Chejungwon (Korean: 제중원; Hanja: 濟衆院) is a medical institution in Seoul, South Korea that is affiliated with the Yonsei University Health System.
In 1885, during the Gapsin Coup, Min Young-ik, the nephew of Empress Myeongseong (wife of Emperor Gojong), was stabbed and seriously injured.
The German diplomat Paul Georg von Möllendorff was present at the massacre and quickly requested medical care from American Dr. Horace Newton Allen, a missionary who had recently arrived.
Thereafter, Gojong displayed an interest in Western medicine, leading to the appointment of Allen as his personal court physician.
Severance donated a large sum of money (US$45.000) to Chejungwon, with which a new hospital was built in front of Sungnyemun.
[2] The first seven medical licenses in Korean history were awarded to graduates of Severance Hospital Medical School on 3 June 1908: Hong Jong-eun, Kim Pil-soon, Hong Seok-hoo, Park Seo-yang, Kim Hui-yeong, Ju Hyun-cheuk and Shin Chang-hee.
The 36-episode television series Jejungwon, starring Park Yong-woo, Han Hye-jin and Yeon Jung-hoon, aired on SBS in 2010, explore the early years of the hospital and its first medical students.