Clara Hedberg Bruen, who was called Ha BokEum, was born on May 16, 1899 in Bassmer, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, U.S. She decided to become a missionary in high school, and after graduation, she entered the Youngstown Hospital Nursing School in Ohio to prepare to become a nurse, and after graduating from nursing school, she gained preparation and experience as a nursing missionary through four years of practical experience.

In September 1923, she arrived in the Philippines, her first ministry, through San Francisco, California. Shortly after arriving, Hedberg came to Daegu as the sixth Dongsan Christian Hospital nurse on December 19 after hearing that she was looking for a nurse at Dongsan Christian Hospital in a newsletter published by the Mission Headquarters of the Northern Presbyterian U.S.A.

Until their marriage in September 1934, they formed a harmonious teamwork with Fletcher missionaries for 11 years to make it an exemplary hospital for Christian missionary work. She was in charge of nursing practice and nursing administration management throughout the hospital, and took care of patients with infectious diseases such as cholera typhoid, tuberculosis, and leprosy, which were prevalent at the time.

As the number of patients increased day by day, countermeasures were needed to cope with the demand for nursing staff in the hospital, and the 25-year-old Hedberg took charge of the detailed tasks needed to be solved both internally and externally while having a hard time as the head of the nursing department.

On May 5, 1924, the Ministry of Nursing Training School was established with the help of Dr. Son In-sik, who was in charge of the medical department of Dongsan Christian Hospital, and Kim Deok-soo, director of general affairs. As the first director, she worked hard to develop a curriculum that meets the educational ideology to foster nursing personnel with abundant theory and clinical knowledge and a strong Christian faith and professional spirit, and gradually, she established the basic framework of a systematic organization in October 1925.

It started with five new students at the time of its establishment, producing a small number of graduates every year, as well as contributing greatly to fostering many nursing personnel thereafter. In 1935, the Ministry of Nursing Training School was promoted to a nursing college.

Clara Hedberg and nursing students in front of the Nursing Training School

Nursing Training School Student and Clara Hedberg, November 21, 1933

Headberg operated as a dedicated nurse when the infant health center was opened at Dongsan Christian Hospital on February 14, 1930, centering on Lee Young-soon, the first graduate of the nursing school, and emphasized the importance of infant health projects to her juniors while also serving as a professor at the Nursing Training School.

The first infant health project began by supplying fresh milk. Since then, experts in various fields, such as preventing and managing infant infectious diseases, storing milk hygienically, and making soy milk or baby food, have been invited to give lectures and practice. In particular, the Infant Health Center has even played a role as a maternal and child health center, from prevention of diseases, prenatal and postpartum care, and neonatal care methods for pregnant women.

In 1932, there were 17 first graduates, and by 1939, more than 200 children were awarded diplomas. With her initial efforts and the active participation of missionaries at Daegu Mission Base and staff at Dongsan Christian Hospital, it had developed into the largest infant health center in the country.

Baby Welfare Clinic, 1930

Clara Headberg and Dongsan Christian Hospital First Graduates of Infant Department, 1932

After the missionary Marda Scott Bruen, who was working with her at the Daegu Mission on October 20, 1930, died of breast cancer, Hedberg, a friend of her usual missionary, stayed on protected him from his sickbed. even married Marda Scott's husband, Bruen, on September 4, 1934.

She lived a life of saving the kingdom of God first, not her personal comfort, and was simply an all-weather nursing missionary who devoted herself to fostering the field and future generations with a strong sense of mission.

After marriage, she and her husband frequently toured western Gyeongsangbuk-do, including Chilgok, Seonsan, Seongju, and Gimcheon, and actively participated in the rural women's missionary work that she was interested in. She left Korea with her husband on September 19, 1942.

In 1944, the Hedbergs retired from their 41-year missionary duties. After her husband Bruen passed away first in 1959, she compiled data on early Presbyterian missions called 40 years in Korea with data collected during her missionary career in Korea.

It contains a report of Henry Monroe Bruen ministry from 1899 to 1941 and memories of the pioneers of the Daegu Mission: Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Bruan, and countless Korean women who followed them.

She was called by God in Travis County Austin, TX, on September 15, 1988, and was buried in a privately owned John Jay Cemetery in Ray, New York, where her husband was buried.

Henry Bruen Missionary Collection compiled by Clara Hedberg

Henry Bruen and Clara Hedberg Tombstone