Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital

Hallym University(HU) and Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine(KPUM) entered into an international affiliation agreement to promote mutual cooperation on joint scientific research and exchange of faculty members and students at KPUM, Kyoto, Japan on February 2, 2010. To celebrate the occasion, the two institutions jointly held a symposium on "Toward Our Collaborative Research on Human Neurological Diseases" which was attended by neurologists of both countries.

The program started with the introduction of HU and KPUM followed by presidential greetings of both universities, and a signing ceremony. The five-member Hallym delegation included Dr. Young-Sun Lee, president of Hallym University, Dr. Yong-Sun Kim, executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences, Dr. Hae-Ran Lee, president of Hallym University Medical Center, Dr. Kyung-Ho Yu, associate professor of neurology and Dr. Eun-Kyoung Choi, professor of the Ilsong Institute of Life Science. Among their counterparts at the signing ceremony involved Dr. Hisakazu Yamagishi, president of KPUM, Dr. Minoru Kimura, director of Research Promotion Center and professor of physiology, Dr. Shinji Fushiki, professor of pathology and applied neurobiology, Dr. Chihiro Yabe-Nishimura, professor of pharmacology and director of international exchange center, and other KPUM professors.

At the opening, President Lee said, "It is indeed a great honor for us to start fresh collaborative ties with your institution which has always been on the forefront in advancing research and education in medicine. I hope we will join our hands in moving our relations beyond a university level to make them evolve into enhancing mutual friendship and understanding between Japan and Korea in the future."

Both universities promised to pursue joint research activities, exchange of students in medicine and nursing departments, and organization of joint conferences and graduate student workshops.

Hallym has international partnerships with world-renowned medical universities and hospitals including Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons(2002) in the U.S., and Nagoya City University(2006), Nagasaki University(2007), and Tokai University Hospital(2008) in Japan.

Four speakers were invited to give lectures on the theme of "Toward Our Collaborative Research on Human Neurological Diseases." Many participants were impressed by the fact that Hallym has been playing a leading role in stroke treatments after setting up the Korean Stroke Registry.

KPUM was established in 1872(fifth year of Meiji Era) when its hospital was built inside a temple called "Shoren-in" located in Kyoto Higashiyama. KPUM is one of the oldest medical universities in Japan with a history of 138 years and contributes to local community by cultivating great doctors to send them to medical institutions and public health centers in Kyoto Prefecture.

By Younghee Han, Int'l Operations Team, HUMC