Physician puts patients first
환자들을 우선 돌보는 의사 이상원
Dr. John Sangwon Lee, who practices in Willimantic, is known as the ‘Dr. Spock of Korea.’by Carrie Cussen, Norwich Bulletin, CT, USA
For more information, please visit drleepediatrics.com. search 정보를 더 찾으려면 drleepediatrics.com 방문한 후 search 에서 찾아보세요.
Timothy Simpson has been bringing his three children to the same pediatrician since his oldest daughter, Carrie, was born.
That was almost 13 years ago, and to this day, Simpson says a visit with Dr. John Sangwon Lee is almost like a reunion.
“He is such a wonderful doctor,” said Simpson, 37, of Marlborough. “A lot has to do with how he interacts with the children and the relationships he forms with parents. It’s almost like he goes beyond (the responsibilities of) his job. Children never seem to feel uncomfortable in his presence – except when it comes to shots.”
Lee, 62, is a soft-spoken pediatrician who has lived and practiced medicine in Willimantic for 25 years. During the course of those years, Lee doesn’t recall ever turning a patient away.
“I think of medicine as a healing art,” Lee said. “It may sound funny, but I don’t think medicine should be run as a business. That can be a problem sometimes and it’s difficult because there does have to be a compromise between business and medical treatment.”
In his homeland of Korea, Lee is renowned author who has been dubbed the “Father of the Korean Children” and the “Dr. Spock of Korea.”
“It’s an honor and a responsibility,” Lee said about the comparison to the famous American pediatrician.
Recently, Lee published a revised edition of one of his books, called “Home Medical Care for Newborns, Infants, Children and Adolescents.” 
The book was the first of its kind to be published in Korea, he said. It is his dream to someday have all six of his books translated from Korean to English.
According to Lee, his success is defined through patient wellness.
“I love my patients,” he said. “Of course, I have good days and bad days, but all the time I love my patients. They always come first.”
Lee is a native of Susan, Chungnam, Korea, who earned his medical degree in 1963 at Yonsei University, College of Medicine in Seoul.
Five years later, he traveled across the ocean to complete his internship program at Manchester Memorial Hospital in Connecticut.
From 1969 to 1971, he completed his residency at the University of Connecticut, School of Medicine and then worked at Yale University College of Medicine and Norwalk Hospital.
By the spring of 1973, Lee was certified by the American Board of Pediatrics for demonstrating a high level of medical competency in the care and treatment of children. That same year, he joined the medical staff at Windham Community Memorial Hospital and worked in the Professional Building on Mansfield Avenue.
In 1984, he moved his practice to 370 Valley St. where he stayed for 15 years. Just five years ago, he moved to his current address at 1219 Main St.
In the formative years of his residency, Lee said he put in many long hours. But over the years, patients have slowly diminished.
“This town really needed me back then,” he said. “I used to work almost 365 days a year, some days until midnight. But now, this town may not need me as much.”
Lately he is encountering many more patients with emotional problems stemming from divorce and single-parent families.
“They usually don’t come right out and tell you what’s bothering them,” Lee said. “You have to see it, feel it, hear it, and sense it.”
Damaris Ortiz has worked as Lee’s office manager for almost 10 years.
“Dr. Lee is a very wise man,” Ortiz said. “He’s a workaholic who truly loves his patients. And he’s constantly reading up on the latest medical information.”
Ortiz also commended her boss on his keen ability for discovering illness in children. When her nephew was 8, Lee was the first person to diagnose him with a serious form of cancer.
Lee and his wife, Chunga, 57, are the parents of three children, Willam, 32, a computer specialist, Joseph, 30, an internist at Pfizer, and Jeanne, 27, the owner of a wholesale business.
His wife says she is still impressed by her husband’s character.
“He’s so smart and very gentle,” Chunga said. “He’s a brilliant man and a wonderful father. But he was often very busy and didn’t always have much time for his own children. We did what we had to do. I didn’t work, so I stayed home with them.”
Lee has reached the age where retirement is an option. He says he would like to retire, but doesn’t know when.
“After I retire and if I’m still healthy, I’m thinking about traveling to other countries to practice,” he said.