David S. Hong, MD is the first Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital. He additionally holds an appointment as Associate Professor at the USF Morsani College of Medicine. He previously served as clinical assistant professor at Stanford University prior to being recruited to the Lehigh Valley area as the region’s first pediatric neurosurgeon. Dr. Hong has special research interests in global neurosurgery. He is the first pediatric neurosurgeon working in North Korea, and travels to Pyongyang on a regular basis since 2015, working most frequently with the neurosurgeons at Okryu Children’s Hospital to improve the level of medical care. His organization, Children of Korea, will continue the ongoing work to serve the medical needs of the children and people of North Korea. He has been featured on the BBC World Service, Radio Free Asia, Washington Post, and radio service of KBS for his expertise on North Korean health.

Dr. Hong is a native of Saginaw, Michigan. He received his AB/BS from the University of Michigan, his MD from New York University School of Medicine, neurosurgery training at the Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center, and his pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at the University of California San Diego/Rady Children’s Hospital. He is an active member of the National Committee on North Korea, and the Korea Health Policy Project.