On January 29, the SNU College of Medicine Institute for Health and Unification Studies held its 24th Open Lecture on Unification Healthcare — the first in-person session since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite cold weather, more than forty participants gathered at the college’s international conference hall, reflecting sustained public interest in the question of inter-Korean health cooperation.

The session was themed “Unification Medicine 2.0: K-Unification Health Hunters” — a deliberate reframing of the centre’s agenda for a new era. Director Moon Jin-su (Professor of Paediatrics) argued that the shifting international security environment demands a fundamentally new paradigm for South-North health collaboration. Vice Director Park Sang-min (Professor of Family Medicine) analysed North Korean healthcare before and after the pandemic, and proposed the establishment of a joint “South-North Life and Health Zone” as a practical framework for future cooperation. Administrative Director Eom Chae-hyeon closed the session by stressing that what is needed now is not just a vision but a concrete roadmap. The Q&A ranged across North Korean AI health trends, biomedical clusters, and prospects for direct cooperation.

The January lecture coincided with a broader surge of activity at the centre. In March, Director Moon and Vice Director Park presented at the 11th Joint Conference on Peace and Inter-Korean Research, hosted by the SNU Institute for Peace and Unification Studies — an annual forum that has, over eleven years, become a key venue for sharing research on Korean health convergence.

At that forum, the centre also announced the publication of Unification Medicine 2.0: Inter-Korean Healthcare Cooperation and Integration — a new book co-authored by its faculty and researchers. The volume maps the post-pandemic transformation of North Korea’s healthcare environment, synthesises the latest data on its disease burden, and provides policy and educational material for those preparing for eventual inter-Korean medical cooperation. It is available online and in bookshops.

LECTURE SERIES

24th

Open Lecture on Unification Healthcare — January 29, 2026

“ The shifting international environment demands a new paradigm for South-North health cooperation. ”

— Prof. Moon Jin-su, Director, Institute for Health & Unification Studies