When President Barack Obama set out in his first year to tackle two of the most daunting tasks confronting the nation—improving the health care of Americans and restoring the standing of the United States in the international community—he looked for public servants whose reputation, expertise and experience would be commensurate with those formidable challenges. Two of his top choices turned out to be from the same family: mop-topped brothers from New England, armed with easy smiles, impeccable resumes and a penchant for the Boston Red Sox. Howard Kyongju Koh, 57, is the Assistant Secretary of Health at the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Brother Harold Hongju Koh, 54, is the Legal Adviser at the State Deparment.
In separate phone interviews, each spoke with KoreAm’s Frank Aum about their efforts to advance the goals of the Obama administration and their commitment to public service.
By Frank Aum
Photographs by Jay Premack
Dr. Howard Koh is board-certified in four fields–internal medicine, hematology, dermatology, and medical oncology-and has led anti-tobacco and cancer prevention campaigns as a doctor and a former Massachusetts health official. At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, he serves as an advisor to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, oversees 13 offices and nine presidential and secretarial advisory committees, and provides leadership in the federal governement’s efforts to strengthen disease-prevention and achieve health equity. He previously served as the Commissioner of Public Health for Massachusetts as well as associate dean at the Harvard School of Public Health.
What is your diagnosis of America’s collective health?
Our collective health could be substantially improved, especially with respect to prevention.
You have campaigned for many years against tobacco and for cancer prevention. What aspects have been helpful and what can be improved upon?
What was very positive was the societal understanding that tobacco addiction shouldn’t be accepted as the status quo. We still have far too many people dying of tobacco addiction, especially Asian Americans and Asian American men. So over the last number of years, we’ve finally had society reject this situation as normal.
Also, we have a society that has traditionally placed more value on treatment than on prevention. With health reform, we now have an opportunity to advance the concept of prevention delivered as early as possible instead of treatment delivered late. In just about every public health threat, there are prevention opportunities that can be maximized. Some examples are tobacco and cancer, infectious diseases such as H1N1 and the need for vaccination, HIV, obesity, cardiovascular disease, violence, and climate change.
Do you sigh when President Obama speaks vaguely about smoking relapses?
He’s been very open about his own struggles and I respect that. I think we all understand that this is not a choice—the tobacco industry has foisted this on young people and we need to prevent that at the earliest possible stage. The president has shown that he is a great leader in tobacco control by supporting and signing the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. This new law gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory authority to regulate the marketing and promotion of tobacco products and set performance standards for tobacco products.
I interviewed Dr. Jim Kim [president of Dartmouth College] a couple months ago, and he mentioned that you two are friends. You, your brother Harold, Dr. Jim Kim, have all demonstrated a commitment to both academia and public service. Why does public service appeal to you?
I heard these messages from my parents ever since I was a young boy. They were newcomers to this country from Korea searching for the American Dream and as long as I can remember, they told us that we were fortunate to live in this country, that we were blessed to speak English as our first language, and that we were fortunate to enjoy rights and freedoms. But in return, it was our responsibility to give back to society and to help others. Also, my father was the Ambassador to the United States from South Korea in 1960 for a short period of time. I just remember his excitement in being able to serve both countries. So service was always a major dimension of my upbringing.
Your parents both taught at Yale. Tell us about life growing up in the Koh household in New Haven in the ‘50s and ‘60s. I don’t think it was like Leave It to Beaver.
[Laughs] It’s fair to say that my parents pushed all of us children to go beyond our full potential. I think a lot of it was, of course, the understanding that they had made tremendous sacrifices to be in this new country, and they wanted us to succeed and give back to society. We worked hard. They sent us to the best schools, and they took out loans so we could attend private schools and universities and graduate schools.
Were they trying to hoist upon you activities like piano or violin lessons, or extra study preparation?
Definitely, extra study and preparation!
What were some of your and your siblings’ hobbies or activities growing up?
We all have a passion for baseball and the Boston Red Sox. [Harold and I] both got to throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park. I’m also a vocalist.
I’ve read that you were the president of the Glee Club at Yale.
Yes, choral singing is a wonderful gift. I love music.
Did your Asian American identity have any role in your formative years?
There were very few Asian Americans in [New Haven]. It was predominantly Caucasian so we stood out for many reasons. When you’re a little kid, you don’t necessarily want to be different than your peers. But as you grow older, it becomes a big positive force in your life and a motivating force.
Speaking about motivating forces, what motivated you toward health and medicine? Was your brother’s experience with polio a contributing factor in your interest in medicine?
I wanted to help others in the most basic way, and I saw that helping people with suffering was an invaluable, if not sacred, way of making a contribution in other people’s lives. Seeing what my brother went through of course affected me. So that was one of many experiences that affected my decision to go into medicine. Also, my own doctor was, and is, a fantastic role model.
Did your family move down to D.C. with you?
Well, my three kids—Stephen, Daniel, and Katie (27, 25 and 22)—are up and out of the house, all with their own busy lives. My wife is a very busy ophthalmologist in Boston. As we speak, our oldest son is in Korea. He’s a visiting scholar at Seoul National University’s law school.
Your sister Jean is also a professor at Yale Law School so I’d imagine that Thanksgiving dinners with the Kohs must be rigorous affairs. When you see your siblings, do conversations settle on middle ground topics like PEPFAR or do you swap opinions about the latest Twilight movie?
[Laughs] Haha, you’re funny. Well, it’s great to be in the Obama administration with my brother Harold. We’re seeing each other more than we have in quite a while. He’s obviously very busy and traveling a lot internationally. It’s been great to share this chapter with him. My mom is a very proud Korean mother.
Do you have any advice for aspiring physicians or public servants?
Pinpoint your passion. If you can pinpoint your passion and follow it, that can lead you to wonderful life experiences. In my case, my parents imbued me with this wonderful passion, and it has led me to where I am now. So I feel very blessed and fortunate.
