Korean Journal of Medical History最新文献

This study aims to reconstruct the medical discourse on suicide in the late 1940s and 1950s and identify the strategies employed by medical professionals to decriminalize suicide. Despite the emergence of suicide as an important social issue in post-war Britain, the subject remained largely outside the purview of the public, policy makers and various specialist groups. However, the medical community approached the topic from a professional perspective, formed collective opinions as a specialist group, and sought to change the status quo and existing laws related to suicide. As a result, they became the only group actively engaged in the movement for suicide law reform. The strategies devised by medical professionals proved effective. They distanced themselves from moral and religious debates, framing suicide as a practical and value-neutral issue. They also adhered to a deterministic paradigm, defining suicide as the result of uncontrollable and, therefore, excusable circumstances. Factors such as mental illness, social isolation, and specific familial background were identified as major contributors to self-destruction. By focusing on cases of attempted suicide, rather than completed suicides, they shifted the debate in their favor. Finally, they argued that decriminalizing suicide would not weaken social control but instead provide a solid foundation for more efficient and powerful regulation. This discourse produced by medical professionals ultimately culminated in the passage of the Suicide Act 1961.

In Western society, the World's Fair has emerged as a significant national festival, serving as a new capitalist ideological device. Countries that hosted the fair often exaggerated their achievements, and Japan, which was at the forefront of modernization, participated in the event by adopting a strategy of differentiation and specialization in response to this momentum. During this process, Japan embraced the Western perspective to cultivate a fair culture characterized by Japaneseization, from which hygiene exhibitions were derived. As part of its efforts to build a modern state, Japan organized hygiene exhibitions aimed at instilling the concept of hygiene among its population. These exhibitions promoted public awareness by presenting visual data about diseases and the human body, thereby fostering a sense of fear. This exhibition culture reflected Japan's colonial governance techniques. Japan recognized that vibrant and engaging cultural events and exhibitions could captivate the public more effectively than any political framework. Consequently, a hygiene exhibition was held in colonial Korea that combined the themes of fairness and hygiene education. This study examines the history and distinctive activities associated with hosting sanitary exhibitions within the fair culture adopted by Japan during its modernization process. It explores how this cultural phenomenon established a connection with colonial Korea and analyzes the process of integrating fairness culture into Korean society. Additionally, this study investigates the details of the sanitary exhibition, which began in Korea around 1920 and gradually became a competitive event across the Korean Peninsula, touring smaller administrative districts centered around the main area. This examination is supported by contemporary newspapers published at the time.

Yŏm Sŭngik was a ch'ongshin or court favorite of the late Goryeo dynasty who was recognized for his ability to cure diseases using dhār ī and subsequently appointed prime minister of the country. Yŏm's quick ascension to such a distinguished post attests to the great significance of dhāraṇī among the people of Goryeo. Memorizing dhāraṇī as a way to obtain one's desire was a preexisting concept in the Silla period. However, unlike their predecessors, the people of Goryeo preferred the Baoqieyin Dhāraṇī (Precious Casket Seal Dhāraṇī) over the Mugujŏnggwang Taedaranigyŏng (The Great Dhāraṇī Sutra) as they believed the former text to be a more concise and effective vehicle for serving their needs. In this article I propose that Yŏm Sŭngik used his understanding of the period's spiritual and religious beliefs to combine the Baoqieyin Dhāraṇī with the maṇḍala of Esoteric Buddhism to create a new iconographic image in 1276. Sixteen years later in 1292, Yŏm supplemented the original image with spells from the Baoqieyin Dhāraṇī and added other details such as the name of the image's creator as well as the place and date of production. In this new version of the dhāraṇī-maṇḍala image, the various mantras from Baoqieyin Dhāraṇī are arranged in a circle that is imbued with the power of dhāraṇī and its therapeutic potency. The center of the circle is a maṇḍala composed an eight-petaled lotus as well as the thirty-seven deities symbolizing the birth and source of life. In this way, Yŏm condensed the essential components of Buddhist ideology that most appealed to believers to create a modified dhāraṇī-maṇḍala image that was produced in great quantities and distributed throughout Goryeo. Both the 1276 and 1292 versions of Yŏm's dhāraṇī-maṇḍala discovered in Buddhist sculpture. However, only the latter image continued to be made after the Goryeo dynasty. One example of the second version was found stamped on a silk chŏgori discovered in the Wooden Seated Child Mañjuśrī statue of Sangwŏnsa Temple in P'yŏngch'ang. Created in 1466, the Mañjuśrī statue was an important commission by the royal court. Thus, the stamped image of Yŏm's 1292 dhāraṇī-maṇḍala in this example of Buddhist sculpture demonstrates the influence and relevance of a new iconography that had persisted well into the Joseon dynasty. The dhāraṇī-maṇḍala image conceived by Yŏm Sŭngik in 1292 was worn or kept on the body in the belief that this act alone protected the wearer from affliction. Known as "an old man who practiced thaumaturgy by memorizing spells," Yŏm created the dhāraṇī-maṇḍala as an iconographic instrument that would cure any sickness that might plague the bearer. Perhaps most importantly, the new dhāraṇī-maṇḍala image was accessible to all as both a convenient and affordable means of healing. Lastly, Yŏm's dhāraṇī-maṇḍala was also incorporated into the garments of bodhisattva and Buddha statues, which served to amplify their divine powers of dhāraṇī.

This paper examines Hildegard of Bingen's embryological theory within the intricate landscape of medieval medicine and religion. It situates Hildegard's understanding of conception within ongoing historical debates surrounding the roles of male and female reproductive substances, particularly the concept of seed or semen. By analyzing her conceptual framework against prevailing classical and medieval reproductive theories, the research illuminates Hildegard's distinctive contribution to understanding conception as a holistic bodily process. Classical embryological discourse predominantly oscillated between Aristotle's one-seed theory-which positioned men as sole generative agents-and Galen's two-seed theory, which marginally acknowledged female reproductive participation. While technically aligning with Aristotelian principles by denying female semen, Hildegard diverged significantly by valorizing women's reproductive agency. she argued that women produced a foam essential for new life, just as essential as the man's semen. Also, the female reproductive body played a crucial role in purifying and nurturing the defective male semen, enabling conception. This conceptualization subtly challenged contemporary gender hierarchies, presenting reproduction as a complex, interdependent physiological mechanism with theological resonances, making the parallels of the woman's reproduction and God's creation. In conclusion, Hildegard's embryological theory presents a sophisticated intellectual intervention that reimagined female reproductive potential within medieval scientific and religious frameworks.

This study analyzes the career trajectories of students from Jeonuigam in the late nineteenth centry Joseon dynasty, shedding light on its educational functions by focusing on individuals listed in the Jeonhamsaengdoan and Byeoncheonpalsean. The primary subject of this research, the Jeonhamsaengdoan, is a valuable resource for understanding the career paths of Jeonuigam students, containing enrollment information for 384 individuals. The Byeolcheonpalsean, introduced for the first time in this paper, provides information about an alternative method of enrollment known as 'Byeolcheon' for students entering Jeonuigam. The analysis of these individuals' career paths reveals that many Jeonuigam students had overlapping enrollments in other technical institutions, such as Saekwon and Gwangsangam. This suggests that medical education was not limited to specific disciplines but was part of a broader educational framework. Moreover, the Seogyeong system allowed younger siblings to enroll alongside older ones, while the Byeolcheon system, which facilitated recommendations from other institutions, provided educational opportunities for families. These findings highlight the diverse methods in which medical and vocational education were conducted in the late nineteenth century Joseon dynasty. Approximately 66 percent of Jeonuigam students became medical officials, while others pursued careers in fields such as interpreting and various government roles, contributing to society in multiple ways. This study demonstrates that Jeonuigam was not solely focused on training medical personnel but was intricately linked to broader vocational education systems. Consequently, this study contributes to a historical understanding of medical education in the late Joseon period. Future studies should explore comparisons with Hyeminseo and Naeuiwon, changes in the social status of the middle class, and Jeonuigam's role during the transition to modern medical systems.

This paper examines the periodical Clinical Internal Medicine published by the Department of Internal Medicine at Keijo Imperial University in colonial Korea. Previous studies on medical research at Keijo Imperial University have primarily focused on preclinical departments such as anatomy, hygiene, pharmacology, and microbiology which produced knowledge that supported Japan's imperialistic expansion. This approach has overlooked the research contributions of clinical departments, often viewing the roles of preclinical and clinical departments through a dichotomy between research versus clinician training. However, Clinical Internal Medicine demonstrates that the Department of Internal Medicine at Keijo Imperial University was actively engaged in research. By analyzing the purpose and content of Clinical Internal Medicine, this paper reveals that its publication was an effort by the Department of Internal Medicine to address the demand for practical knowledge among clinicians practicing outside the university. At the same time, it reflects a commitment to enhancing the academic value of clinical experience and critiques the blind pursuit of experimental medicine in the Japanese medical community in the 1920s and 1930s. The case of the Department of Internal Medicine at Keijo Imperial University illustrates the transformation of clinical experience into "worthy" academic knowledge in colonial Korea. Based on these findings, this paper provides insights into the role of clinical departments at Keijo Imperial University in research and post-graduation education.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Hong Kong was in the midst of a malaria and plague epidemic which caused a fierce dispute within the medical community over disease theories and quarantine practices. However, the Hong Kong colonial authorities and medical community did not immediately accept the theory of etiology based on germ theory. Although germ theory was becoming scientifically established through research on plague and malaria in the 1890s, the Hong Kong colonial authorities and medical community did not immediately accept it. Patrick Manson (1844-1922) began studying tropical medicine based on germ theory by studying elephantiasis and malaria in Amoi and Hong Kong during the 1880s. However, he was unable to strongly advocate for a quarantine policy based on germ theory because the exact transmission routes of these diseases were not yet fully understood. Although the scientific community began to shift towards germ theory after the discovery of causative bacteria for diseases like malaria and plague in the 1880s and 1890s, many medical and colonial health officials in Hong Kong still held on to the quarantine policy based on miasma theory. However, a series of infectious diseases and destructive miasma theory-based quarantine measures were pushing Hong Kong society into chaos, and the existing quarantine measures was no longer sustainable. In the twentieth century, colonial authorities and medical community in Hong Kong adopted tropical medicine and quarantine measures based on germ theory as their prominent position. Despite the establishment of tropical disease theory based on germ theory, racial perceptions of disease did not change significantly. Instead, the theory of tropical medicine reinforced orientalist views of disease.

This study examines the development of international debates about the perception of nutrients, particularly protein, with a focus on the "Protein Debate" of the late 20th century. The nutritional obsession with protein has been ongoing since the early 19th century, when scientific nutrition was established, and has been at the center of debates surrounding food, agriculture, healthcare, and the environment, changing in shape and form over time. In addition to being a nutrient necessary for optimal physical and mental performance, protein has been a marker of poverty and discrimination at the international level and explains differences in individual living standards. Kwashiorkor, also known as protein calorie disorder, medicalized the problem of poverty in the Third World or underdeveloped countries. By the 1970s, the nutritional discussion of protein had undergone a radical transformation, with implications for the entire development discourse, including poverty and human rights. This study of the historical discourse on protein deficiency goes beyond the scientific focus on nutritional status, food, and dietary health to identify the social, economic, and cultural implications of nutrition.

This article deals with drugs obtain and distribution during the Goryeo Dynasty. In particular, I analyzed the case of 'Bupleuri Radix', which corresponds to 'dot-ui minali' as Idu, an archaic Korean notation, and Ginger, which was intentionally introduced and cultivated in Goryeo. Drugs of the Goryeo Dynasty can be classified into 5 types. Drugs that use the Chinese character name as the name of Goryeo were type A, drugs that correspond 1:1 with the archaic Korean notation to the Chinese character name were type B, and drugs that have the Chinese character name translated directly into the Korean name were type C. And although it were originally the foreign drugs, the drugs cultivated in Goryeo were Type D, and the drugs imported from foreign countries were Type E. Among these, types B and D are particularly interesting. Bupleuri Radix and Ginger discussed in this article were representative examples of type B and D respectively. Looking overall, type B had the highest proportion, followed by type A. Type E was the next most common. On the other hand, type C and D were relatively small. However, regardless of the high or low proportion, these types coexisted and constituted the therapeutic drugs of the Goryeo Dynasty. In conclusion, during the Goryeo Dynasty, interest and use of local drugs, namely Hyangjae, greatly expanded.

Unlike Western medical journals such as The Lancet which focused on Western-centric medical cases, Medical Reports analyzed medical and sanitary issues in East Asia, including China, Korea, and Japan and sought solutions to these problems. Medical Reports, a medical project initiated by the Chinese Maritime Customs Service (CMCS) in 1871, aimed to compile reference materials on the health conditions and diseases in ports. It was launched by the British Inspector General Robert Hart, who appointed the British Shanghai Customs Surgeon R. Alexander Jameson as the editor. Beginning in the 1860s, the British-led CMCS began expanding its reach from major cities to border areas, western regions, Taiwan Island, and Hainan Island, as well as territories beyond Qing Dynasty, such as Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Hong Kong, and Macau. This expansion required multinational cooperation, leading to the participation of Customs Surgeons, medical missionaries, and military doctors from ten countries, including the UK, the United States, France, China, Germany, Canada, Portugal, Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia, in the Medical Reports project. The Medical Reports were directly tied to the medical and sanitary initiatives in that community. They were authored by Customs Surgeons from a country with substantial regional influence. An analysis of the authors' nationalities, primary research focuses, and the relationship between the customs regions they covered revealed a statistically significant correlation. Even after Robert Koch discovered bacteria in the late nineteenth century, the miasma theory remained dominant, and most British doctors in India did not acknowledge the possibility that diseases could be caused by parasites. Despite this conservative historical context, the Medical Reports featured progressive research, including studies on leprosy based on germ theory and studies that actively embraced the emerging theory that parasites could be the cause of certain illnesses. In this process, the relatively unknown young physician named Patrick Manson, while working at the CMCS for 13 years, significantly advanced his medical knowledge by publishing numerous studies on filaria in the Medical Reports. His work led to the groundbreaking discovery that mosquitoes transmit infectious diseases. These research achievements pioneered the field of tropical medicine, a discipline that had not been established even in the extensive colonial holdings of France and Britain in tropical regions. Manson's work for the Medical Reports significantly advanced human efforts to prevent and respond to infectious diseases.