Forty Under 40: Yong Seok Kwon

The first time Yong Kwon came to Northwest Arkansas, it was during the annual Bikes Blues & BBQ motorcycle rally. Needless to say, his first impression was a bit skewed.

“All I saw were bikes,” he recalled. “There were a lot of bikes.”

And it was hot, too, and those who weren’t dressed in denim and leather were wearing shorts and flip-flops.

For a native of Seoul, South Korea, who had just spent a decade in Seattle, Washington, that was a shock to the system. But after four years in Fayetteville, Kwon is pleased with his surroundings.

“I love it here,” he said. “I realized you don’t need the skyscrapers and the eight-lane highways to have a life.”

Kwon came to Northwest Arkansas in 2011 after finishing his medical degree and associated residency at the University of Washington.

His wife, Jessica, urged him to move eastward so they could be closer to her parents in Alabama.

As a bariatric surgeon, Kwon is a godsend for those who suffer from morbid obesity. Diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, gastroesophageal reflux and arthritis — all of those conditions can be reduced with gastric bypass, Kwon’s specialty.

“We can do one surgery and drastically improve a life,” he said. “If someone loses 80 to 200 pounds, depending on where they start, they get their life back. I went into bariatrics to help people in great need.”