2003 NJMS Grad Featured in People Magazine

Read the headline on the table of contents page in The July 14 issue of People: "Woosik Chung is studying surgery–more than 24 years after his hands were severed." Then turn to page 125 and 126 for the text and four photos of Chung on location at UMDNJ–University Hospital, as a young child in Seoul, South Korea and in New Jersey with his mother and father. His inspiring story is traveling well beyond the campuses of UMDNJ to People's 3,714,268 average circulation and 36,980,000 readership. For those who missed the issue, here is a capsulized version of the new alumnus' story:

An accident in 1978 that severed his hands led Chung, 27, of Lawrenceville to pursue a career as an orthopedic surgeon. While playing "hide-n-seek" during a national holiday in his native South Korea, the then 3-year-old reached out to catch the whirring fan of a tractor engine, and completely severed both hands. Luckily, his parents-a surgeon and a nurse-were there and rushed him to a hospital. When they arrived, they found only a skeleton health care staff because of the holiday. Although Woosik's father had never attempted this type of operation before, with his wife and a surgical team assisting, the youngster's hands were re-attached. No one was sure if the boy would ever regain the use of his hands. His maternal grandfather, a Tae Kwan Do master, stepped forward with a unique approach to rehabilitation: the martial arts. The youngster mastered the techniques so well that several years after moving with his family to this country, he qualified for the U.S. national Tae Kwan Do team.

He would have competed for a spot on the 2002 U.S. Olympic team if the allure of medicine hadn't drawn him to enroll at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. Chung is currently a resident in orthopedic surgery at Columbia University Presbyterian Hospital.