August 24 was the occasion of a visit to LLUSD by two visitors from Kyung Hee University School of Dentistry in Seoul Korea: its dean, Joon Bong Park, DMD, PhD, and Kyoung-Kyu Choi, PhD, chair, Conservative Dentistry.
Young classmates Sean Lee and Joon Bong Park
As it happens, Dean Park was the grade school classmate and friend of LLUSD’s Sean Lee, DDS, associate professor of restorative dentistry and director of clinical research at the Center for Dental Research, when they both attended Dong Duk Elementary School, Taegu, Korea.
Dr. Lee served as translator while hosting the visits of Drs. Park and Choi with Dean Charles J. Goodacre, SD’71, MSD, who introduced them to the School’s digital education material. They discussed the possibility of future collaboration between the two schools. Gregory Mitchell, SD’84, director, International Dentist Program, provided the visitors with a tour of IDP, its student lab, and clinic, as did Mr. Joe Arnett, manager, of the School’s Educational Support Services.
While Dr. Lee was a second-year dental student at UCLA in 1986, Dr. Joon Park, by then an associate professor at Kyung Pook National University School of Dentistry, was spending a year at UCLA as a visiting scholar. There he and Dr. Lee assisted No-Hee Park, DMD, PhD, professor of Pharmacology, UCLA School of Dentistry, in his research on oral herpes.
The three dentists were reunited over dinner at the home of Dr. No-Hee Park, now dean of the UCLA School of Dentistry. It was a 24-year personal and professional reunion. And no translator was needed.