Philip Jaisohn

Philadelphia was home to one of the earliest and most famous Korean Americans, Dr. Philip Jaisohn, in the early 20^th century.  Jaisohn was born Suh Jae-pil in the South Cholla Province of Korea, the son of parents who were members of the most privileged social class in Korea. He Anglicized his name to Philip Jaisohn when he arrived in the United States in 1885. After receiving his medical degree in 1892 (the first Korean American to do so), he returned to Korea to establish the first Korean newspaper. There, he became involved in the fight to keep Korea independent of China and, after 1910, to liberate it from Japan. Although Jaisohn was naturalized as an American citizen in 1890, thus becoming the first Korean to become an American citizen, he remained very engaged with his homeland. After his second exile Jaisohn spent most of his years in the Philadelphia area. He continued to promote the cause of Korean independence, and between 1919 and 1922 served as Director of the Korean Information Bureau in Philadelphia. His work in medical research and pathology (the study of diseases) and for Korean causes gained respect in both his homeland and his adopted country. Jaisohn died in 1951.

His legacy lives on in the Philadelphia-area Jaisohn Memorial Foundation whose mission is to promote and fulfill Philip Jaisohn's ideals of humanity through medical, social, educational, and cultural services. Founded in 1975 by a group of eight Korean physicians who first operated a volunteer clinic to serve low-income, uninsured Korean immigrants, Jaisohn Center was one of the first Korean community centers in the U.S. and the only one in the country to house a primary care outpatient clinic.  Today Jaisohn Center is a multi-service organization that houses a medical clinic, social services, and senior programs under one roof. The Philip Jaisohn Memorial Foundation is also sponsoring the Philip Jaisohn Charter School to provide immigrant and language-minority students in grades 9-12.