Tom Kim was honored by the Korean government Oct. 27 with the Order of Civic Merit, the highest honor of recognition for a South Korean civilian, for treating the sick and uninsured in Tennessee over nearly two decades.

Kim, whose Korean name is Kim Yu-geun, earned respect and accolades for treating about 70,000 patients since founding the Free Medical Clinic of America in 1993.

“This isn’t like an ordinary award where you receive a president or prime minister or congressman certification,” the Knoxville, Tennessee-based WBIR TV 10 quoted Kim as saying on Oct. 28. “This is on behalf of all of the South Korean people and government.”

Kim went to the United States as a teenager in 1961. He has been working to treat Korean veterans and the working poor for 17 years.

His family fled his native North Korea in 1951 to South Korea, where they remained for a decade before moving to the U.S.

Once in the U.S., he was anxious to make the most of the opportunity. Grateful that he had been afforded the chance to follow his dream to become a physician, Kim made it his mission to give back to those in his adopted homeland who were not as fortunate.

On July 1, 1993, Kim opened the Free Medical Clinic of America, offering free healthcare services for the uninsured and working poor in south Knoxsville.

“There are two reasons why I had the idea of opening up the clinic,” East Tennessee Medical News quoted him as saying. “One reason was that I was brought up Christian. My grandfather was Presbyterian and his values were passed on through my family.”

“The second reason I wanted the free medical service was that it was something I wanted to do since I came to the U.S. as an immigrant from Korea and was grateful to get a good education and have freedom.”

“Creating the clinic was a way for me to pay back to the U.S. for the benefits I had growing up,” he added.

Kim says he plans to wear the watch given to him by the Korean president, but he doesn’t think he will wear the actual medal.

“I never thought about getting this (order),” he said. “My dream is taking care of poor people, that’s all.”

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)