Meeting in America and the Decision for Joseon 🇺🇸➡️🇰🇷
Rosetta and William first met at a clinic in the slums of New York, where they shared a common vision of living for the poor and marginalized. Rosetta arrived in Joseon first in 1890 and began her ministry at Boguyeogwan, the first hospital for women. A year later, William arrived, and they were married in Seoul in 1892. 💍 Their ceremony is recorded as one of the first Western-style weddings in Korean history.
Pioneering Pyongyang and a Sudden Farewell 🏥
The couple moved to Pyongyang, where modern medical benefits were virtually non-existent. However, their happiness was brief. When the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1894, William devoted himself to treating wounded soldiers and victims of epidemics. 🤒 In the process, he contracted typhus and passed away at the age of 34, leaving behind his wife, their young son Sherwood, and a daughter yet to be born. 🕊️
The Loss of a Daughter and Unwavering Devotion 🤱
After losing her husband, Rosetta briefly returned to the U.S. to give birth to her daughter, Edith. But to honor William’s legacy, she returned to Joseon in 1897 with her two young children. Tragedy struck again when three-year-old Edith died of dysentery the following year. 🥀 Instead of succumbing to grief after burying both her husband and daughter in Korean soil, Rosetta threw herself even more passionately into her mission.
Foundations for Women’s Medicine and Special Education 🎓
Rosetta sought to overcome the cultural barrier where Korean women refused treatment from male doctors. She sponsored her assistant, Kim Jeom-dong (Esther Park), to study in the U.S., making her Korea’s first female physician. 🩺 She also established the Kyungsung Women’s Medical Training Institute (the predecessor of Korea University College of Medicine). Furthermore, she developed Korean Braille for the blind and founded schools for the deaf and blind, pioneering special education in Korea. ⠃⠇
Eternal Rest: The Grave at Yanghwajin ⛪
After 43 years of service, Rosetta retired to the U.S. in 1933. She passed away on April 5, 1951, at the age of 85. Having spent her life for the marginalized in Korea, she left a final wish: "When I die, do not bury me in America, but in the land I loved, Korea, beside my husband and child." 🇰🇷 Her remains were brought back to Korea and interred at the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery in Seoul, alongside William and Edith. 💐
Love Through Generations: Her Son, Sherwood Hall 🎄
Inspired by his mother’s strength, her son Sherwood Hall also became a doctor and returned to Korea in 1926 with his wife. He focused on tuberculosis, which was the leading cause of death in Korea at the time. He established the first TB sanatorium in Haeju and, in 1932, issued Korea’s first Christmas Seals to raise funds and awareness for the disease. 🎟️
Until his forced deportation by the Japanese in 1940, he saved countless lives on the foundation of love built by his parents. When Sherwood passed away in 1991, he too was buried in the family plot at Yanghwajin. The Hall family remains a timeless symbol of sacrificial love, having given their entire lives across generations to Korea. ✨
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