Korean Journal of Medical History最新文献

This paper analyzes the research process of Kim Chung Yong (henceforth referred to as KIM), who presented the hepatitis B vaccine in South Korea. In South Korea, which had been called the Hepatitis Kingdom, KIM developed a vaccine material for hepatitis B. Through his research achievements, South Korea, emerged from a country ignorant of hepatitis to a country with a hepatitis B vaccine. It is not easy to achieve remarkable results in developing countries where scientific development is lagging. This environment, however, helped KIM achieve his research. This article explains that the two circumstances affected his achievement in his research. First, KIM got a chance to study in the U.S. when he was his starting as a researcher. In the 1960s, the scientific and medical education environment in Korea was still poor. KIM left for Harvard University with the support of CMB, where he was able to advance his studies. This experience was an opportunity to further enhance his research skills. Second, Korea's poor health and hygiene environment in the 1970s worked in favor of verifying the effectiveness of vaccine materials he developed. South Korea, where hepatitis B was prevalent, became a good research site to secure enough test subjects. KIM also used blood sellers to find out the effects of the vaccine material he developed. Blood sellers are people who earn their living by selling their own blood and were commonly found in Korea at that time. The situation in Korea in the 1970s with prevailing hepatitis and the presence of blood sellers played an important role in KIM's research. His research on vaccine development for hepatitis B was hard to imagine in the scientific research environment of South Korea at the time. However, it was also this context and environment of South Korea at the time that enabled his achievement of developing a hepatitis B vaccine.

In modern Shanghai, smallpox was one of the most threatening diseases with its mortality rate going up to 30 percent. In response to the disease, Dr. William Lockhart, a medical missionary of the London Missionary Society, introduced vaccination to the Chinese people in Shanghai. He built the first western style hospital in Shanghai, Renji Hospital, in 1843. At this time, native doctors also played a very important role. For example, Huang Chun-pu was in charge of the dispensary in the Chinese City in Shanghai, and he was the one who introduced vaccination under Dr. Lockhart's direction. In 1868, the Health Office of Shanghai Municipal Council began to implement a vaccination program. Around the turn of the 20th century, the Health Office of Shanghai Municipal Council managed several sub-district offices, hospitals, dispensaries, gaol, and even the traditional place like simiao for the free vaccinations. Urban residents benefited from a sanitary system, such as wide and free vaccination, compared to people who lived in rural areas. Moreover, Shanghai possessed the advantage of having the vaccine as a staple product of the Municipal Laboratory. The number of units of the vaccine issued from the Laboratory in sequence of years from 1898 to 1920 has been 115,351 on average. Unlike the International Settlement, where systematic inoculation was conducted under the leadership of the Municipal Council, the Chinese City was still reliant on charity organizations in the early 1900s. The foreign residence in the International Settlement had a strong influence from the foreign governments, and foreign doctors were well-aware of the need for the vaccination. However, the Chinese City was a Chinese enclave that was still under the traditional rule of the Qing Dynasty. In addition, the people of Shanghai had different perceptions of the smallpox vaccination, and this became an obstacle to the establishment of urban sanitation systems. Some Chinese people still relied on the traditional Chinese variolation and Chinese custom. For example, Chinese people still applied for inoculation in the spring and avoided summer and fall following traditional Chinese variolation, even though the best time to get vaccinated was in early winter before the spread of smallpox. In addition, foreigners were often more problematic than Chinese because they often overlooked the importance of vaccines and relied on drugs instead. The municipal authority, therefore, provided a wide range of free vaccinations for the poor and needy people regardless of their nationalities, and with such measures, sought to establish a stable urban sanitation system. This had been the key to the success of hygiene policies.

This article reviews the competition of two natural family planning methods in the mid-1970s when the Catholic Natural Family Planning program was underway in Korea. The Catholic Church, emphasizing the natural law, has recommended Natural Family Planning (NFP), a method of regulating childbirth by abstinence during the fertile period, since the mid-twentieth century. However, a group of gynecologists working at St. Mary's Hospital, a Catholic general hospital in Korea, questioned the utility of NFP. As an alternative, they proposed the method of Ovulation Regulation (OR), which regulates the menstrual cycle by inducing ovulation with steroids agents. This seemed to be no different than contraception with oral contraceptives disapproved of by the Catholic Church, but many doctors who advocated OR thought that this could be a new 'natural' family planning method to replace NFP. What is noteworthy here is the fact that not only NFP advocates, but also OR advocates attempted to justify their methods based on the authority of the 'nature.' In the debate over natural family planning methods, nature's legitimacy was given premise, not the object of doubt. Rather, the issue was the definition of nature. First, 'nature' in NFP signifies 'innate nature,' which excludes human intervention. According to this point of view, OR with steroids agents could not be natural. On the contrary, a group of doctors who advocated OR considered nature 'primal completeness.' If the natural order of the menstrual cycle could be restored, the artificial intervention of the administration of steroids was not a problem. Thus, both groups defended their arguments by redefining nature, rather than raising an issue of nature itself. The competition between 'innate nature' and 'complete nature,' a proxy war between NFP and OR, resulted in the victory of the former as the meaning of nature became fixed. Advocates of NFP pointed out that OR inhibits other physiological functions in the process of inducing ovulation, suggesting that the idea of 'complete nature' could never be achieved. The meaning of nature could no longer be controversial. Since the intervention was unnatural, nature meant innateness, the absence of intervention. Accordingly, the Catholic Bishops of Korea approved the Billings Method, a kind of the NFP, as the official family planning method, and gynecologists at St. Mary's Hospital of Korea also focused on the development and supplementation of the Billings Method. In short, the debate over the methods of natural family planning in mid1970s Korea was a clash of 'innate nature' and 'complete nature.' As a result, this confirmed the limitations of medical practice and reconfirmed the power of magisterium, the church's authority over medical practice.

In this article, I first explored the process and its characteristics of the reorganization of the medical institution in the early Chosun Dynasty. In the early Chosun Dynasty, medical institutions of Naeuiwon, Jeonuigam, Hyeminseo, Hwalinseo, Jesaengwon were operated. From the examining the history, members, and roles of these institutions, it can be said that Chosun was aimed at Minbon Thought(For the people) of Neo-Confucianism and a one-sided centralized system. To understand the meaning of the change process of these medical institutions, we should pay attention to the social structure and ruling ideology of the late Koryo period. In other words, the autonomy and publicness of the people expanded in the land system of Koryo, while on the other hand, it became important to overcome the inefficiency of Buddhism, which was a dominant ideology. The movement to reflect the strengthened status of the people into the public national system by taking the Neo-Confucianism as the dominant ideology has been strengthened, and the medical rights of all the people have been guaranteed. But it did not mean that the Minbon Thought(For the people) of NeoConfucianism put the people first. The reason why the medical institution was organized in the order of Naeuiwon → Jeonuigam → Hyeminseo → Hwalinseo was because the theory of essence and end of Neo-Confucianism was projected. At the same time, this hierarchical structure was also coincided with the statusclass structure of Chosun, which peaked at the royal family as the highest ruling class. For this reason, the status of the medical institutions for the people, Hyeminseo and Hwalinseo was low.

In 1886, cholera was prevalent nationwide in Joseon. This year was not yet the time when the Joseon government officially overhauled quarantine rules to go into effect. Thus, quarantine efforts to prevent cholera varied depending on each of the three opening ports in the Joseon Dynasty. In Wonsan, officials of the three countries(Joseon, Japan and Qing) discussed ways to deal with cholera, and quarantine activities were carried out smoothly. On the other hand, Busan underwent friction and conflict between the parties over the implementation of quarantine rules within the region. When the Japanese consulate said that it would establish quarantine rules first and implement them, officials from various countries, including the Joseon Dynasty, strongly protested against the movement, saying that they did not reach prior consent. On top of that, economic interests were also affecting circumstances of port trade. In Incheon, there were differences between the home country and the local consulate over the urgent issue to be dealt with locally and the legal principles of applying the treaty. Since consular officials were not authorized to establish quarantine rules, the situation was settled into cancellation of the rules already issued there. The Japanese consul working at each port in the Joseon Dynasty suggested specific rules to develop quarantine activities. At this point, we can read Japan's intention to preempt the standard of future quarantine inspections. The enforcement of quarantine rules, however, was a matter that required consent from the Joseon official Gamri, the Acting Commissioner of the Joseon Maritime Customs and diplomats from each country. Furthermore, they had to go through the process of obtaining review and approval from their home countries if there were any problems in the operation of the treaty. The establishment and implementation of quarantine rules were complicated by interests of various players in each country concerning protection of their own citizens. Even though it was timely and the purpose of implementation was good, it could not follow through the quarantine rules as proposed by the Japanese consul at the opening port. The accumulation of quarantine experience and information at each port of Joseon in 1886 provided the foundation for the Joseon government to move toward to establish quarantine rules and implement them with the consent of each country in the following year.

There is no doubt that the colonial period was a critical time for the establishment and expansion of modern Western medicine in Korea. However, did this act as a catalyst for the overall decline of traditional Korean medicine? While previous studies mainly focus on research based on the concept of Uisaeng (traditional Korean medicine doctor) and the medical policies implemented by the Japanese Government-General of Korea, this paper begins with the Korean herbal medicine industry, and comprehensively investigates the distribution and consumption of Korean herbal medicines during the colonial period from three perspectives: the policies for Korean medicine merchants implemented by the Japanese Government-General of Korea, changes in the Korean herbal medicine industry, and consumption of Korean herbal medicines in the Korean society. The colonial authorities' intention was to foster the advancement of Western medicine and phase out traditional Korean medicine. However, they merely imposed limitations on Uisaengs' operations-this policy loophole objectively left a window for Korean medicine merchants. Moreover, against the backdrop of the growing popularity of Western medicine and restrictions on the development of traditional Korean medicine by colonial authorities, the Korean herbal medicine industry, as one of the few "national industries" dominated by and serving Koreans, showed its tenacious vitality during that time. Korean medicine merchants responded to market changes with ease. They built different drugstores, such as traditional herbal stores mainly selling traditional Korean medicines, hybrid drugstores that simultaneously dealt with the manufacture and sale of patent medicines, and ginseng drugstores that specialized in the ginseng business. This classification promoted the commercialization of traditional Korean herbal medicine. Another crucial condition for the vitality of the Korean herbal medicine industry is Koreans' preference for traditional Korean medicine. It is an indisputable fact that Western medicine gradually became popular and was recognized by the common man during the colonial period; nonetheless, Eastern medicine and Western medicine were not playing a zero-sum game. Through comprehensive macro and micro analysis, this paper demonstrates that, during the colonial period, when old and new ideas interacted, most Koreans, including upper-class elites and intellectuals who were open-minded about emerging concepts and options and had ample opportunities to avail western medical treatment, preferred traditional Korean medicine. Using Korean herbal medicines for illnesses remained the primary choice, While Western medicine assumed the role of a supplement to traditional treatment. This paper argues that the first reason for this phenomenon is the inertia of tradition, and the second is that Western medicine was not necessarily more effective than Korean herbal medicine at that time. Specifically, it can be considered t

This paper explores the heritage and the essential significance of worship of the twin Christian saints -St. Cosmas and St. Damian- in the history of medicine. These saints are well known in Western culture as one of the leading Christian saints to heal diseases, whose cults have spread to Europe through Byzantium, which have continued to spread widely to the present, starting from areas where Christianity had been proselytized. Although it is true that their life journeys have undergone many processes of embellishment and beautification over the course of time, the attributes that distinctively characterize the two saints exist apart from such mythical fabrications. This paper categorizes the characteristics of the two saints as being those of "professional doctors," "ideal doctors," and "holders of healing powers" as intermediaries of God, examining how these characteristics came to affect various medical organizations during the era when Medieval medicine was gradually transitioning toward a rational approach based on reason. In addition, it discusses how some of the practices of ancient temple medicine were transplanted into the Christian culture, the process by which it finally arrived at human doctors through the two saints, and how it affected the establishment of professional work ethics -albeit in nascent form- as their medical ethics came to be accepted and practiced by the Medieval guild of surgeons. Furthermore, the paper considers how the existence of the two saints has acquired symbolism in modern medicine, which has made remarkable progress in organ transplantation, and in particular, how it constitutes a significant part of the history of organ transplantation. It is not easy to objectify and attach meaning to an era that was substantially influenced by myths, legends, or religious events. This is because it is easy to fall into the trap of simplifying and passing judgment on the past based on the realities of the present day, without making efforts to understand the unique circumstances and contexts of the past. This is especially the case when the distinction between "religious events" and "medical events" is ambiguous, or when dealing with a social culture where religious influence was paramount. From a broader perspective, the study of St. Cosmas and St. Damian is not concerned with the rights or wrongs of religious myths amid the advancement of medicine and its adherence to science and reason, but with the attempt at a deep and broad understanding of human diseases and human conditions of being prone to such diseases throughout life.

Amphiaraos was an important and popular healing hero/god in Athens from the end of the fifth century BC, however, not much has been studied. This paper investigates the figure in various ways by examining different sources. In the sixth century BC and in to the fifth, Amphiaraos was an Argive warrior hero that came into war against Thebes. He then seems to have acquired a sanctuary in the Theban territory being a mantic hero. In the end of the fifth century BC, however, he is said to have swallowed up by the earth and sprang up again in a spring at Oropos. Between 420-414 BC, his sanctuary was set up by the Athenians at Oropos. But this time, he was venerated as a healing hero. In 420 BC, Asklepios was introduced to Athens in order to cure plague that went around from 430s BC. It seems that the Athenians benchmarked Asklepios to promote one more healing hero/god at their north eastern border. When Oropos was taken by their enemies, a substitute Amphiareion was established in Rhamnous, a deme close to Oropos. The Athenians also promoted a patriotic hero through the words of Euripides. Illustrated as having gone through the same process of sacrifice - death - commemoration, Amphiaraos was put in parallel with the Athenian mythical king Erechtheus. Through this parallel, Amphiaraos became a political figure that protected Athens from outside threats. Healing was, by the ancient Athenians, understood in a wide spectrum and was considered as a way to protect the polis.

This research explores the case of the 1903 smallpox outbreak on the SS Korea , a transpacific carrier making runs between Southeast Asia, East Asia, Hawaii, and the United States. These regions were connected to a degree that no one had ever imagined through the SS Korea . Honolulu, Hawaii, was one of the most important territories in US maritime history and served as a waypoint between Asia and San Francisco on the mainland. As increasing numbers of people traveled by sea, various microbes were communicated across the Pacific Ocean. International tourists traveling across the ocean to Hawaii and the United States were alerted to infectious diseases, smallpox being one of the most significant of such diseases. The story of the SS Korea serves as an important lens through which to explore the early twentieth century transpacific world connected through Honolulu. Focusing on the spread of smallpox via international travelers, this research studies aspects of the public health system that were developed to contain smallpox infection on international ships and the application of smallpox vaccination as a method for infectious disease control. More importantly, in bringing attention to the uncertainty surrounding the diagnosis of smallpox, this research argues for the necessity of historians to build a more comprehensive medical historical context for disease control systems that includes the limits of medical science in making diagnoses of infectious diseases, the uncertainties arising from a lack of this component, and the implementation of health policies and preventative medical technologies.

The main thesis of this research is to discuss the shamanistic medical activities as seen in the Recipes for Fifty-two Ailments written in the Mawangdui Silk Manuscript, to corroborate them with handed-down literature and other underground written attestations in early China, and to inquire its characteristics. In the Eastern Zhou dynasty, medicine already emerged with specialized and professional properties, but did not disengage from the ideology of shamanism in Eastern Zhou society. In other words, the shamanistic treatment of diseases was one of the most important works of shamans because the specialized knowledge of medical treatment always interlaced with superstitious and mediumistic treatment methods. This article examines the details of shamanistic medical activities, for example, the 'zhuyou', the 'zhuyichuxiong', curing maggots activities, and so on, by analyzing the Recipes for Fifty-two Ailments written in the Mawangdui Silk Manuscript. The origin and development of this early Chinese medical treatment had an influence on ancient Korea, Japan, and other places. Through this research, we can learn more about the initial development stage of the early traditional medicine in ancient societies of East Asia.