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Prof. Kim Seok-kwun of Dong-A University¡¯s College of Medicine in Busan has some 220 gender reassignment operations under his belt and is Korea¡¯s leading authority in the field. In the wake of the Supreme Court¡¯s decision that transsexuals can change their official sex in the Family Register, the Chosun Ilbo asked the professor¡¯s opinion. He started off by explaining that living in torment because people cannot accept their biological sex is the same as suffering from deformity or disease. ¡°As doctors treat deformity and diseases, so I treat transsexuals so they can lead a normal life.¡±
- What first got you interested in gender reassignment surgery?
¡°When I taught at Busan National University¡¯s Medical College in 1986, a man came and asked me to perform a sex change operation for him. I said no without giving it much thought. A few months later, another two came, and they already had their testicles and penises cut at another hospital. I felt sympathy for them, so I decided to perform an operation and studied the relevant cases. I found that there were many of them in the U.S. and Europe. I performed operations by building something similar to the vaginal tract using muscles and nerves based on my original idea. Since then, more than 20 people a year have come to me for an operation.¡±
- What kinds of people are transsexuals?
¡°Very varied. Among those who changed to women were a dentist, a professional, a musician and a theater actor. Two or three are now entertainers. A man in his sixties who wants to live as a woman before he dies is waiting for an operation. Among those who changed from woman to a man, the oldest was 53 years old.¡±
- Are there common characteristics?
¡°Most of them were raised by single mothers or come from poor families. They say that they started to recognize themselves in the opposite sex from when they were about 10 and they grew confused about their sexual identity after puberty.¡±
- Were any of them married?
¡°There were two. One husband wanted to become a woman. He said he couldn¡¯t live as a man. His wife agreed for him to have the operation, but they decided to get divorced. I could understand how desperate he must have been to make the decision even though he had children.¡±
- What do they say when they see their new sexual organs after the operation?
¡°They usually perk up emotionally. They say they have finally become able to live a true life. My own surveys have found that 75 percent were satisfied with their changed sexual organs, while 10 percent were not.¡±
- Was there anyone who regretted having the operation?
¡°None. They had all dressed and lived as the opposite sex for between a few years and scores of years, and consequently suffered contempt and ill-treatment. So some said they felt ecstatic.¡±
- Is it possible to restore the original sex?
¡°In theory, it¡¯s possible. There was a case in the U.S. where a woman changed her sex and changed back again. But it¡¯s technically difficult.¡±
- How do they pay for expensive operations costing W10-20 million (US$10,000-20,000)?
¡°In the past, most transsexuals who had the operation worked in entertainment establishments. They spent their hard-earned money on the operation. But today, many are office workers. They use their savings, and in some cases parents help out.¡±
- You are a Christian. Have you ever thought that changing sex the God gave goes against Christian doctrine?
¡°A minister in my church at first opposed my performing sex change operations. But God does not always create normal people. Some are born with six fingers or a harelip. I think treating those with problems with their gender identity is the same as doctors treating those born with deformity so they can have a normal life.¡±
- How do you think society should view transgender people?
¡°They should not be viewed as abnormal or controversial. They are a sexual minority. A mature society should respect and protect minorities.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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