Episcopal Press and News

Cooperative Help for Korean Amputees

Diocesan Press Service. June 8, 1964 [XXII-16]

An American priest working in a diocese of the Church of England with Church World Service - the results are help for Korean amputees.

The Rev. Archer Torrey, a National Council missionary, is rector of St. Michael's Theological College in Seoul. His father, the Rev. Reuben A. Torrey, a Presbyterian minister, started the Amputee Rehabilitation Program of Korea Church World Service.

Naturally enough, Father Torrey agreed to hire an amputee, Antonio Kim, to manage the seminary farm. This was in 1958, and since then, another amputee, Oh Duk Won, has been added to the staff. At the moment, St. Michael's is also providing a third amputee, Samuel Lee, a room and a place for his pigs while the rehabilitation program tries to establish him in business with the help of the American Korean Foundation. He,however, is not on the seminary pay roll.

Oh, the seminary handy-man, is typical of many Korean amputees. Discouraged and disillusioned, Oh turned to begging and alcohol. Finally, he realized the situation he was in and he and his wife agreed that he would go away for three years to build a firm foundation for their family life. Oh asked to be readmitted to the Amputee Rehabilitation Center, which he had voluntarily left once before, and was accepted. Soon he was hired by St. Michael's and he and his wife and child were reunited. His work has more than satisfied all. Father Torrey writes that he is remarkably handy and more conscientious than the previous two-handed man.

In one instance, as Father Torrey relates, Oh's handicap was a definite advantage. "When our house burned down a year or so ago, Oh-ssi was able to use his hook to grab hot things and carry them out of the fire and he really had a field day rescuing things that others found too hot to handle."