I drank too much yesterday.”
When a staggering customer enters the pharmacy, pharmacist Lee Mi-seon (62) looks for the medicine without panic. A pharmacy located inside the alley of ‘Miari Texas’. In the prostitution brothel located in Hawolgok-dong, Seongbuk-gu, there is a drugstore firmly established. Pharmacist Lee Mi-sun has been running the ‘Healthy Pharmacy’ in Miari Texas for 28 years. This neighborhood is his hometown and he has been living there just because he likes it. Pharmacist Lee Mi-sun is a native of Texas, Miari, except for having lived in Incheon for 10 years.
During the interview with pharmacist Lee Mi-sun, a woman wandered in and out of the pharmacy two or three times. Mr. Lee said, “Isn’t it strange? Why don’t you come in again?” This woman eventually went elsewhere.
Ms. Lee is called ‘Aunt Pharmacist’ here. Inside the rather cramped pharmacy, Mr. Lee is like her aunt next door, talking to the residents of various lives and providing sincere comfort.
Since she runs a pharmacy in a brothel, there are many people who come in after drinking or asking for favors. Wouldn’t it be scary to run a pharmacy in a place like this? Ms. Lee replied honestly, “It would be a lie to say that I am not afraid of anything.” “I am the one who calls 112 the most in this town,” he joked.
“Nevertheless, he kindly explains about drugs to prostitutes”Mr. Lee is infinitely kind to prostitutes and elderly people living alone who come to his pharmacy. The more lonely she is, the more she avoids the public eye. Mr. Lee said the secret to approaching them was ‘waiting’. In particular, Mr. Lee said that he does not forcefully approach prostitutes. He said, “I don’t ask about personal things first or talk casually and I don’t get close,” he said. When I try to live well, they open up too.”
He also said, “Every time I come to buy medicine, I explain the side effects and give counseling. There are many friends who lack common sense about health,” he said. Because of the shame of my job, I can’t even buy the medicine I need properly.”
When he becomes close with those who open his heart, Mr. Lee helps them directly. Mr. Lee said, “There was a man who quit his job after contracting breast cancer while working in prostitution. I remember buying that friend a meal. He also recalled that he gave B, whose liver was damaged by drinking too much, the medicine he needed for his body.”
“It must have been difficult”, “It must have hurt”… A word is the greatest gift to themThere are women who hurt themselves while working in prostitution and come to the pharmacy. He said, “When you see such children, they sometimes come into the pharmacy with long knife marks from the wrist to the tip of the arm. It’s called ‘Hesitation’, but when that happens, it really hurts.” Mr. Lee explained, “I think the scars left behind mean in some way ‘I want to live’.”
At that time, the only thing he can do is say a word of consolation, “It must have been painful” or “It must have been difficult,” or present nutritional supplements스포츠토토. Mr. Lee said that in such cases, he strongly urges them to seek professional treatment.
In addition, Lee said of the prostitutes, “These people are also someone’s precious daughters. However, it is not easy to get help or become self-reliant and start earning money like ordinary people.”
Regarding this, he said, “I hope there will be a university or academy where prostitutes can learn skills or receive education.”
“Healthy counseling center” for prostitutes and marginalized neighborsLee has a first-class social worker license obtained in 2012. He said that the reason he got his license was simply because he wanted to study human psychology. Before entering the pharmacy, there was a sign next to the entrance that read ‘Healthy Counseling Center’. Most of the people who come to Lee for counseling are ordinary people.
He said, “There are many people who come to counseling for psychological problems such as complaining of ‘loneliness’.” In particular, “There are many middle-aged men and middle-aged women who are alienated from their families. A middle-aged man feels lonely from his wife and children, and a middle-aged woman suffers from housework and is upset by her children. At that time, I listen to the story and consult.” The door of the pharmacy is always wide open so that neighbors can stop by for consultation at any time.
It was in 2005 that Mr. Lee began to think a lot about helping his neighbors. It has been since a fire broke out in a brothel building right in front of the pharmacy and a prostitute died. Mr. Lee said, “They are friends who lived in the house across from the pharmacy door. Five prostitutes died while doing the work (prostitution). It was a bit difficult for me personally. How painful and difficult it must be to end your life as a prostitute. I started to think about it and thought that there was nothing more I could do.”
Mr. Lee laughed, saying that he was doing an ‘online beekeeping’. He said, “It’s a word I made up, but a beggar begs. In a good way, it means sponsorship, but it is not in everyday language.” It is said that it refers to the act of collecting donations to help women in prostitution and the elderly living alone. When Mr. Lee visited the house of an elderly man living alone, he saw that there were few side dishes and the air conditioner did not work properly, so he contacted his acquaintances. He said, “ I inform people I know about the fundraising through acquaintances or social media . For example, it informs the elderly who live alone that they desperately need support to provide new air conditioners. Then, people who responded and offered their hearts raised donations and installed new air conditioners.”
Currently, Lee is taking care of a single mother’s family. He said, “I heard the story of a single mother I met six years ago and have been sponsoring until now.” He explained that he is collecting money to send the rent, school fees for the child, medicines for the child’s mother, and hospital treatment.”
He also has been supporting the homeless and the elderly living alone for over 10 years through Baha House. He provides food support once a month for the homeless and the poor. Mr. Lee said, “A few days ago, on Parents’ Day, I collected donations and delivered gifts with my acquaintances for those who must have been lonely. He presented about 100 items, including red ginseng liquid, travel toothbrush set, patch, and Ssanghwatang.”
He said, “These days, I am working as the chairman of the Blue Whale Recovery Center. She started working with it when it was founded as an organization to help socially isolated young people,” he said. The Blue Whale Recovery Center is a recovery community that helps ‘young people preparing for self-reliance’ and ‘young people in isolation and seclusion’ recover.
Miari Texas is said to be home to a large number of recipients of the basic pension and the next upper class. Mr. Lee expressed his regret about the welfare blind spot and appealed, “I hope that the fact that social welfare officials change every two years will be improved.” He said, “A public official meets the elderly for two years and familiarizes himself with their situation. But two years later, being a new civil servant again and having to familiarize yourself with new things doesn’t seem like a good part,” he said. did.
“The world we live in together”In Miari Texas, there is talk of redevelopment. Mr. Lee said, “Even if I move out of this area due to redevelopment, I want to continue operating the pharmacy and become a friend of the local community.” Mr. Lee’s value is ‘the world where we live together’. He revealed his disillusionment with the fact that external things such as money and appearance are considered important in modern society. “I went through a lot of hardships in my life,” Lee said. As a result, he realized the importance of the inside rather than the outside, and eventually felt that a life of caring for others was important.”
He said, “I feel rewarded in helping others, not money or luxury. In particular, I learned a lot while participating in the student movement. She also has an experience of being restrained while exercising. He felt it was important to stand on the side of the weak while experiencing various things.”
Mr. Lee mentioned that the happiness level of Koreans is currently the lowest among the 38 OECD member countries. He also expressed regret about the seriousness of the low birth rate problem. He cited problems with the welfare system as one of the causes. He expressed regret, saying, “I was not benefited from the country at all because a single mother friend I was close with worked for a company and was receiving a small salary.”
When asked what was the most rewarding thing while working as a pharmacist, Lee said, “It was when a friend I was close with who visited the pharmacy often stopped working as a prostitute. He bought a cake and came to the pharmacy to thank me, and I was really happy at that time.”Mr. Lee said, “There are no grandiose personal duties or goals as a pharmacist in the future.” He just said he wanted to be like he is now. He said, “My motto is ‘ Now and here , I can do my best’ . Now, that means I’m doing my best here at my job.” Mr. Lee added, “I think it is polite for my life to live my life to the best of my ability here without regretting the past and not being afraid of the future to come.”