After two decades of disaster relief, Seo Jeong-seong says it is time to repay the world’s debt

“The most devastated place I have visited” is how Seo Jeong-seong describes Venezuela’s La Guaira state, where he provided medical care and delivered essential supplies after an earthquake this year. The South Korean ophthalmologist and head of the nonprofit Asia Hope Tree visited the area twice, from July 3 to 13 and from Aug. 13 to 18.

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The most devastated place I have visited.

Getting there proved difficult from the start. Caracas’ Simón Bolívar International Airport had closed, so Seo traveled through New York and Colombia, landed at Valencia airport and drove two to three hours to Caracas. The disaster zone lay more than another hour away. The journey took 36 hours going in and 44 hours returning. Buildings, electricity and water systems had all collapsed.

Because the Venezuelan government restricted access for international medical workers and journalists, Seo reached the affected area through Venezuela’s medical association. He found no visible emergency relief teams, while residents received drinking water from fire trucks. Concerned about waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, as well as skin diseases, the team prepared hundreds of portable water purifiers.

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Emergency patients can receive immediate treatment, but people with chronic illnesses or mild symptoms were being left unattended.

Patients continued arriving at the team’s tent until 10 p.m. Seo worked alone during the first visit, while orthopedic specialist Ko Kang-yeol joined the second. The team treated an estimated 500 people during the first mission and 700 during the second, often without time to complete medical charts. “Emergency patients can receive immediate treatment, but people with chronic illnesses or mild symptoms were being left unattended,” Seo said.

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Nepal’s rescue operations are not over, and the affected gorge villages are difficult to reach. We are looking for a way to help.

His relief work began with the 2004 South Asian tsunami and has taken him to Pakistan, Myanmar, the Philippines, Nepal, Indonesia, Laos, Türkiye and Venezuela. He has also worked with refugees from Myanmar’s Karen community and Ukraine, and supported COVID-19 response efforts in Daegu. Asia Hope Tree runs overseas clinics in Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines, promoting the spirit of Gwangju’s May 18 movement. While preparing for an interview, Seo was also seeking ways to help Nepal after flooding made direct access dangerous. “Nepal’s rescue operations are not over, and the affected gorge villages are difficult to reach,” he said. “We are looking for a way to help.”

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Above all, public interest and donations are the greatest source of strength for people in disaster-stricken countries and emergency relief teams. Disaster survivors feel that they have not been abandoned simply because foreign relief workers visited them. Now it is time for our country to repay the debt it owes to the international community. Wouldn’t that make the world a warmer place?