Trends and Prospects of Studies on the Modern History of Medicine in Korea: the Rise of Socio-historical Perspective and the Decline of Nationalist Dichotomy

• Main Author: Yunjae PARK
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korean Society for the History of Medicine 2020-08-01
• Series: Uisahak
• Subjects: history of medicine; western medicine; traditional korean medicine; colonial medicine; missionary medicine; social history; nationalism; discipline; patient; consumer
• Online Access: http://www.medhist.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjmh-29-2-425.pdf

In the 2010s, research on modern history of medicine in Korea has yielded notably outcomes. There have been social historical inquiries investigating the organic relationship between medicine and society, and there has been a study overcoming the traditional nationalistic dichotomous approach. A social historical perspective has been used to analyze the issues of knowledge and politics; the time period of its application was clustered around the colonial period. The condition of colonialism is both important and convenient for analyzing how and to what extent medicine, which is usually deemed neutral, contains a will of authority. Building on existing research, an attempt to understand a subject based on a combination of various elements or from various angles is needed. Accumulating empirical data is important to further advance related research. It is necessary to verify the accuracy of basic facts and build up verified facts. Sometimes theories are applied to research on the history of medicine. However, they are merely a passive application of existing theories and fail to lead to modification and fortification of the theories based on the case of Korea, let alone the establishment of an independent theory. Accumulating empirical studies would help create a unique theory for the Korean case. To establish a new theory, characteristics of the Korean case need to be identified, which have been formed by the Korean tradition. An understanding of the modern situation inevitably leads to an interest in the tradition. Another necessary effort is to expand territories, and one of them would be to develop interests in patients and consumers.