton: Our biggest concern was getting permission to send our next shipment. After Cheonan, our fall shipment had already been approved at that particular point, so we had no concern. But the one that we had biggest problem with was our next spring shipment after Yeonpyeongdo. All of our medications are shipped from South Korea, so we need a bunch of approvals. Every shipment is approved individually. And two years ago in the spring, it was not certain that we were able to send the shipment to North. But, gratefully with recommendation and assistance from many people including the South Korean ambassador to the U.S., we got the approval two weeks late but we made it.

Herald: Have you noticed any changes in the North since Kim Jong-un took over the leadership?

Linton: It is hard for me to judge because I spend most of the time in TB centers. We had a very tough trip (this) spring after the leadership transition and I did a lot of complaining and lobbying in North Korea over the summer and we had a great trip this fall. And why did it get better? (Because of) the new leader? It is all about the process … I don’t think this particular sector has so far changed dramatically in any way because of changes.

Herald: How do you feel when you see progress in North Korean patients?

Linton: From a personal perspective, it is satisfying because it works in 60-70 percent of cases but there are a lot of people who fail. So it has been an emotional rollercoaster. It is really great to see some people get well but it is heartbreaking to see somebody fail.

But professionally for me, it is challenging and the challenge of designing the programs all around the obstacles that actually have a fair level of effectiveness has been intellectually satisfying. But I have to say, I didn’t do it ― we all worked together to make this work. Now the challenge is that it needs to expand.

Herald: Is the South Korean government involved in raising funds?

Linton: We had some under the Roh Moo-hyun administration and some delivered by the present government. I don’t think this administration has approved any of the funding. But I think this is something the private sector can do a much better job on. Too many people try to go through government but there should be privatized sector (involvement). That is why we exist.

Herald: Did the North Korean authorities approve of the public knowing the names of South Korean donors?

Linton: It took a long time. At first we could give the names in English but then that is gone. (We convinced them that) not only should our project in North Korea be transparent, but our donation process should be transparent to you. You should know who is supporting this and we have more of an obligation to tell recipients that this money didn’t come out of my pocket.

Herald: What makes descendents of Eugene Bell continue their missionary work in Korea?

Linton: I believe in divine providence. When I look at my ancestors, they tried to be good people, tried to be good Christians. But I don’t really see anything extraordinary in any of them, myself included. I do think that there is synergy between a certain kind of participation in Korean society by foreigners and, frankly, what Koreans have allowed and encouraged them to do in that society. We have had a very dynamic relationship with Koreans for four generations, and it has been always meaningful what we could do and what Koreans let us to do. Koreans have made a place for us. It’s been very productive and overall, a mutually beneficial kind of relationship.

Herald: How did your parents’ work have an influence on you?

Linton: My father helped with churches and he helped my mother with TB centers.

I am the last person that believes that there’s a compelling vision that makes this happen. I chased my interest in North Korean studies, and was intrigued by the idea of trying to develop a system for Korean-Americans to participate in humanitarian aid. I knew nothing about TB.

Herald: What is your goal?

Linton: I would like to see, before my life is up, that mechanism (for two Koreas to work together) reach more patients. And this is a golden moment. If Koreans, both North and South, can figure out a mechanism to address this issue now, whether it is through China or a third party, before tongil (unification), life will be much better for Koreans in the future and (it will) save a lot of lives and money.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)