일제시기 도립의원(道立醫院)의 설립과 운영(1925-1945)

Abstract

This article examines the role and characteristic of the provincial hospitals in local medical care during the Japanese colonial period. It seems to need further explanation on how conducive to Korean people the provincial hospital as a regional hospital was, even though the existence of these hospitals in the provinces might have claimed to advocate their advanced and civilized cause under the colonial rule. By analyzing Law for Chosun Provincial Hospital, and Provincial Hospital Regulations, and the records of operation including the records of Korean medical staff, financial records, this paper strives to trace the background of the conversion and the patterns of management and operation after the conversion. In 1925, the Japanese Government-General of Korea determined to transfer the management of the Jahye hospital into the province due to the financial difficulties caused by the global economic crisis and the Great Kanto Earthquake. Although the overall operation of the provincial hospitals including establishment, closure, staff quota, and operating expenses were still under the Government-General’s authority, each province took the charge of financial management of the hospital. At the time of Independence, the number of the provincial hospitals across the country were 46. The number of staffs were adjusted depending on policy changes such as enlargement and expansion of the hospitals, political and economic changes, and the establishment of nursing training school. Although the leading officers of the provincial hospitals—the director, medical officers, instructors, pharmaceutical officers, secretaries, and the head of nursing department—were Japanese, Koreans were also engaged in medical staff as medical officers, doctors, and part-timers. According to records, Koreans took up 20% of the entire medical staff in 1930’s. A significant statistical change of the provincial hospitals occurred in 1936, starting with the Sino-Japanese War. In the year of 1930, around 40% of the provincial hospitals—12 out of 30—ran the department for charity, and Korean medical staffs were in charge of the department. Up until 1935, the number of patients who were given treatment of no charge all in all increased. The number of the provincial hospitals which had operated the department for charity began to decrease in 1936, and in 1941 the department disappeared from all provincial hospitals. The number of patients who were given treatment of no charge decreased to 3.75% of all patients, and charity fee took up only 1.6% of all annual expenditure. This could mean that the actual medical benefit for the people of Chosun was not as high as the Japanese authorities evaluated.